Why Get a Google Ads Audit?

Google Ads Audit Checklist:
Running a quick self-audit on your Google Ads account doesn’t have to be complicated. Below is a simple checklist you can follow to spot common issues and opportunities. It’s not as in-depth as a professional audit, but it’s a great way to catch easy wins and wasted spend.

1. Confirm Tracking & GA4 Set-Up

The first step in any audit is making sure your data is reliable. If your tracking is broken, everything else will be guesswork.

Check that:

• Google Ads is properly linked to GA4 so you can see the full customer journey.

• Conversions are firing correctly (e.g. form fills, purchases, calls). Test them by completing an action yourself.

• You’re not double-counting conversions or missing key ones (like checkout or enquiry forms).

👉 Without accurate tracking, every decision you make afterwards could be flawed. Fix this first — it’s the foundation of your audit.

2. Review Account & Campaign Settings

Before diving into the details, check your campaign’s basic setup — small mistakes here can drain budget fast.

Look at:

• Locations – Are your ads only showing in the regions you serve? Exclude areas that don’t bring value.
• Languages – Make sure your targeting matches the languages your audience speaks.

• Ad schedules – Are your ads running 24/7, even overnight when no-one converts? Set schedules around peak hours.

• Networks – If you’re targeting Search, ensure you’re not accidentally wasting spend on Display or Search Partners.

👉 Getting these basics right ensures your budget is only spent where and when it matters.

3. Analyse Campaign Structure & Keywords

A well-structured campaign keeps your spend efficient and your ads relevant. Poor structure often means wasted budget and missed opportunities.

Here’s what to check:

• Ad groups – Are they tightly themed, or do they contain a messy mix of keywords? Keep groups focused.
• Match types – Relying only on broad match? That can drain spend. Balance with phrase and exact match.
• Negative keywords – Are you filtering out irrelevant searches? Adding negatives protects budget.
• Search query reports – Review what users actually typed in. Remove irrelevant terms and spot new opportunities.

👉 The goal: every keyword should earn its place by driving relevant clicks and conversions.

4. Assess Ads & Extensions

Your ads are the shop window of your campaigns — so they need to grab attention and convert. Weak ads or missing extensions = missed clicks and wasted spend.

Here’s what to check:

• Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) – Do you have at least one per ad group, with multiple headlines and descriptions tested?
• Message match – Does your ad copy directly reflect the user’s intent and the keywords being searched?
• Asset performance – Review Google’s asset ratings (e.g. “Low”, “Best”). Replace weak headlines or descriptions.
• Extensions – Are you using sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and images to increase visibility and CTR?

👉 The goal: make every ad highly relevant, engaging, and fully equipped with extensions to dominate the results pag

5. Evaluate Bidding & Budget Allocation

Your bidding strategy and budget split determine how far your ad spend actually goes. The wrong setup can mean blowing through budget without results — or missing key opportunities.

Here’s what to check:

• Bidding strategy – Are you using the right model for your goals? (Manual CPC for control, Target CPA for efficiency, or Target ROAS for revenue growth).
• Budget allocation – Is spend spread across the right campaigns, or are low-value campaigns eating too much budget?
• Daily pacing – Are campaigns running out of budget mid-day, causing you to miss evening conversions?
• Overspending alerts – Spot campaigns overshooting their budgets without delivering proportional returns.

👉 The aim: keep your best-performing campaigns funded, while making sure weaker ones don’t drain the pot.

6. Check Performance by Device, Network & Audience

Not all clicks carry the same value. To uncover hidden inefficiencies, break down performance by device, network, and audience. For example, mobile traffic often soaks up spend but converts poorly, while tablets may deliver very little at a high cost. Display placements can also drain budget without driving results.

Here’s what to check:

• Device performance – Compare desktop, mobile, and tablet. Is one clearly underperforming?
• Network results – Review Search, Display, and Search Partners. Are you paying for clicks that don’t convert?
• Audience insights – Check remarketing lists, demographics, and exclusions. Are high-value segments being fully utilised?

👉 The aim: cut waste from weak devices, networks, or audiences, and reinvest into what actually drives conversions.

7. Audit Shopping & Performance Max

For eCommerce brands, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns are often where the biggest wins (or losses) happen. If your Google Merchant Centre feed isn’t optimised — think poor product titles, missing GTINs, or incomplete attributes — your ads either won’t show, or they’ll show in the wrong searches.

Weak asset groups in Performance Max can also tank results, with poor images, generic headlines, or thin descriptions dragging down performance.

Here’s what to review:

• Product feed health – Are titles clear, keyword-rich, and accurate? Are attributes complete?
• Disapprovals & warnings – Any missing data, errors, or invalid shipping rules blocking visibility?
• Performance Max assets – Do your images, headlines, and descriptions inspire clicks, or hold you back?

👉 The goal: ensure your feed and assets are fully optimised, so Shopping and PMax campaigns run at their highest potential.

8. Investigate Competitors & Brand Protection

Your competitors aren’t standing still — and neither should you. Using Auction Insights, we identify which rivals are consistently outranking you, and whether they’re actively bidding on your brand name (a common tactic that steals clicks and conversions).

We also check for internal competition, where your own campaigns might be bidding against each other — silently draining budget and driving up your CPC.

Here’s what to look at:

• Impression share – Who’s appearing more often than you?
• Outranking share – Which competitors consistently beat you in auctions?
• Brand defence – Are rivals bidding on your brand name, and do you have a protection strategy in place?
• Internal overlap – Are your campaigns fighting each other for the same searches?

👉 The goal: protect your brand, outsmart competitors, and stop wasting ad spend.

9. Review Change History & Testing

Your Google Ads account tells a story through its change history. Reviewing it helps you spot what’s been tested, what’s worked, and where optimisation has stalled.

We dig into:

• Frequency of changes – Are updates happening regularly, or has the account gone stagnant?
• Type of changes – Budgets, bids, keywords, targeting, or ad copy.
• Who made the changes – Agency, internal team, or automated Google recommendations.

We also check whether you’re using Experiments — a simple but underused way to A/B test bidding strategies, landing pages, and ad copy safely before rolling them out account-wide.

👉 The aim: ensure your account is being actively managed, not left on autopilot.

👉 End Result: A Google Ads audit provides a full health check of your account. Done properly, it identifies wasted spend, uncovers opportunities, and sets out a prioritised action plan. Our free professional audit of Google Ads campaigns covers all these steps in detail — and more — delivered in plain English with a 40-page report you can act on immediately.