How to audit a Google Ads account
Symptom: You inherited or suspect an underperforming account and need a structured review
A good audit follows a fixed order: verify the measurement is true before judging anything the account reports, then work through structure, bidding, waste, and reconciliation. This workflow walks the sequence iClick uses so an audit surfaces the real problems rather than reacting to numbers that may be wrong in the first place.
A 47-point written audit of your Google, Meta or Shopping account, back in five business days.
Get your auditBook a call- Google Ads access, ideally admin, on the account
- Access to the conversion source of truth: backend, Shopify, or CRM
- GA4 or analytics access for reconciliation
- A recent date range with representative spend
- 1
Verify the measurement first
Before judging any metric, confirm conversion tracking is honest. Check that conversion actions are set up correctly, that there is no double-counting, that Enhanced Conversions is recording, and that reported conversions reconcile against the backend.
Everything downstream depends on this, because auditing bidding on false conversion data leads to confidently wrong conclusions.
- 2
Reconcile reported ROAS against revenue
Compare Google Ads reported conversions and value against the source of truth over the same window. A large gap points to over-attribution, often PMax counting branded and view-through conversions, or to lost client-side signal.
Document the gap, because it reframes how much you can trust the account's own numbers.
- 3
Assess account structure
Review campaign and ad-group structure for clarity: is brand separated from non-brand, is PMax cannibalizing Search, are match types and negatives sensible, and are asset groups tiered by margin where relevant.
Structure problems are frequently the root cause of symptoms that look like bidding issues.
- 4
Review bidding and targets
Check that bid strategies fit each campaign's stage and data volume, and that any target ROAS or CPA is grounded in real margin rather than a round number. Look for Maximize Conversion Value campaigns with no target and oversized budgets.
Confirm the targets describe the business, not Google's default recommendations.
- 5
Hunt for waste
Mine the search-term report for irrelevant queries, review negative-keyword coverage, check for disapprovals silently killing products, and look for budget going to converting-poorly segments.
Waste is usually concentrated: a handful of queries, placements, or products often accounts for most of it.
- 6
Prioritize and document
Turn findings into a prioritized list ordered by impact and effort. Measurement fixes usually come first because they unlock trustworthy decisions, followed by high-impact structural and waste fixes.
A good audit ends with a sequenced plan, not a list of everything wrong. Once the fix list is worked through, optimizing a PPC campaign becomes an ongoing cadence rather than a one-time project.
- Judging bidding and structure before confirming the conversion data is honest
- Skipping reconciliation, so over-attribution goes undetected
- Treating symptoms, like high CPA, without finding the structural root cause
- Producing an unprioritized list nobody can act on
- Auditing a date range too short or unrepresentative to be reliable
Common questions
Want this checked on your own account?
A 47-point written audit of your Google, Meta, or Shopping account. Five business days, no sales call.
