Conducting a full PPC (Pay-Per-Click) account audit is about assessing performance, identifying inefficiencies, and uncovering growth opportunities. Here's a structured approach, broken into key areas of focus:
✅ 1. Account Structure
What to Check:
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Are campaigns organized by product/service category, funnel stage, or intent?
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Are ad groups tightly themed (1 topic per group)?
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Are naming conventions consistent and clear?
Why it matters:
A well-structured account improves Quality Scores, relevance, and makes optimization easier.
✅ 2. Keywords & Match Types
What to Check:
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Use of broad, phrase, and exact match keywords
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Are low-performing keywords paused or removed?
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Presence of long-tail keywords
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Are branded vs. non-branded terms separated?
Why it matters:
Poor keyword targeting leads to wasted spend and irrelevant traffic.
✅ 3. Search Terms & Negative Keywords
What to Check:
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Regular review of the search terms report
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Are irrelevant queries being excluded?
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Are negative keyword lists applied at campaign/ad group level?
Why it matters:
Reduces wasted budget and improves CTR and conversion rates.
✅ 4. Ads & Extensions
What to Check:
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Use of responsive search ads with at least 3 high-quality headlines/descriptions
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A/B testing of ads (multiple ads per ad group)
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Use of ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, price, etc.)
Why it matters:
Better ads = better CTR, higher Quality Score, and lower CPC.
✅ 5. Landing Pages
What to Check:
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Are landing pages relevant to the ad/keyword?
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Do they load fast? Mobile-friendly?
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Clear CTA? Easy navigation?
Why it matters:
Even a great ad can't convert if the landing page fails.
✅ 6. Bidding Strategy
What to Check:
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Are bid strategies aligned with goals (manual CPC, Maximize Conversions, tROAS, etc.)?
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Enough data volume to support smart bidding?
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Are high-ROI campaigns getting enough budget?
Why it matters:
The right bid strategy can lower costs while maximizing conversions.
✅ 7. Budget Allocation
What to Check:
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Is budget aligned with top-performing campaigns and keywords?
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Any campaigns limited by budget?
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Are there wasted spend patterns?
Why it matters:
Poor allocation can suppress high-potential campaigns.
✅ 8. Conversion Tracking
What to Check:
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Are conversions being tracked correctly?
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Using Google Ads and/or GA4 tags?
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Are micro- and macro-conversions (form fills, calls, purchases) defined?
Why it matters:
You can't optimize what you can't measure.
✅ 9. Audience & Demographics Targeting
What to Check:
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Are demographic bid adjustments (age, gender, income) used?
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Device-level performance differences (mobile vs. desktop)
Why it matters:
Targeting the right people improves efficiency and ROI.
✅ 10. Performance Metrics Analysis
What to Check:
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CTR, CPC, Quality Score, Conversion Rate, CPA, ROAS
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Look for trends, seasonality, and top performers
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Segment by device, location, time of day
Why it matters:
Drives data-informed decisions for scaling or optimizing.
📊 Tools to Use:
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Google Ads interface
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Google Analytics (GA4)
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Looker Studio dashboards
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Excel/Google Sheets for deep dives
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Third-party tools like SEMrush, Optmyzr, or Supermetrics