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How to do a Google Ads Audit

We'll show you how to conduct your own Google Ads audit or take us up on our offer of us deep diving into areas of your Google Ads that you didn't even know existed, carried out by a seasoned PPC professional. We’ll produce an easy to understand report with actionable recommendations as well as scoring your campaigns out of 100.

  • Free Google Ads Audit
  • Improve Performance and ROI
  • Actionable Recommendations
  • Get a Second Opinion From The PPC Experts
  • We'll Score Your Campaigns out of 100
  • Easy To Understand Traffic Light System
Google Premier Partner 2024 Digital Agency Network Verified Agency

How To Do a Google Ads Audit

1. Campaign Setup and Structure

A good campaign structure lays the foundation for success. Here’s what to look for:

Example:

A retail company allocated the same budget to their conversion-focused and brand awareness campaigns. After identifying this discrepancy, they shifted the budget to match each campaign's priority, improving their return on investment (ROI).

2. Keyword Analysis and Management

Your keywords are at the heart of your campaigns and will determine what search terms your ads show for. Conduct a thorough review:

Example:

A travel agency used "all-inclusive resort" as a broad match keyword but attracted searches for "all-inclusive resort jobs." Adding “jobs” as a negative keyword saved them hundreds in wasted clicks.

3. Review Ad Groups and Ad Copy

Your PPC account structure is extremely important to ensure that the campaign can be managed appropriately and your targeting is specific. Organize your ad groups and ensure your copy is compelling:

Example:

A financial service grouped its ads around specific products but found customers weren't converting. A/B testing revealed the CTAs were too general. They refined the CTAs to be specific to each product, improving click-through rates by 20%.

4. GA4 Audience Review and Incorporationation

Connecting your Google Analytics account is crucial to ensure that your conversions can be reported within Google Ads, you can then use this data to make informed optimisation.

Example:

An online retailer created a GA4 audience targeting “likely 7-day purchasers,” then crafted tailored ads for this group. The result was a 30% increase in conversion rates.

5. Performance by Device and Network Settings

People engage with your ads differently across devices and networks:

Example:

A B2B software company noticed mobile users often left the checkout page. They improved the mobile experience, leading to a 15% increase in mobile conversions.

6. Optimize Product Data Feeds

Product data feeds are crucial for Google Shopping Ads:

Example:

An electronics retailer updated its inventory feed to direct users from out-of-stock items to alternative products, leading to a 25% increase in Shopping Ads conversions.

7. Competitor Analysis and Branded Campaigns

Stay ahead by understanding your competition and protecting your brand:

Example:

A software firm noticed a competitor outbidding them on their branded keywords. They increased bids and adjusted ad copy to highlight unique features, reclaiming impression share.

8. Custom Bidding Strategies

Test automated and manual bidding to optimize your campaigns:

Get in touch: 01245 206456

Eliminate Wasted Ad Spend

Discover what elements of your campaign are utilising your budget and not delivering results such as poor keyword match types or low ad relevance. By identifying and optimising these areas, you are ensuring that your budget is going to the best-performing elements of your PPC campaigns, giving you a higher return for your ad spend and reducing wasted spend.

Uncover Opportunities

Identify opportunities to optimise specific areas of your Google Ads account, this could be from segmenting a campaign into ad groups for more granular targeting to improving your search ads. It is imperative to review each area of the account to improve Google Ads performance.

Campaign Structure & Setup

Are your campaigns setup to meet your objectives? We'll look in detail at every aspect of your campaign structure and configuration, no stone unturned! We'll detail aspects of your campaign configuration that can be improved. Any misconfiguration in Google Ads will reflect in wasted ad spend.

Comprehensive Report

Once we've completed the audit of your Google Ads campaigns, we'll present this in an easy to understand report, whereby we use a traffic light system to show you areas that require immediate attention, and those that are working well for you. For a quick snapshot of how your Google Ads are performing, we provide an overall score out of 100. Additionally, we're always on hand to have a call or Google Meet to walk you through the audit.

What is a Google Ads Audit?

A Google Ads audit is an in-depth evaluation of your Google Ads campaigns. During a Google Ads review, we will delve into specific sections of your campaign including the ad groups, ad copy, conversion tracking and areas of Google Ads that you didn't even know that existed.

Why Perform A Google Ads Audit?

Advertisers can often find themselves looking at a Google Ads campaign with tunnel vision, especially if they have been running it for a while. This can lead to misconfigurations being overlooked and a lack of regular optimisation. Fortunately, having a Google Ads account audit can identify opportunities for improvement and provide actionable solutions.

If you feel like you should be getting more from your Google Ads or your current Google Ads manager isn't reporting frequently, then this is a prime opportunity to have another pair of eyes verify the configuration and performance of your campaign.

To effectively complete a PPC audit, it is important to dissect the campaign and review specific sections in detail, including but not limited to the ad groups, ad copy, landing pages and conversion tracking. Uncover the truth with a Google Ads audit and learn how to optimise your PPC campaigns to maximise your results.

Get in touch: 01245 206456

Frequently Asked Questions

  • It's advisable to conduct a thorough audit at least every quarter or whenever you notice performance dips.

  • Branded campaigns focus on keywords directly related to your business name, while non-branded campaigns target broader industry terms.

  • Automated bidding can save time and optimise results but isn’t suitable for all campaigns. It is best practise to test a smart bidding strategy before switching to it.

  • High impressions and low clicks or conversions are red flags. Monitor your Quality Score and conversion rates to spot inefficiencies. If your ad spend is high and you're not receiving enough leads or sales to meet your objectives, this is often a sign of wasted ad spend.

  • Serious consideration needs to be taken when deciding whether to apply a Google recommendation or not. Whilst some recommendations are perfectly valid and will indeed improve your campaign performance, there are some that will be detrimental. The general opinion from our PPC managers is that any inbound call from Google, whereby they're offering an optimisation or strategy call should be avoided, due to the low quality of recommendations and lack of accountability thereafter.

  • Your Google Ads Customer ID is in the top right when logged into Google Ads. It's a 10 digit number seperated by dashes such as xxx-xxx-xxxx.

  • Firstly login to your Google Ads account at www.google.co.uk/ads. On the left hand menu bar, hover over admin - on the flyout menu select Access and Security. On the next page select the Managers tab. From here you'll be able to accept or deline a Google Ads link request.

Google Ads Audit

Our free Google Ads Audit includes checks to ensure your Google Ads are performing at their best.  Our detailed PPC review will focus on areas of improvement, identify where wastage is occurring and provide detailed information about campaign structure, configuration, conversion tracking, keyword usage, ad texts, bid adjustments and more!

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