The 47-Point Google Ads Audit Checklist (We Use This Every Month)

Every Google Ads account needs a regular audit. Not a cursory glance at ROAS — a systematic, thorough review of every lever that affects performance.

We audit every client account monthly using this 47-point checklist. We are sharing it because most advertisers have never done a proper audit, and the improvements from even a basic pass through this list can be dramatic.

Section 1: Account Structure (8 Points)

1. Campaign naming convention — Are campaigns named consistently? You should be able to identify the network, target market, and objective from the campaign name alone. Example: Search | EU | Brand | EN

2. Campaign count — Are there too many campaigns diluting budget? Or too few, lumping unrelated products together? Rule of thumb: each campaign should have a distinct budget allocation reason.

3. Ad group granularity — Do ad groups contain tightly themed keywords (5-15 per group) or are they catch-alls with 50+ keywords?

4. Match type isolation — Are exact, phrase, and broad match separated or at least intentionally structured? Alpha-beta structure is ideal.

5. Negative keyword lists — Do shared negative keyword lists exist? Are they properly applied to relevant campaigns?

6. Network settings — Are Search campaigns opted out of Display Network? (They should be, in almost all cases.)

7. Location targeting — Is “Presence” selected, not “Presence or interest”? This is a critical default that wastes budget.

8. Language targeting — Does it match your actual target audience? Restricting to specific languages can eliminate irrelevant traffic.

Section 2: Keywords (10 Points)

9. Search term report review — Have you reviewed actual search terms in the last 30 days? Add negatives for irrelevant queries.

10. Keyword Quality Scores — What percentage of keywords have Quality Score ≥ 7? Flag anything below 5.

11. Wasted spend keywords — Which keywords have spent more than 2x your target CPA without converting? Pause or restrict them.

12. Keyword bid alignment — Are bids reflecting keyword value? High-converting keywords should have higher bids than exploratory ones.

13. Duplicate keywords — Are the same keywords appearing across multiple campaigns or ad groups, competing against themselves?

14. Keyword match type distribution — What is the balance between exact, phrase, and broad? Heavily broad-match accounts waste budget.

15. Long-tail coverage — Are you capturing specific, high-intent long-tail queries or only competing on expensive head terms?

16. Negative keyword gaps — Run the search term report for the full audit period. Are there recurring irrelevant queries that need negatives?

17. Keyword–ad group alignment — Does each keyword naturally fit the ad copy in its ad group? If not, restructure.

18. Performance by match type — Compare CPA and conversion rates across match types. Are broader match types profitable or just inflating clicks?

Section 3: Ad Copy (8 Points)

19. RSA ad strength — Is every active RSA rated “Good” or “Excellent”? Below “Good” indicates room for improvement.

20. Headline relevance — Does Headline 1 include or closely match the ad group’s primary keyword?

21. Unique value propositions — Do headlines contain specific, differentiated claims? Numbers, percentages, and proof points outperform generic statements.

22. CTA presence — Does every ad have a clear call to action in the headlines or descriptions?

23. Ad per ad group — Are there at least 2 RSAs per ad group? One is not enough for testing.

24. Pinned headlines — If headlines are pinned, is it intentional and based on test data?

25. Display URL usage — Are display URL paths used to reinforce relevance? /google-ads/management is better than bare domain.

26. Ad extension coverage — Sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, call extensions, price extensions — are all applicable extensions active?

Section 4: Bidding & Budget (7 Points)

27. Bid strategy alignment — Is the bid strategy appropriate for the campaign objective? tCPA for conversions, tROAS for revenue, manual CPC for control.

28. Budget sufficiency — Are campaigns limited by budget? If daily budget is hit before 3 PM, you are missing afternoon conversions.

29. Impression share — What is Search Impression Share? Lost IS (budget) and Lost IS (rank) tell you whether to increase budget or improve Quality Score.

30. CPA targets — Are tCPA targets realistic based on historical data? Setting targets too aggressively causes the algorithm to stop serving ads.

31. Portfolio vs. standard bidding — Should related campaigns share a portfolio bid strategy?

32. Bid adjustments — Device, location, time-of-day, audience adjustments — are they set based on performance data?

33. Budget allocation — Is budget weighted toward the highest-performing campaigns? Or is it spread evenly regardless of results?

Section 5: Tracking & Attribution (7 Points)

34. Conversion tracking accuracy — Fire a test conversion. Does it appear in Google Ads within 24 hours? Does the value match?

35. Attribution model — Which attribution model is active? Data-driven is recommended if sufficient conversion volume exists.

36. Conversion counting — “One” for leads, “Every” for purchases. Is this set correctly?

37. GA4 alignment — Do Google Ads conversion numbers roughly align with GA4? Discrepancies above 20% indicate tracking issues.

38. Enhanced conversions — Is Enhanced Conversions enabled and sending first-party data for better attribution?

39. Offline conversion imports — For lead gen: are CRM conversions (SQLs, closed deals) being imported back to Google Ads?

40. Conversion window — Is the conversion window appropriate for your sales cycle? 30 days for ecommerce, 90 days for B2B.

Section 6: Landing Pages (7 Points)

41. Message match — Does the landing page headline match the ad that links to it? Users should feel zero friction.

42. Page speed — Is the landing page loading in under 3 seconds on mobile? Use PageSpeed Insights to check.

43. Mobile experience — Is the page fully responsive? Are CTAs thumb-friendly? Can forms be completed on mobile without pain?

44. Conversion action clarity — Is there one clear, visible CTA above the fold?

45. Landing page per ad group — Do different ad groups link to relevant, specific pages? Or does everything go to the homepage?

46. Trust elements — Are testimonials, reviews, logos, or certifications visible on the landing page?

47. Form functionality — Does the form actually work? Submit a test lead and verify it arrives in your CRM.

How to Use This Checklist

1. Schedule it monthly — block 2-3 hours for the audit
2. Score each point — Pass, Partial, or Fail
3. Prioritize fixes by impact — tracking issues first, then keywords, then ads, then structure
4. Document changes — keep a changelog so you can correlate improvements with specific fixes
5. Track scores over time — your audit score should improve month over month

No Google Ads account is perfect. But a systematic audit reveals the specific leaks that are costing you money — and gives you a clear roadmap to fix them.