The Ultimate Google Ads Audit Checklist: 10 Steps to Stop Bleeding Money (2024)

We have audited over $100M of ad spend. The results are terrifying. Most accounts have "Leaks"—settings left on default that drain 20-30% of the budget into the trash.

You don't need to be a pro to check these. You just need access to the account. Here is the 15-Minute Health Check.

1. The "Change History" Check

• Go To: Change History (Left sidebar).
• Look For: Activity in the last 30 days.
• The Red Flag: If there are 0 changes in the last 30 days, your agency is charging you a management fee for doing nothing.
• The nuance: "Smart Bidding" does a lot of work, but humans should still be adding negatives, testing ads, and adjusting budgets.

2. The Conversion Tracking Audit

• Go To: Tools & Settings → Measurement → Conversions.
• Look For: "Repeat Rate" and "Count".
• The Trap: One Per Click vs Many Per Click.
  • For Lead Gen: Count should be "One". (If a user fills the form 3 times, it's 1 lead).
  • For Ecommerce: Count should be "Many". (If a user buys 3 times, it's 3 sales).
  • If you have "Many" set for leads, your CPA is fake.

3. The "Settings" Traps (Search Partners & Display)

• Go To: Campaign Settings.
• Look For: Networks.
• The Trap:
  • Google Search Partners: Checked? (Often junk traffic). Check the segment data. If CPA is 2x higher, turn it off.
  • Display Network: Checked? TURN IT OFF. Never run Display ads inside a Search campaign. It ruins your CTR.

4. The "Search Terms" Report (Negative Keywords)

• Go To: Keywords → Search Terms.
• Look For: Irrelevant queries.
• The Trap: Are you paying for "free", "jobs", "login", or competitor names you didn't mean to?
• Action: If you don't see a Negative Keyword list applied to the campaign, that is a failure.

5. Device Performance (Mobile vs. Desktop)

• Go To: Devices.
• Look For: CPA difference.
• The Trap: Often, Desktop converts at $50 and Mobile converts at $150.
• Action: Apply a -50% Bid Adjustment on Mobile to force efficiency.

6. Ad Schedule (Dayparting)

• Go To: Ad Schedule.
• Look For: Hours where you consistently bleed money.
• The Trap: B2B companies showing ads at 2 AM on Sunday.
• Action: Set a schedule (e.g., Mon-Fri, 8am-8pm) unless you are Ecommerce.

7. Quality Score Health

• Go To: Keywords. Add "Quality Score" column.
• Look For: Keywords with QS < 5.
• The Trap: If your top spending keyword has a QS of 3/10, you are paying a huge premium.
• Action: Move it to its own ad group and rewrite the ad copy to match perfectly.

8. Audience Layers (The "Ghost" Data)

• Go To: Audiences.
• Look For: Is the table empty?
• The Trap: Even if you don't target them, you should have 20+ audiences in "Observation" mode (See our Audiences Guide). If it's empty, you are flying blind.

9. Location Settings (The "Presence" Setting)

• Go To: Settings → Locations → Location Options.
• The Trap: Google defaults to "Presence or Interest: People in, or regularly in, or who've shown interest in your targeted location."
  • This means someone in India searching for "Plumber in New York" will see your ad.
• Action: Change to "Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations."

10. Extension (Asset) Coverage

• Go To: Ads & Assets → Assets.
• Look For: Sitelinks, Callouts, Structured Snippets, Images.
• The Trap: Running a naked ad.
• Action: Ensure every campaign has at least 4 Sitelinks and Image Extensions enabled. They increase CTR by 10-15%.

Conclusion

If you found more than 3 of these errors, your account is bleeding. Fixing these "Foundation" issues is the easiest way to improve ROI before you even write a new ad.