Google Ads Audit and PPC Account Review

An audit is especially useful in these situations.

Every bidding and optimisation decision depends on conversion data. If the account counts page views, button clicks or duplicate form submissions as conversions, or misses phone calls and WhatsApp enquiries, the reported results are misleading and automated bidding learns the wrong lessons. We check which actions are counted, whether they are primary or secondary, whether values are set, whether enhanced conversions and consent mode are configured (our GA4 audit goes deeper), and whether reported conversions reconcile with your CRM or sales data.

Settings chosen at launch, or left as defaults, can quietly waste budget.

The search terms report shows the actual searches that triggered ads. We analyse it for irrelevant queries, such as jobs, free, DIY, education or competitor searches that do not fit, and estimate how much has been spent on them. We also identify converting searches that deserve their own keywords, and themes that suggest new campaigns. In many accounts, this is where the largest immediate savings are found.

We check whether campaigns are organised around goals, products, services, locations and margins; whether brand and non-brand traffic are separated; whether campaigns compete with each other for the same searches; and whether the structure is either too fragmented to learn or too broad to control. Structural issues often explain unstable performance and confusing reports.

We review whether bidding strategies suit each campaign’s data volume and goal, whether target CPA or ROAS values are realistic, whether budgets are limiting strong campaigns while weak ones overspend, and how much impression share is lost to budget or ad rank. We also check for frequent strategy changes that keep campaigns in learning periods.

Clicks are only valuable if they convert. We review ad relevance to keywords, use of assets such as sitelinks and callouts, and ad strength, then assess landing pages for message match, mobile speed, clarity of the offer, trust signals and form friction. Landing page problems frequently explain low conversion rates better than any account setting. Our landing page design and website speed optimisation services can address what we find.

For Performance Max, we review conversion goals, asset groups, audience signals, brand exclusions, URL expansion, channel performance and whether branded traffic is inflating results. For Shopping, we review Merchant Center health, disapprovals, feed quality, product titles, custom labels and product group performance. Feed issues are a frequent hidden cause of weak ecommerce results.

Yes. Meta audits cover pixel and Conversions API setup, event deduplication, account structure, creative testing and fatigue, audience overlap, attribution settings and lead quality. LinkedIn audits cover audience definitions, audience expansion and Audience Network settings, formats, lead form quality, bidding and CRM integration. Cross-platform audits also look at how channels work together and whether conversions are double-counted.

You receive a clear written report with an executive summary, a scorecard of key areas, detailed findings with evidence, estimated wasted spend where measurable, and a prioritised action plan. Actions are grouped into quick wins, important structural changes and longer-term improvements, each with expected impact and effort. We walk through the report in a call so your team understands the reasoning.

Your business should own its Google Ads, Analytics, Tag Manager, Merchant Center and Meta accounts, with agencies given access through manager accounts or business partner permissions. If an agency owns the account, you may lose historical data and learnings if you change providers. Audits often uncover ownership and billing arrangements that should be corrected. We also check whether ad spend is billed directly to you, so media costs are transparent.

No. We request read-only access and do not change anything during the audit. Any changes are implemented only after you approve them, by your team, your current agency or by us if you choose. This keeps the audit objective and avoids disrupting live campaigns.

Yes, and it often should be. An audit is most useful when it leads to action. Many businesses share the report with their agency or in-house team as a roadmap. Findings are presented factually, with evidence, so they can be discussed constructively rather than defensively.

These issues appear in a large share of the accounts we review.

You can implement the recommendations internally, share them with your current agency or ask us to help. Options include a one-time implementation project to fix tracking, settings and structure, or ongoing management through our Google Ads management service. A follow-up review after a few weeks can confirm that changes had the expected effect.

A typical Google Ads audit for a single account takes one to two weeks from access to report, depending on account size, history and the number of platforms. Complex multi-account, multi-country or ecommerce audits with large feeds take longer. We agree timelines at the start.

Useful inputs include read-only access to ad accounts, Google Analytics, Tag Manager and Merchant Center; your business goals and target costs; margins or customer values; a summary of your sales process; any CRM data on lead quality or sales by source; and your main concerns. The more context we have, the more specific the recommendations.

We check which audience lists exist and how they are used: whether remarketing lists are populated and sized sensibly, whether customer lists are uploaded and refreshed, whether converters are excluded where appropriate, and whether audiences are applied for observation to gather insights. Missing or stale audiences are a common gap that limits both smart bidding and remarketing performance.

Platform metrics mean little without context. We compare results with your target cost per acquisition or return on ad spend, customer lifetime value, margins and sales capacity. Where CRM or sales data is available, we check how ad-attributed leads and sales compare with what the business actually recorded. This shows whether the account is optimising for the outcomes that matter or for numbers that only look good in reports.

Audit fees depend on the number of accounts and platforms, total ad spend and account complexity, the number of campaigns and products, whether feed and landing page reviews are included and whether CRM data needs to be analysed. The fee is fixed and agreed before work begins.