Google Ads Audit Checklist for Agencies and Lead Gen Businesses

Check this first. Everything else in the audit — bidding recommendations, budget allocation, keyword decisions — depends on conversion data being accurate. If tracking is broken, no other optimisation will produce reliable results.

• Conversion actions exist and are set to "Primary" for the right events Check Goals → Conversions → Summary. Should show at least one active conversion action with recent activity.
  High
• Conversion fires on the thank-you page, not on a click or any page view Use GTM Preview to verify the tag fires once on /thank-you and not on the form page itself.
  High
• Conversion count matches CRM or booking system within 10-15% Pull the same date range from both. Larger gaps indicate duplicate firing, tag errors, or cross-device attribution issues.
  High
• No page views, session starts, or scroll events counted as conversions These inflate reported conversions and confuse Smart Bidding. Secondary actions only — never Primary.
  High
• Attribution window set to 30 days (not default 7 days) for service businesses Service businesses often have consideration cycles longer than 7 days. Extend attribution under conversion action settings.
  Medium
• Enhanced conversions configured if collecting email on form Improves match rate for iOS and cookie-restricted traffic. Set up under Goals → Conversions → Settings.
  Low

Structure determines whether Smart Bidding can learn efficiently. Poor structure is the most common reason accounts perform below their potential even when budgets and bids seem reasonable.

• Branded and non-branded keywords are in separate campaigns Mixing them prevents independent budget control and sends mixed signals to Smart Bidding about what a conversion looks like.
  High
• Each campaign has a single, clear purpose (brand, generic, competitor, remarketing) A campaign trying to serve multiple purposes cannot be optimised effectively for any of them.
  High
• Ad groups are tightly themed — keywords share the same intent Different intents (audit vs management vs consultant) belong in different ad groups with tailored ad copy for each.
  Medium
• Each ad group has at least 2 ads for testing Minimum: one responsive search ad plus one alternative variation. Single-ad groups cannot improve through creative testing.
  Medium
• Shared negative keyword list exists and is applied to all campaigns Account-level shared negatives ensure new campaigns inherit clean coverage from day one.
  Medium
• Display Network is OFF for Search campaigns (unless intentional) Display expansion on Search campaigns serves ads in placements you didn't choose, at lower conversion rates than Search.
  Medium
• Campaign naming convention is consistent and descriptive Example: ALS-Brand-US, ALS-Generic-Audit-US. Inconsistent naming makes reporting and QA difficult at scale.
  Low

The search terms report is usually the fastest source of recoverable budget in any audit. Sort by Cost descending and look for spend going to queries that have no realistic chance of converting.

• Search terms report reviewed for the last 90 days, sorted by Cost 90 days gives enough volume to identify patterns. Less than 30 days misses seasonal variation.
  High
• Job-seeking queries excluded as negatives (jobs, careers, salary, internship) Common across all service account audits. Usually present even in well-managed accounts.
  High
• Informational queries excluded (what is, how to, tutorial, guide, course, free) Informational searchers are not buyers. Excluding them reduces wasted spend without affecting conversion volume.
  High
• Competitor brand terms excluded (unless running intentional competitor campaigns) Broad and phrase match keywords can trigger for competitor searches. Add competitors as exact match negatives.
  Medium
• Match types are appropriate — not all broad match for a new or small account Start new campaigns on exact match only. Add phrase match after reviewing search terms. Broad match requires significant conversion data to work reliably.
  Medium
• High-performing search terms added as exact match keywords Terms that have converted at good CPA but aren't in the keyword list should be added directly for better bid control.
  Low

Quality Score directly affects cost per click. A keyword at QS 4 can cost twice as much per click as the same keyword at QS 8. Add the Quality Score column and its three sub-components before reviewing this section.

• Core keywords have Quality Score of 6 or above Below 6 on primary keywords means paying a significant premium per click. Investigate the three sub-components to find the cause.
  High
• Landing Page Experience is not "Below Average" on any converting keyword Below average landing page experience is the most common cause of low QS for service businesses — usually caused by slow load speed, homepage destination, or mismatched content.
  High
• Ad Relevance is not "Below Average" on core keywords Below average ad relevance means the keyword and ad copy don't match closely enough. Move the keyword to its own tightly-themed ad group.
  Medium
• Headlines include the target keyword naturally Keyword inclusion in headlines improves Expected CTR and ad relevance simultaneously. Pin keyword-containing headlines to position 1 or 2.
  Medium
• Branded keywords have Quality Score of 8 or above Branded QS should be high by default — if it isn't, check that ads point to the correct domain and that the brand name appears in headlines.
  Low

The right bid strategy depends on how much conversion data the campaign has. Using automated strategies before the data threshold is reached is one of the most common causes of erratic spending and poor early-stage results.

• Bid strategy matches conversion volume (Maximize Clicks if under 30 conv/month) Maximize Conversions and Target CPA need at least 30 monthly conversions to learn reliably. Below that, Maximize Clicks with a CPC cap is safer.
  High
• No campaigns losing more than 30% impression share to budget on converting keywords Check the Lost IS (Budget) column. If converting campaigns are budget-constrained, reallocate from underperforming campaigns before raising total budget.
  High
• Budget is not spread equally across campaigns regardless of performance Budget should be weighted toward campaigns with the lowest cost per conversion. Equal distribution is not optimisation.
  Medium
• Ad schedule reviewed — ads not running 24/7 if sales team only works business hours Leads generated outside business hours often go cold before follow-up. Adjust ad schedule to match response capacity or set up instant automated follow-up.
  Medium
• Target CPA is based on actual historical data, not an aspirational figure Setting Target CPA below historical cost per conversion causes the algorithm to restrict delivery. Set it 20-30% above current CPA initially, then lower gradually.
  Medium
• Device bid adjustments reviewed — mobile vs desktop conversion rate checked For service businesses, desktop often converts at a higher rate. If mobile CPA is significantly higher, reduce mobile bids by 20-30%.
  Low