The Google Ads Audit Checklist: 47 Points We Check on Every Account

A Google Ads audit checklist is only as useful as the discipline behind it. The accounts we have rescued over the years follow the same pattern — the issue was rarely a single broken setting, it was 5 to 10 small misalignments compounding into wasted spend.

This is the 47-point Google Ads audit checklist we run on every new client account, in the exact order we apply it. You can run this on your own account in 90 minutes. By the end you will know precisely which levers to pull first to lower cost per lead and lift conversion volume.

The checklist is grouped into seven sections — tracking, account structure, keywords, bidding, ads, landing pages, and budget. Work through them in order. Out-of-order optimisation wastes weeks.

Section 1 — Conversion tracking (7 points)

If tracking is broken, nothing else matters. Smart Bidding optimises on whatever signal you send it. Send the wrong signal and you scale the wrong outcome.

1. Are conversions firing for every real conversion event?

Open Google Tag Assistant or GA4 DebugView. Fire a test form submission, purchase, or call. Confirm the conversion appears in Google Ads within 24 hours.

2. Are conversions firing more than once per real event?

Submit a form, then refresh the thank-you page 3 times. Did 1 conversion register, or 4? Duplicates inflate volume and mislead Smart Bidding.

3. Are Enhanced Conversions enabled?

In the Conversions section, every primary conversion should have Enhanced Conversions turned on with hashed first-party data (email, phone, address). This recovers 5 to 15 percent of conversions lost to cookie restrictions.

4. Do Google Ads and GA4 agree on conversion counts?

Pull last 30 days. Google Ads conversions should be within 5 percent of GA4 key events. A bigger gap means tracking is misconfigured somewhere.

5. Are offline conversions imported for lead-gen?

If you sell something that closes days or weeks after the lead, you must send the closed-deal signal back to Google. Without it, the algorithm optimises on form fills, not revenue.

6. Is each conversion action set to "Primary" or "Secondary" correctly?

Smart Bidding only optimises on Primary conversions. Misclassifying a secondary action as primary leads to bidding on the wrong outcome.

7. Is the attribution model data-driven?

Last-click attribution undervalues upper-funnel touches. Switch to data-driven attribution unless your account has under 300 conversions per month. We covered the full tracking setup in our conversion tracking guide.

Section 2 — Account structure (6 points)

Bad structure leaks budget. Good structure makes every other lever work harder.

8. Are brand and non-brand campaigns separated?

Brand traffic converts at high rates and skews data. Always separate brand campaigns from non-brand acquisition campaigns.

9. Are campaigns segmented by intent stage?

Top-of-funnel awareness should not share a campaign with bottom-of-funnel commercial intent. Different bids, different goals, different budgets.

10. Are ad groups tightly themed?

Each ad group should contain 5 to 15 closely related keywords. Mixing "emergency plumber" and "bathroom installation" in one ad group dilutes ad relevance.

11. Are campaigns separated by geography where needed?

If you serve multiple regions with different competition or pricing, separate them. One campaign cannot bid efficiently across vastly different markets.

12. Are device-level bid adjustments used appropriately?

If desktop converts 3x better than mobile but they share a campaign, you need bid adjustments. With Smart Bidding, the algorithm handles this automatically — but you should verify the historical pattern.

13. Is Performance Max sitting alongside Search, not replacing it?

Performance Max for breadth, Search for depth. Most accounts we audit lost search visibility by shifting all budget into Performance Max. We covered this in our Performance Max best practices guide.

Section 3 — Keywords and search terms (8 points)

This is where 20 to 40 percent of spend leaks in most accounts.

14. What percent of spend went to queries with zero conversions in the last 30 days?

Pull the search terms report. Sort by spend. Calculate the total spend on queries that did not convert. Anything above 20 percent is a leak.

15. Are negative keyword lists applied?

Every account needs at least three shared negative lists — intent negatives, competitor brands, and geographic exclusions. We covered the structure in our negative keywords strategy guide.

16. Are match types appropriate for the campaign goal?

Broad match without aggressive negatives is the fastest way to waste budget. If your negatives lists are thin, use phrase or exact match.

17. Are duplicate keywords across ad groups removed?

Duplicate keywords compete against each other in the auction, inflating CPC. Use Google Ads Editor to identify duplicates.

18. Are low-performing keywords paused?

Any keyword that has spent more than 5x your target CPA with zero conversions should be paused. Do not optimise dead keywords.

19. Are high-performing keywords getting enough impression share?

If your impression share lost to budget is above 20 percent on high-converting keywords, you are leaving conversions on the table. Raise budget or bid.

20. Are keyword themes mapped to landing pages?

Each ad group's keywords should map to a landing page that addresses those queries. Mismatches kill conversion rate.

21. Are search themes in Performance Max specific?

Generic themes like "marketing services" waste signal. Specific themes like "Google Ads management for plumbers Lyon" give the algorithm clear intent.

Section 4 — Bidding strategy (5 points)

The wrong bidding strategy can double cost per lead overnight.

22. Is the bidding strategy matched to the conversion volume?

Under 30 conversions per month: Maximise Conversions. 30 to 50: Maximise Conversions or early Target CPA. 50+: Target CPA at 95 to 100 percent of historical average. We documented the full decision tree in our Smart Bidding strategies guide.

23. Are Target CPA or Target ROAS settings realistic?

Aggressive targets starve campaigns of impressions. Start conservative (110 percent of historical CPA or 80 percent of historical ROAS) and tighten gradually.

24. Is the daily budget at least 2x the target CPA?

A daily budget too tight relative to CPA prevents the algorithm from finding conversions. Aim for 5x CPA for new campaigns, 2x minimum for steady-state.

25. Have bid adjustments been removed where Smart Bidding handles them?

Manual device, location, and audience bid modifiers conflict with Smart Bidding. Remove them or set to 0 percent unless you have a specific reason.

26. Are search campaigns and Performance Max not double-bidding the same queries?

Without negatives or campaign exclusions, both can compete on the same auction, inflating CPC. Add brand and high-intent terms as negatives in Performance Max.

Section 5 — Ads and Quality Score (6 points)

The slow-compounding lever that lowers CPC at constant conversion rate.

27. Are there at least 3 active ads per ad group?

Single-ad ad groups waste the optimisation opportunity. Google rotates between ads and learns what works.

28. Do responsive search ads have 12+ headlines?

The algorithm tests combinations. More variety means better learning. Cover pain point, benefit, social proof, urgency, and location angles.

29. Do ad headlines include the keyword?

At least 2 of the 12 headlines should mention the keyword. This lifts ad relevance and Quality Score.

30. Are ad extensions in place?

Sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and call extensions should all be active. They improve ad real estate and CTR.

31. Is the average Quality Score above 6?

Pull the keyword Quality Score column. Average should be 6 or above. Lower means relevance or landing page problems. We covered the mechanics in our Quality Score playbook.

32. Are pinned headlines used sparingly?

Pinning all headlines blocks responsive ad optimisation. Pin at most one headline (the offer or compliance requirement) and let the rest rotate.

Section 6 — Landing pages (8 points)

The biggest single lever in most accounts.

33. Does each ad group send traffic to a relevant landing page?

Sending all clicks to the homepage is the most common landing page mistake. Match landing page to ad group intent.

34. Is the page load time under 2.5 seconds on mobile?

Pull the page through PageSpeed Insights. Largest Contentful Paint over 2.5 seconds drops conversion rate. We covered this in detail in our web performance and Google Ads ROI guide.

35. Is the form visible on first scroll on mobile?

Hidden forms convert at half the rate of visible forms. Test on a real mobile device, not a desktop emulator.

36. Is the form length appropriate?

Three fields convert better than seven for cold traffic. Lead-gen forms should ask for name, email, and one qualifier — phone, company, or budget.

37. Is there proof above the fold?

Real social proof — named testimonials, client logos, case study numbers — lifts conversion rate by 10 to 30 percent.

38. Does the landing page match the ad promise?

If the ad says "free 14-day trial" the landing page must lead with that offer. Mismatches cause bounces.

39. Is there a clear single call to action?

Multiple competing CTAs reduce conversion. One primary CTA per landing page.

40. Are tracking tags installed correctly on every landing page?

Every landing page must have the Google Ads tag, GA4 tag, and conversion tracking. Missing tags break attribution.

Section 7 — Budget and pacing (4 points)

The final layer where small misalignments compound.

41. Is the budget pacing healthy?

Daily spend should hit between 80 and 120 percent of daily budget consistently. Wild swings indicate budget or bid issues.

42. Are shared budgets used where appropriate?

If multiple campaigns target overlapping audiences, shared budgets prevent one campaign from starving another.

43. Is the monthly budget projected against target conversions?

Calculate: monthly budget divided by target CPA equals projected monthly conversions. If this projection is below business needs, either increase budget or improve unit economics.

44. Are seasonality adjustments planned?

If your business has predictable peaks (back-to-school, end-of-year, summer slowdown), set up seasonality adjustments in Smart Bidding 7 to 14 days ahead.

Section 8 — Account governance (3 points)

Often overlooked, occasionally critical.

45. Who has admin access?

Run an Admin access audit. Remove any former agency, contractor, or employee who no longer needs access.

46. Is automated rules and scripts inventory clean?

Document any automated rules and scripts. Many accounts we audit have orphaned scripts from years ago still affecting bids.

47. Is change history reviewed weekly?

The Change History tab tells you who changed what and when. A weekly review catches accidental settings changes before they compound.

How to score the audit

Count how many of the 47 points you pass. Most accounts we audit pass 18 to 28 points. Top accounts pass 40+.

Each missed point is a leak. Some leaks are bigger than others. The order in this checklist roughly matches the size of the leak — tracking first, account structure second, keywords third. Fix in that order.

A 14-day plan to fix the worst leaks

Run the audit. Then attack the gaps in this order.

Days 1 to 3 — Fix tracking. Verify every conversion event. Enable Enhanced Conversions. Confirm Google Ads and GA4 agree.

Days 4 to 7 — Fix account structure. Separate brand and non-brand. Tighten ad groups. Apply shared negative lists.

Days 8 to 11 — Audit keywords. Pull search terms report. Add 50 to 150 negatives. Pause dead keywords.

Days 12 to 14 — Rewrite landing pages. Match landing page to ad group intent. Reduce form fields. Add real proof.

After 14 days, re-run the audit. Most accounts move from 22 of 47 to 38 of 47 in two weeks. The metrics catch up over the next 30 days.

Common audit findings on accounts under €10K monthly spend

These are the patterns we see most often on smaller accounts.

• Conversions not firing or firing duplicates (60 percent of accounts)
• Single ad group catching dozens of unrelated queries (50 percent)
• No negative keyword lists (45 percent)
• Homepage as the only landing page (40 percent)
• Smart Bidding with aggressive target on day one (30 percent)
• Performance Max replacing Search instead of complementing it (25 percent)

If any of these match your account, fix that first.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Google Ads audit take?

A thorough audit takes 90 to 180 minutes on a typical SMB account. Larger accounts (10+ campaigns, €30K+ monthly spend) can take 4 to 6 hours.

How often should I audit my Google Ads account?

Full audit twice a year. Mini-audits (tracking + search terms + Quality Score) monthly. Daily monitoring on conversions and spend pacing.

Can I audit my own account without expert help?

The first time, it helps to have an expert walk through with you to calibrate severity. After that, this 47-point checklist gives you a self-audit framework.

What is the most common audit finding?

Conversion tracking issues. Most accounts have at least one tracking gap — duplicates, missing events, or misclassified conversions.

Should I trust an audit from the same agency that manages my account?

A self-audit from your current manager carries inherent bias. Independent audits surface issues a managing agency might miss or downplay.

How fast can a properly-audited account see results?

Tracking fixes show within 1 to 2 weeks. Structure and keyword fixes show within 3 to 6 weeks. Quality Score lifts compound over 8 to 12 weeks.

Get a free 47-point audit

We run this exact audit on accounts spending €2K to €50K monthly, free of charge. Within 48 hours, you get a scored breakdown of all 47 points and a prioritised action plan ranked by expected impact on cost per lead.

Book a free 30-minute audit. We screen-share, walk through your account, and you leave the call with a clear list of what to fix first.

Or explore our Google Ads service for the full system we run on managed accounts.