Google Ads Audit Checklist: How to Audit Your Own Account

We have audited over 500 Google Ads accounts. 95% of them were wasting at least 20% of their budget. The most common issues are not complex bidding algorithm failures; they are simple "set and forget" mistakes that compound over time.

You should audit your own account every 90 days. It is the only way to clear out the "cobwebs" of old keywords, dead ads, and forgotten settings.

In this guide, we provide our internal Agency Audit Framework: The 4 Pillars of Health (Settings, Keywords, Ads, Tracking).

The Financial Implication of "Drift"

Account Decay is real. When you launch a campaign, it is tight. Six months later, Google has expanded "Exact Match" to include "Close Variants," and you are now bidding on irrelevant terms. The Drift Cost Formula:

$$ \text{Wasted Spend} = (\text{Total Spend} \times \text{Irrelevant Search Term \%}) + (\text{Total Spend} \times \text{Lost Impression Share Budget}) $$

If you spend $10,000/mo and 15% of your search terms are junk, you are effectively burning $1,500/mo. An audit puts that money back in your pocket.

Theory: The 80/20 of Auditing

Do not look at everything. Focus on the "Big Levers" that control where money flows.

1. Settings: (The plumbing).
2. Keywords: (The intent).
3. Ads: (The pitch).
4. Tracking: (The truth).

Framework: The 4-Pillar Audit

Pillar 1: Settings & Networks (stop the bleeding)

Go to Settings for each campaign.

• Search Partners / Display Network: Are they on? Turn them OFF unless strict monitoring proves they work.
• Location Options: Is it set to "Presence Only"? If not, you are wasting money on foreign clicks.
• Bid Strategy: heavily inspect "Maximize Conversions" campaigns. Are they spending $50 for a $20 lead? Cap them with a tCPA.

Pillar 2: Keyword Health (The Intent Check)

Go to Search Keywords.

• Broad Match Check: Do you have Broad Match keywords running without Smart Bidding? (Dangerous).
• Search Terms Report: Sort by "Cost." Look at the top 10 spenders. Are they relevant?
  • Action: Add negatives immediately for any mismatch.
• Quality Score: Sort by "Quality Score" (Low to High). Pause keywords with QS < 3. They are too expensive to save.

Pillar 3: Ad Copy & Extensions (The Click)

Go to Ads & Assets.

• Ad Strength: Do you have "Poor" ads running?
  • Action: Add more headlines to improve the score.
• Asset Coverage: Do you have Sitelinks, Callouts, and Structured Snippets enabled?
  • Fact: Extensions increase CTR by 15%. If you don't have them, you are paying a "Laziness Tax" in the form of lower Ad Rank.

Pillar 4: Tracking & Attribution (The Truth)

Go to Goals → Conversions.

• Status: Is the status "Recording conversions"?
• Repeat Rate: Is one user counting as 5 conversions? Change counting setting to "One" for lead gen.
• Value: Are you tracking Revenue? If not, you are optimizing blind.

Execution: The 30-Minute "Red Flag" Scan

Open your account right now.

1. Time Range: Set to "Last 30 Days."
2. Graph: Change metrics to Cost vs. Conversions.
   • Red Flag: Diverging lines (Cost up, Conversions down).
3. Change History: Check "Last 30 Days."
   • Red Flag: 0 Changes. An account with 0 changes is a dying account.

Advanced Strategy: The "Change History" Audit

If you hired an agency, this is how you audit them. Go to Change History. Filter by User. Count the actions.

• 0-5 Changes/Month: They are asleep at the wheel. Fire them.
• 50+ Changes/Month: They are actively managing.
• What kind of changes?
  • Good: Added negative keywords, changed bids, added new ad copy.
  • Bad: just "Budget changes." (Lazy management).

Case Study: The "Settings" Save

Client: Local Dentist Spend: $3,000/mo Problem: "AdWords doesn't work. We get junk calls."

The Audit Find: We looked at Locations. Targeting was set to "United States" instead of "10 miles around office." We looked at Location Options. It was set to "Interest In" instead of "Presence In."

The Fix: Changed location to 10-mile radius. Changed to "Presence Only." Result: Spend dropped to $500/mo (saved $2,500), but lead quality went to 100%.

Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Over-Optimizing

Do not pause a keyword just because it has a low CTR. If it has a high Conversion Rate, keep it. ROAS/CPA is the only king.

2. Pausing "Learning" Campaigns

If a campaign says "Bid Strategy Learning" (New), do not touch it for 7 days. Even if performance looks bad. Touching it resets the clock.

3. Obsessing over "Optimization Score"

Google's "Optimization Score" (0-100%) is a sales tool, not a performance metric. It will tell you to "Raise Budgets" to get a higher score. Ignore it. Use your own brain.

Summary

The goal of an audit is not to find more things to do. It is to find less things to waste money on.

Your 30-Day Challenge:

1. Run the Search Terms Report and add 10 negative keywords.
2. Check Location Settings for "Presence Only."
3. Ensure every campaign has at least 3 Sitelinks.

Audit early, audit often.