A Google Ads account audit is a systematic review of campaign structure, keyword strategy, bid management, ad creative, landing pages, conversion tracking, and reporting to identify waste, underperformance, and opportunities. A comprehensive audit reviews: account structure and naming conventions, keyword match types and negative keywords, ad copy testing and Quality Scores, bidding strategy and target alignment, audience segmentation, conversion tracking accuracy, landing page relevance and quality, and budget allocation across campaigns. Most audited accounts reveal 20-40% wasted spend that can be redirected to better-performing areas.
PPC audits are essential at regular intervals — many Google Ads accounts drift toward inefficiency over time as markets change, Google adjusts defaults, and campaigns accumulate historical baggage. New accounts benefit from a 30-day post-launch audit to identify early optimisation opportunities. Established accounts should be audited quarterly. Accounts that have experienced significant performance changes (sudden drop in conversions, budget exhaustion, CTR decline) warrant immediate audit.
Google Ads audit checklist
- 1. Conversion tracking — verify all conversion actions are firing correctly; identify duplicate conversions inflating reported performance
- 2. Campaign structure — check logical grouping of keywords; identify ad groups with mixed themes
- 3. Keyword analysis — review search term reports for wasted spend; identify missing negative keywords
- 4. Match type review — assess whether broad match keywords are generating relevant traffic
- 5. Ad copy review — check for ad variants; assess Quality Score by ad group; review headline and description testing
- 6. Bidding strategy — verify Smart Bidding targets align with CPA goals; check for learning mode limitations
- 7. Audience review — verify remarketing lists are populating; check audience bid adjustments are data-driven
- 8. Budget review — check impression share lost to budget vs rank; assess budget allocation across campaigns
- 9. Landing page assessment — verify URL destinations are correct and landing pages load fast and convert
- 10. Reporting setup — ensure campaigns are tracked in GA4 and attribution is configured correctly
A professional Google Ads audit from a specialist agency typically costs £500 to £2,000 for a thorough review with actionable recommendations. Some agencies offer free audits as a lead generation tool, though these are often higher-level and less actionable than paid engagements. The ROI from a proper audit is typically very high — identifying 20% budget waste on a £5,000/month account generates £12,000/year in savings or reinvestable efficiency gains. For large accounts (£20,000+/month), even modest percentage improvements justify significant audit investment.
A thorough Google Ads audit of a moderate-sized account (£2,000-£10,000/month, 5-20 campaigns) typically takes eight to sixteen hours for an experienced PPC specialist. This includes account review, data analysis, benchmark comparison, and recommendations documentation. The audit output — a detailed report with prioritised recommendations — should include specific actionable items with estimated impact, not just observations. Large enterprise accounts with dozens of campaigns may require two to four days of audit work.