How to Conduct a PPC Audit

How to Conduct a PPC Audit

A comprehensive PPC audit is not merely a cursory glance at performance metrics; it is a deep, systematic excavation of an account’s strengths, weaknesses, and untapped potential. It serves as the cornerstone for strategic optimization, ensuring that every dollar of ad spend is maximized for desired outcomes. This meticulous process requires a holistic approach, delving into every facet of a paid search campaign, from its foundational structure to the most granular bid adjustments. The goal is to identify inefficiencies, capitalize on opportunities, and build a robust roadmap for sustainable growth and improved return on investment (ROI). Undertaking a PPC audit is an essential proactive measure, safeguarding against wasted spend, identifying competitive advantages, and aligning advertising efforts with overarching business objectives. It offers a crucial vantage point, allowing marketers to step back from day-to-day management and assess the broader strategic implications of their account’s setup and performance. Without a rigorous audit, accounts can stagnate, accumulate hidden costs, and miss out on critical market shifts, ultimately eroding profitability.

Phase 1: Initial Setup and Account Structure Review

The foundation of any successful PPC campaign lies in its architectural integrity. A structurally sound account facilitates efficient management, precise targeting, and accurate performance measurement. The initial phase of a PPC audit must therefore begin with a thorough examination of the account’s very skeleton.

1. Account Access and Tools Validation:
Ensure full administrative access to the primary ad platform (e.g., Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising) and any integrated analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics). Verify that all necessary tracking codes, pixels, and scripts are correctly installed and firing. This includes conversion tracking, remarketing tags, and third-party measurement tools. Confirm the proper linking between Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts, ensuring auto-tagging is enabled for seamless data flow. Check for any account-level issues, such as billing problems, policy violations, or suspended statuses, which can severely impede campaign performance. Confirm that the timezone and currency settings match the client’s operations and reporting needs.

2. Understanding Account Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
Before analyzing any data, it’s paramount to understand the overarching business objectives. Are campaigns aimed at generating leads, driving e-commerce sales, increasing brand awareness, or maximizing app downloads? Each goal dictates different KPIs. For lead generation, Conversion Rate, Cost Per Conversion (CPA), and Lead Quality are critical. For e-commerce, Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Average Order Value (AOV), and Transaction Volume are key. Brand awareness campaigns might focus on Impressions, Reach, and Engagements. Clearly defining these KPIs provides the lens through which all subsequent data analysis will be filtered, allowing for a focused and relevant audit. Document existing KPIs, assess their appropriateness given the stated business goals, and note any discrepancies.

3. Historical Performance Trends and Seasonality:
Examine historical data for at least 12-24 months, if available. This provides crucial context for current performance. Identify trends in clicks, impressions, cost, conversions, and CPA/ROAS. Look for significant fluctuations, drops, or spikes and investigate their potential causes (e.g., budget changes, competitive activity, seasonality, algorithm updates). Understand the seasonality of the business and how it impacts campaign performance throughout the year. Are there specific peak periods or troughs? This insight helps in evaluating whether current performance aligns with historical patterns and sets realistic expectations for future optimization. Utilize comparison periods to benchmark current results against previous periods (e.g., year-over-year, month-over-month).

4. Campaign Structure and Naming Conventions:
A well-organized campaign structure is vital. Campaigns should ideally be organized logically, perhaps by product category, service type, geographic region, brand vs. non-brand, or match type strategy. Assess if the current structure facilitates efficient budget allocation, targeting, and reporting. Check for over-segmentation (too many campaigns/ad groups with similar keywords) or under-segmentation (too few ad groups, leading to less relevant ad copy). Evaluate the naming conventions – are they consistent, descriptive, and easy to understand at a glance? Inconsistent or unclear naming can lead to management errors and reporting confusion. A clear structure streamlines management, makes it easier to implement granular optimizations, and helps in quickly identifying performance bottlenecks.

5. Ad Group Granularity and Thematic Cohesion:
Within each campaign, ad groups should contain a highly relevant set of keywords and corresponding ad copy and landing pages. This principle of “tightly themed ad groups” (SKAGs – Single Keyword Ad Groups, or STAGs – Single Theme Ad Groups) is crucial for maximizing Quality Score. Assess if ad groups are too broad, containing disparate keywords that dilute ad relevance. Each ad group should focus on a narrow set of keywords that share a very similar intent and are served by highly specific ad copy and a relevant landing page. A lack of thematic cohesion within ad groups often results in lower Quality Scores, higher CPCs, and reduced conversion rates. Evaluate the average number of keywords per ad group and the diversity of those keywords.

6. Budget Allocation and Pacing:
Analyze how budgets are allocated across campaigns. Is the allocation aligned with business priorities and performance? Are high-performing campaigns consistently hitting budget caps, potentially limiting their reach and conversion volume? Are underperforming campaigns consuming significant budget without adequate returns? Review daily budget pacing – are campaigns spending evenly throughout the day, or are they front-loading/back-loading due to aggressive bid strategies or limited budgets? Evaluate shared budgets if they are in use, ensuring they don’t inadvertently starve specific campaigns of necessary funds. Assess whether the current budget allocation supports the desired impression share and market penetration. Identify any instances where budgets are too restrictive, hindering scaling opportunities, or conversely, too generous for underperforming areas.

Phase 2: Keyword and Search Query Analysis

Keywords are the bridge between user intent and your advertising message. A deep dive into keyword performance and the underlying search queries is critical for understanding audience needs and optimizing ad delivery.

1. Keyword Performance Metrics:
For each active keyword, analyze key metrics:

• Impressions: Are keywords generating sufficient visibility?
• Clicks & Click-Through Rate (CTR): Are ads compelling enough to attract clicks? Low CTR can indicate poor ad relevance or weak ad copy.
• Cost & Cost-Per-Click (CPC): Are clicks being acquired at a reasonable cost? High CPCs might signal intense competition, low Quality Score, or aggressive bidding.
• Conversions & Conversion Rate (CVR): Are clicks translating into desired actions? Low CVR despite good CTR might point to landing page issues or misaligned intent.
• Cost Per Conversion (CPA) / Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Are conversions profitable? This is the ultimate measure of keyword effectiveness.

Segment this data by device, network, and time to uncover hidden patterns. Identify keywords that are performing well and those that are underperforming. Pinpoint keywords with high spend but low conversions, or high conversions but unsustainable CPAs.

2. Search Query Report (SQR) Analysis – The Goldmine:
The SQR is arguably the most valuable tool for keyword optimization. It reveals the actual search terms users entered that triggered your ads.

• Negative Keyword Opportunities: Identify irrelevant or low-intent search terms that are consuming budget without converting. Add these as negative keywords at the ad group, campaign, or account level to prevent future wasted spend. Categorize negatives by intent (e.g., informational, comparative, competitor, unrelated).
• New Keyword Opportunities: Discover high-performing search terms that are not yet explicitly added as keywords. Add these as exact or phrase match keywords to gain more control over bidding and ad copy relevance.
• Match Type Effectiveness: Assess how different match types (broad, phrase, exact) are performing. Are broad match keywords generating too many irrelevant queries? Are exact match keywords missing out on valuable close variants? This analysis guides adjustments to keyword match type strategies. Evaluate the proportion of spend allocated to each match type and its corresponding conversion performance.
• Misspellings and Synonyms: Look for common misspellings or synonyms that are triggering ads. Determine if these should be added as exact match keywords or managed through broad/phrase match.

3. Keyword Gaps and Redundancy:

• Keyword Gaps: Are there essential keywords or keyword themes that are missing from the account? Use competitor analysis and keyword research tools to identify these opportunities. Consider long-tail keywords which often have lower competition and higher intent.
• Keyword Redundancy: Are the same keywords present in multiple ad groups or campaigns, potentially leading to internal competition and inflated CPCs? Consolidate or restructure to avoid cannibalization. This often occurs when multiple match types of the same keyword are placed in different ad groups without clear intent separation.

4. Quality Score Deep Dive (Keyword-Level):
While Quality Score is an account-wide metric, it’s particularly important to examine it at the individual keyword level. Analyze the three components:

• Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR): How likely is your ad to be clicked when shown for that keyword, relative to competitors?
• Ad Relevance: How closely do your keywords match your ad copy?
• Landing Page Experience: How relevant, transparent, and easy to navigate is your landing page for users clicking on that keyword?
  Low Quality Scores directly impact CPCs and ad position. Identify keywords with low Quality Scores and prioritize them for optimization. This involves improving ad copy relevance, refining landing pages, and potentially restructuring ad groups.

5. Negative Keyword Lists and Shared Libraries:
Check the comprehensiveness of negative keyword lists. Are there account-level negative lists preventing broad irrelevant queries? Are there specific ad group or campaign-level negatives addressing nuances? Utilize shared negative keyword lists to apply common irrelevant terms across multiple campaigns efficiently. Ensure that these lists are regularly updated and reviewed based on ongoing SQR analysis.

Phase 3: Ad Copy and Creative Analysis

Ad copy is your direct communication with potential customers. It must be compelling, relevant, and persuasive to drive clicks and conversions. This phase scrutinizes the effectiveness of your creative assets.

1. Ad Group Relevancy and Ad Strength:
Ensure that ad copy within each ad group is highly relevant to the keywords it targets. Generic ads reduce CTR and Quality Score. For Responsive Search Ads (RSAs), analyze the “Ad strength” rating provided by Google Ads. This rating assesses the quantity and diversity of headlines and descriptions, as well as the unique nature of the ad copy. A “Good” or “Excellent” ad strength indicates a broader range of ad variations that can be served, improving performance. Maximize the number of headlines (up to 15) and descriptions (up to 4) provided for RSAs to give the system more options to test.

2. Ad Performance Metrics (CTR, Conversion Rate, Quality Score Impact):
Analyze the performance of individual ads and ad variations.

• CTR: High CTR indicates that the ad copy is compelling and relevant to the search query. Low CTR signals a need for headline/description improvements, stronger calls-to-action, or better alignment with keyword intent.
• Conversion Rate: Do clicks on specific ads lead to conversions more effectively than others? An ad might have a high CTR but low CVR if it attracts irrelevant clicks or over-promises.
• Quality Score: Ad copy directly influences the “Ad Relevance” component of Quality Score. Ensure keywords are integrated naturally into headlines and descriptions.
• Top Performing Ads: Identify the best-performing ads based on conversions, CPA, or ROAS. Pause underperforming ads and use insights from top performers to create new variations.

3. Ad Extensions – Maximizing Real Estate and Value:
Ad extensions are crucial for increasing ad visibility, providing additional information, and improving CTR. Audit the implementation and performance of all relevant ad extensions:

• Sitelink Extensions: Are they relevant, descriptive, and linked to appropriate landing pages? Are they driving clicks and conversions?
• Callout Extensions: Do they highlight unique selling propositions (USPs) or key benefits?
• Structured Snippet Extensions: Are they effectively showcasing categories of products/services?
• Call Extensions: Is a valid phone number displayed and conversion tracking set up for calls?
• Lead Form Extensions: Are these configured correctly and integrated with CRM if applicable?
• Price Extensions: Are they displaying competitive pricing for relevant products/services?
• Promotion Extensions: Are they used strategically during sales or promotional periods?
• Image Extensions: Are high-quality, relevant images being used to enhance visual appeal?
• Location Extensions: Are they linked to Google My Business and accurate for local businesses?
• Ensure a comprehensive mix of extensions is utilized to maximize ad real estate and provide diverse information to users. Analyze the performance of each extension type to identify those that contribute most to engagement and conversions.

4. Dynamic Ad Elements and Customizers:
If dynamic features are used (e.g., Dynamic Keyword Insertion, Ad Customizers, Countdown Customizers), audit their implementation.

• Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI): Is it used appropriately to make ads more relevant without creating awkward or grammatically incorrect phrases?
• Ad Customizers: Are feeds correctly set up and data accurate for elements like prices, promotions, or stock levels? Ensure they are updating correctly and providing relevant, real-time information.
• Business Data Feeds: If feeds are used for ad customizers or other dynamic elements, verify their accuracy, freshness, and proper formatting.

5. A/B Testing Methodologies and Insights:
Review past and ongoing A/B tests on ad copy.

• Are tests set up correctly with a control and variation?
• Is there sufficient data to draw statistically significant conclusions?
• Are insights from completed tests being applied to improve new ad copy?
• Are new test ideas being generated based on performance analysis?
• Ensure that testing focuses on clear hypotheses (e.g., “adding a price point will increase CTR,” “a stronger CTA will improve CVR”). Avoid testing too many variables at once.

6. Competitor Ad Copy Analysis:
Use tools (e.g., SEMrush, SpyFu) to analyze competitor ad copy. What are their unique selling propositions? What calls-to-action do they use? How do they position themselves? This can provide valuable insights for differentiating your own ad copy and identifying market gaps or effective messaging strategies.

Phase 4: Landing Page Experience

The best ad copy in the world will fail if it leads to a poor landing page. The landing page is where the conversion happens, and its effectiveness directly impacts Quality Score and conversion rates.

1. Relevance to Ad Copy and Keywords:
The landing page content must be highly relevant to the ad copy and the keywords that triggered the ad. If an ad promises “discounted running shoes,” the landing page must immediately present discounted running shoes, not just a general athletic wear page. Mismatched intent leads to high bounce rates and low conversion rates. Ensure that the keywords used in the ad group are prominently featured on the landing page, ideally within the main content, headings, and meta descriptions. This reinforces relevance for both users and search engines.

2. User Experience (UI/UX) and Mobile Responsiveness:

• Clarity and Simplicity: Is the landing page design clean, uncluttered, and easy to navigate? Is the value proposition immediately clear?
• Mobile Responsiveness: A significant portion of traffic comes from mobile devices. The landing page must be fully responsive, loading quickly and displaying correctly on all screen sizes. Poor mobile experience leads to frustration and high bounce rates. Test the page on various devices and browsers.
• Readability: Is the text easy to read? Are fonts and colors optimized for readability? Is there sufficient white space?
• Trust Signals: Are there trust elements like security badges, privacy policies, testimonials, or social proof?

3. Load Speed:
Page load speed is a critical factor for user experience and Quality Score. Slow-loading pages lead to higher bounce rates and reduced conversions. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify and address performance bottlenecks. Optimize images, leverage browser caching, minimize CSS/JavaScript, and consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN).

4. Clear Call-to-Actions (CTAs):
Is the primary call-to-action prominent, clear, and compelling?

• Visibility: Is it above the fold? Does it stand out visually?
• Clarity: Is the action explicitly stated (e.g., “Buy Now,” “Get a Free Quote,” “Download Ebook”)?
• Urgency/Benefit: Does the CTA convey a sense of urgency or highlight the benefit of acting now?
• Multiple CTAs: If multiple CTAs are present, are they prioritized correctly, or do they create confusion?
  Ensure there’s only one primary action you want the user to take on the page.

5. Conversion Tracking Validation:
This is non-negotiable. Verify that all conversion actions are correctly tracked on the landing page.

• Form Submissions: Is the form tracking firing accurately upon successful submission?
• Purchases: Are e-commerce transactions being tracked, including revenue and product details?
• Button Clicks: Are specific button clicks being tracked if they represent micro-conversions?
• Phone Calls: Are calls from the website or call extensions being tracked?
• Cross-Device Tracking: Ensure tracking works seamlessly across different devices if applicable.
  Use Tag Assistant or Google Analytics Debugger to verify event firing. Without accurate conversion tracking, all optimization efforts are blind.

6. A/B Testing Landing Pages:
Review any A/B tests conducted on landing pages. Are tests hypothesis-driven? Are they statistically significant? Look for opportunities to test different headlines, CTAs, layout variations, imagery, and form lengths to improve conversion rates.

Phase 5: Audience and Targeting Review

Beyond keywords and ads, understanding who you’re targeting and how effectively you’re reaching them is paramount. This phase delves into demographic, geographic, device, and audience targeting settings.

1. Demographic Targeting (Age, Gender, Household Income):
Analyze performance by demographic segments.

• Are certain age groups or genders converting better or worse?
• If household income targeting is available, is it optimizing for higher-value customers?
• Consider excluding demographics that consistently perform poorly or have high CPAs. For example, if data shows conversions are significantly lower for users under 25 with high cost, consider negative bid adjustments or exclusions for this group. Review the “Unknown” demographic segment performance and decide whether to target or exclude it based on overall goals.

2. Geographic Targeting and Location Performance:

• Targeting Scope: Is the geographic targeting set appropriately (e.g., country, state, city, radius)? Is it too broad, leading to irrelevant clicks, or too narrow, missing potential customers?
• Location Bid Adjustments: Are bid adjustments applied based on performance by location? For example, higher bids for cities with strong conversion rates, lower bids for areas with high costs and low conversions.
• Location Reports: Analyze performance at the most granular level available (e.g., by zip code or DMA) to uncover hyper-local opportunities or problem areas. For physical businesses, ensure location extensions and radius targeting are optimized around store locations.

3. Device Performance (Desktop, Mobile, Tablet):
Analyze conversion rates, CPA/ROAS, and CTR across different devices.

• Are mobile conversions significantly lower or higher than desktop? This could indicate a poor mobile landing page experience or a different user intent on mobile.
• Are bid adjustments optimized for each device type? For example, if mobile conversion rates are low, a negative mobile bid adjustment might be warranted, or if they are high, a positive one.
• Consider specific mobile ad copy or landing pages if the mobile user journey differs significantly.

4. Audience Segments and Remarketing:

• Remarketing/Retargeting Lists: Are remarketing lists comprehensive and segmented effectively (e.g., all site visitors, cart abandoners, past purchasers)? Are these lists being utilized in remarketing campaigns to re-engage high-intent users?
• Audience Targeting (Observation vs. Targeting): For search campaigns, are relevant audience lists applied in “Observation” mode to gather performance data without restricting reach? If performance is strong, consider switching to “Targeting” mode with bid adjustments or specific ad groups.
• In-Market Audiences: Are you targeting users who are actively researching products/services similar to yours?
• Affinity Audiences: Are you reaching users based on their long-term interests and passions for branding or upper-funnel campaigns?
• Customer Match: Are customer lists (email addresses) being uploaded and utilized for targeting or exclusion?
• Similar Audiences: Are these being leveraged to expand reach to new users who share characteristics with your existing customers?
  Evaluate the performance of each audience segment and apply appropriate bid adjustments or create dedicated campaigns for high-value segments.

5. Ad Scheduling (Dayparting):
Analyze performance by hour of day and day of week.

• Are there specific times or days when conversion rates are significantly higher or lower?
• Are bid adjustments applied to capitalize on peak performance hours or reduce spend during unproductive periods? For example, if conversions are negligible between 2 AM and 6 AM, consider pausing ads during those hours or applying negative bid adjustments.
• This is especially critical for businesses with specific operating hours (e.g., call centers, physical stores). Ensure ads aren’t running when no one is available to handle inquiries.

Phase 6: Bid Strategy and Optimization

Bid strategy dictates how you compete for ad impressions and directly impacts your cost and performance. A thorough audit of bidding mechanisms is crucial for budget efficiency.

1. Manual vs. Automated Bidding Strategies:

• Effectiveness of Current Strategy: Is the chosen bid strategy (e.g., Maximize Conversions, Target CPA, Maximize Clicks, Manual CPC, Enhanced CPC, Target ROAS) aligned with the campaign goals?
• Data Sufficiency for Automated Bidding: If automated strategies are in use, does the campaign have enough conversion data for the algorithms to learn and optimize effectively? (Generally, at least 15-30 conversions per month per campaign for Smart Bidding). Insufficient data can lead to poor performance with automated strategies.
• Volatile Performance: Is the automated strategy leading to wildly fluctuating CPAs or conversion volumes? This might indicate a need for a more stable strategy or further data accumulation.
• Manual Bidding Nuances: If manual bidding is used, how are bids being set? Are they based on keyword-level performance, competitive insights, or simply intuition? Is there a systematic approach to bid adjustments? Manual bidding requires significant time and expertise to manage effectively, especially at scale.

2. Bid Adjustments (Device, Location, Audience):
Revisit bid adjustments (discussed in Phase 5) and ensure they are systematically applied and regularly reviewed based on performance data.

• Are positive adjustments made for high-performing segments (e.g., specific cities, mobile users, remarketing lists)?
• Are negative adjustments applied to low-performing segments (e.g., less relevant demographics, non-converting devices)?
• Review the magnitude of these adjustments – are they too aggressive or too conservative?

3. Target CPA/ROAS Performance and Stability:
For campaigns using Target CPA or Target ROAS, evaluate their consistency and whether they are meeting target goals.

• Is the system consistently hitting the target CPA/ROAS? If not, is the target too aggressive or too conservative, or is there insufficient data?
• Are there significant fluctuations in CPA/ROAS, indicating instability in the strategy?
• Review the conversion delay report to understand how long it typically takes for conversions to occur after a click, as this impacts the immediate feedback loop for automated bidding.

4. Attribution Models:

• Current Model: What attribution model is currently in use (e.g., Last Click, First Click, Linear, Time Decay, Position-Based, Data-Driven)?
• Impact Assessment: How does the chosen attribution model influence the reported performance of different keywords, campaigns, and channels? Last-click often undervalues upper-funnel touchpoints, while data-driven provides a more nuanced view.
• Alignment with Business Model: Is the attribution model appropriate for the customer journey and business goals? For long sales cycles, a model that distributes credit across multiple touchpoints might be more appropriate. Consider testing different attribution models to understand their impact on reported conversions and evaluate potential shifts in strategy.

5. Bid Modifiers Beyond Device/Location/Audience:
Explore other less common but potentially impactful bid modifiers:

• Ad Schedule Bid Adjustments: As discussed, essential for dayparting.
• Interaction Type: For video campaigns, bid adjustments based on different interaction types.
• Demographic Ad Adjustments: For display campaigns, bid adjustments based on specific demographic segments within an audience.
  Ensure all relevant bid modifiers are being utilized to optimize spend for the highest potential ROI.

Phase 7: Conversion Tracking and Analytics Integration

Accurate and comprehensive conversion tracking is the bedrock of PPC optimization. Without it, all efforts are based on assumptions, not data. This phase is about validating the entire measurement framework.

1. Confirmation of Conversion Goals:

• Definition: Are all critical business actions clearly defined as conversion goals within the ad platform and Google Analytics? (e.g., lead form submissions, purchases, phone calls, specific page views, downloads, chat initiations).
• Value Assignment: For each conversion, is an accurate value assigned? For e-commerce, this is usually dynamic revenue. For leads, it could be an average lead value. This is crucial for calculating ROAS and CPA.
• Micro vs. Macro Conversions: Are both micro-conversions (e.g., newsletter sign-ups, video views, time on site) and macro-conversions (e.g., purchase, lead form) being tracked? Micro-conversions provide insights into user engagement and can serve as leading indicators of macro-conversion potential.

2. Tracking Pixel Implementation and Redundancy:

• Verification: Use tools like Google Tag Assistant, Google Ads Preview Tool, or browser developer consoles to verify that all conversion pixels are firing correctly upon the desired action.
• Redundancy Check: Ensure no duplicate conversion pixels are firing, which can inflate conversion counts and skew performance data.
• Global Site Tag (Gtag.js): Is the global site tag implemented correctly across the entire website?
• Consent Mode (GDPR/CCPA Compliance): If operating in regions with strict data privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA), verify that consent mode is correctly implemented, respecting user preferences for tracking.

3. Value Tracking and E-commerce Specifics:
For e-commerce, ensure that dynamic conversion values (e.g., order total, product IDs, quantities) are being passed correctly. This is crucial for accurate ROAS calculations and understanding product-level profitability. Verify that enhanced e-commerce tracking is properly configured in Google Analytics, allowing for detailed reports on product performance, sales funnels, and checkout behavior.

4. Google Analytics Integration and Data Cross-Verification:

• Linking: Confirm that Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are correctly linked, and auto-tagging is enabled in Google Ads.
• Data Discrepancies: Compare conversion data between Google Ads and Google Analytics. While some discrepancies are normal (due to different attribution models, conversion counting methodologies, or bot filtering), significant differences (over 10-15%) warrant immediate investigation. Common causes include:
  • Different conversion definitions.
  • Time zone differences.
  • Filter settings in GA.
  • Ad blockers impacting GA but not Google Ads tracking.
  • Partial auto-tagging.
• Audience Import: Ensure that Google Analytics audiences (e.g., “All Website Visitors,” “Cart Abandoners”) are being imported into Google Ads for remarketing and audience targeting.

5. CRM Integration and Offline Conversion Tracking:
For businesses with longer sales cycles, where conversions happen offline (e.g., sales calls, in-store visits after initial online lead), check if offline conversion tracking is implemented.

• GCLID Passthrough: Is the Google Click Identifier (GCLID) being captured on form submissions and passed to the CRM?
• Upload Schedule: Are offline conversions being regularly uploaded back into Google Ads via GCLID to provide a complete picture of campaign performance? This is crucial for optimizing towards true revenue and profitability, especially for high-value leads.

6. Goal Funnels and User Flow Analysis:
Within Google Analytics, analyze goal funnels and user flow reports to identify bottlenecks in the conversion path. Where are users dropping off? This provides critical insights for landing page optimization and overall user experience improvements.

Phase 8: Competitor Analysis

Understanding your competitive landscape is not about imitation, but about identifying opportunities, anticipating moves, and differentiating your strategy.

1. Competitor Identification and Tools:

• Who are they? Identify direct competitors who are also active in PPC. Look beyond the obvious; sometimes, unexpected players bid on your keywords.
• Tools: Utilize competitive intelligence tools such as SEMrush, SpyFu, Ahrefs, SimilarWeb, and Google’s Auction Insights report. These tools provide valuable data on competitor activity.

2. Competitor Keyword Strategy:

• Shared Keywords: Which keywords are your competitors bidding on that you are not? Are there high-volume, high-intent keywords you’re missing?
• Keyword Gaps: Are they targeting unique long-tail keywords or niche terms that you could exploit?
• Broad Match Behavior: How aggressively are they using broad match? Are they appearing for terms outside their core business?
• Negative Keywords: Identify common irrelevant terms they might be bidding on to inform your negative keyword strategy.

3. Competitor Ad Copy and Messaging:

• USPs: What unique selling propositions (USPs) are competitors highlighting in their ad copy? How do they differentiate themselves?
• CTAs: What calls-to-action (CTAs) are they using? Are they more compelling than yours?
• Promotional Offers: Are they running specific promotions or discounts?
• Ad Extensions: Which ad extensions are they using? Are they leveraging new or unique extensions that you’re not?
• Analyze their messaging for insights into market positioning, tone, and any gaps you can fill with your own compelling narrative.

4. Competitor Landing Page Review:

• Visit competitor landing pages associated with their PPC ads.
• User Experience: How do their landing pages compare in terms of UI/UX, load speed, and mobile responsiveness?
• Conversion Elements: What elements do they use to drive conversions (e.g., forms, phone numbers, social proof, clear benefits)?
• Value Proposition: Is their value proposition clearer or more persuasive than yours?
• Lead Capture: How efficient are their lead capture mechanisms (form length, required fields)?

5. Auction Insights Report (Google Ads):
This report directly from Google Ads provides crucial data on how your campaigns perform against competitors in the auction.

• Impression Share: What is your impression share compared to competitors? Is there significant room for growth?
• Overlap Rate: How often do your ads and competitors’ ads show at the same time?
• Position Above Rate: How often does a competitor’s ad show above yours when both are shown?
• Top of Page Rate / Absolute Top of Page Rate: How often do your ads and competitors’ ads appear at the very top of the SERP?
• Outranking Share: How often did your ad rank higher than another participant’s ad in the auction?
  This report helps identify who your real-time competitors are, their strength in the auction, and areas where you might be losing impressions or position.

6. Market Share and Opportunity Sizing:
Based on competitive analysis, estimate your potential market share within paid search. Are there large segments of queries or specific product categories where competitors are dominant, and you are absent? This helps in identifying untapped opportunities and setting aggressive growth targets.

Phase 9: Quality Score Deep Dive

Quality Score (QS) is Google’s rating of the relevance and quality of your keywords, ads, and landing pages. A higher Quality Score means lower CPCs and better ad positions, directly impacting ROI. This phase focuses on diagnosing and improving QS.

1. Understanding the Three Pillars:
Reinforce the understanding that Quality Score is driven by three primary components:

• Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR): The likelihood that your ad will be clicked when shown for a specific keyword. This is heavily influenced by ad copy relevance and historical performance.
• Ad Relevance: How closely your ad copy matches the intent of the keyword. Keywords should ideally appear in headlines and descriptions.
• Landing Page Experience: The relevance, usability, transparency, and load speed of your landing page for users clicking on your ad.

2. Keyword-Level Quality Score Analysis:

• Identify Low QS Keywords: Sort keywords by Quality Score and focus on those with a score of 5/10 or lower. These are the ones costing you the most and performing least efficiently.
• Component Breakdown: For each low QS keyword, examine the individual scores for Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, and Landing Page Experience. This pinpoints the exact area needing improvement. Google Ads provides these component scores directly.

3. Strategies for Improving Each Component:

• Improving Expected CTR:

  • Refine Ad Copy: Write more compelling, relevant ad copy that directly addresses the user’s search query and highlights a strong value proposition.
  • Utilize Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI): Integrate the exact search term into your ad copy when appropriate.
  • Stronger CTAs: Use clear and action-oriented calls-to-action.
  • Leverage Ad Extensions: Use all relevant ad extensions to increase ad visibility and provide more compelling reasons to click.
  • Pause Poor Performing Ads/Keywords: Eliminate ads that have consistently low CTR for specific keywords, and consider pausing keywords that continuously trigger irrelevant searches.
  • A/B Test Ad Copy: Continuously test new headlines and descriptions to find winning combinations.

• Improving Ad Relevance:

  • Tighten Ad Group Themes: Ensure each ad group contains a very narrow set of highly related keywords.
  • Keyword Integration: Incorporate your keywords directly into your ad headlines and descriptions naturally.
  • Create Specific Ad Copy: Write ad copy that is tailored to the specific keywords in each ad group, rather than generic ads.
  • Use Negative Keywords: Prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches that would otherwise reduce ad relevance.

• Improving Landing Page Experience:

  • Landing Page Relevance: Ensure the landing page content is highly relevant to the ad copy and keywords.
  • User Friendliness: Improve the page’s UI/UX. It should be easy to navigate, with a clear value proposition and a prominent call-to-action.
  • Load Speed: Optimize page load times across all devices.
  • Transparency and Trust: Ensure the page is transparent (e.g., clear contact info, privacy policy) and conveys trust (e.g., security badges, testimonials).
  • Mobile Responsiveness: Crucial for mobile traffic.
  • Original Content: Provide valuable, unique content.
  • Easy Conversion: Make it simple for users to complete the desired action (e.g., short forms, clear steps).

4. Quality Score and Bid Strategy:
Understand that Quality Score directly influences your actual CPC and ad rank. A higher QS means you pay less for the same ad position or achieve a better position for the same bid. Incorporate QS improvements into your overall bid management strategy. Prioritize improving QS for high-volume or high-value keywords.

5. Monitoring and Continuous Improvement:
Quality Score is dynamic. Continuously monitor keyword-level QS and its components. Implement changes based on this analysis and track their impact over time. Make QS optimization an ongoing part of your PPC management strategy.

Phase 10: Account Settings and Compliance

Often overlooked, account-level settings and compliance with platform policies can significantly impact performance, budget, and even account longevity.

1. Billing and Payment Information:

• Accuracy: Verify that billing information is up-to-date and payment methods are valid. Avoid campaign pauses due to payment issues.
• Spend Limits: Check if account-level spend limits are set and if they align with the overall budget strategy.
• Payment Thresholds: Understand the billing thresholds and how they impact payment frequency.
• Promotional Credits: Are any active promotional credits being applied correctly?

2. Policy Violations and Account Suspensions:

• Review Policy Center: Regularly check the ad platform’s policy center for any active violations or warnings. Address these immediately to prevent campaign disapprovals or account suspensions. Common violations include:
  • Misleading claims
  • Prohibited content (e.g., pharmaceuticals, adult content, counterfeit goods)
  • Trademark infringement
  • Unacceptable business practices (e.g., trick-to-click ads, phishing)
  • Destination requirements (e.g., broken landing pages, unsecure sites)
• Ad Rejections: Review historical ad rejections and understand the reasons. Ensure that new ad copy adheres to all guidelines. Repeated policy violations can lead to permanent account suspension.

3. Shared Libraries (Negative Keyword Lists, Audience Lists):

• Negative Keyword Lists: As discussed, ensure comprehensive, well-maintained shared negative keyword lists are applied to relevant campaigns, preventing irrelevant impressions across the account.
• Audience Lists: Verify that remarketing lists, customer match lists, and other audience segments are accurately built, updated, and shared across campaigns where appropriate for targeting or exclusion.
• Budget & Bid Strategies: If shared budgets or shared bid strategies are in use, ensure they are configured correctly and not causing unintended performance issues or budget depletion.

4. Account Change History Review:

• Recent Changes: Examine the account change history log to understand all recent modifications made by any user. This can help diagnose sudden performance shifts.
• Identify Unauthorized Changes: Look for any suspicious or unauthorized changes that could negatively impact the account.
• Accountability: Use the change history to understand who made what changes and when, facilitating team collaboration and accountability.
• Rollbacks: In case of negative performance due to a recent change, the change history allows for quick identification and potential rollback.

5. Account Structure Best Practices:

• Keyword Conflicts: Use Google Ads Editor or custom scripts to identify and resolve potential keyword conflicts (e.g., the same exact match keyword in multiple ad groups, leading to internal competition).
• Duplicate Content: Check for duplicate ad groups or campaigns that could be consolidated for easier management and better data aggregation.
• Labeling and Notes: Encourage consistent use of labels for campaigns, ad groups, and keywords for better organization. Utilize the “Notes” feature within the platform to document strategic decisions or test outcomes.

6. Automated Rules and Scripts:

• Review Existing Rules: If automated rules or scripts are in place (e.g., for budget pacing, bid adjustments, pausing low-performing ads), audit their configuration. Are they still relevant? Are they running as intended? Are they potentially causing unintended negative consequences?
• Error Logs: Check error logs for scripts to ensure they are executing without issues.
• Opportunity for Automation: Identify areas where automation could improve efficiency or performance, such as setting up alerts for budget depletion, low QS, or sudden performance drops.

Phase 11: Reporting and Recommendations

The culmination of the PPC audit is a comprehensive report that translates findings into actionable insights and a clear strategic roadmap. This phase is about structuring, prioritizing, and presenting your recommendations effectively.

1. Structuring the Audit Report:
A high-quality audit report should be structured logically, moving from high-level observations to granular details, providing context and data for every recommendation.

• Executive Summary: (Though the prompt states no summary, this is a standard component of real audit reports). For internal purposes, this would briefly outline the account’s current state, key findings, and the most impactful recommendations.
• Account Overview: Current performance metrics (spend, conversions, CPA, ROAS), goals, and historical trends.
• Detailed Analysis Sections: Dedicate specific sections to each phase of the audit (Account Structure, Keywords, Ad Copy, Landing Pages, Audience, Bidding, Tracking, Competitors, Quality Score, Settings), presenting findings clearly with supporting data and screenshots.
• Prioritized Recommendations: This is the core of the report. List all identified issues and opportunities.
• Action Plan: Translate recommendations into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) action items.
• Expected Impact: Quantify the potential impact of implementing recommendations (e.g., “Expected 15% reduction in CPA,” “5% increase in conversion rate,” “20% increase in impression share”).

2. Prioritization of Recommendations:
Not all findings are equally important. Prioritize recommendations based on their potential impact and ease of implementation.

• High Impact, Easy to Implement (Quick Wins): These should be at the top of the list (e.g., adding obvious negative keywords, pausing clearly underperforming ads, fixing broken tracking). These build momentum and demonstrate immediate value.
• High Impact, Hard to Implement (Strategic Initiatives): These require more time, resources, or cross-functional collaboration (e.g., complete account restructuring, major landing page redesigns, implementing offline conversion tracking). These are long-term game-changers.
• Low Impact, Easy to Implement (Minor Tweaks): These can be done after the high-impact items (e.g., minor ad copy adjustments, small bid adjustments).
• Low Impact, Hard to Implement (De-prioritize): These might not be worth the effort unless all other opportunities are exhausted.

3. Developing an Action Plan:
For each prioritized recommendation, create a clear action plan:

• Specific Action: What exactly needs to be done?
• Responsible Party: Who will execute this action?
• Timeline: When should this action be completed?
• Resources Needed: Any specific tools, budget, or external expertise required.
• Key Metrics to Monitor: Which KPIs will be tracked to measure the success of this particular action?
  An effective action plan transforms audit findings from theoretical insights into concrete steps for improvement. Break down complex recommendations into smaller, manageable tasks.

4. Performance Projections and ROI Justification:
Where possible, project the expected improvements in key metrics if the recommendations are implemented. This provides a compelling business case for investing in the optimization efforts. For example, if a recommendation is expected to reduce CPA by 20%, calculate the potential savings over a specific period. If it’s expected to increase conversion rate by 10%, estimate the additional conversions and revenue. This quantitative justification helps stakeholders understand the tangible benefits of the audit and the subsequent optimization work. Show how proposed changes align directly with the initial business goals and KPIs.

5. Follow-Up and Ongoing Monitoring Plan:
The audit is not a one-time event but rather the start of an optimization cycle. Outline a plan for ongoing monitoring and follow-up.

• Regular Reporting: Establish a schedule for reviewing performance after recommendations are implemented.
• Periodic Re-Audits: Suggest a cadence for future audits (e.g., quarterly, semi-annually) to ensure sustained performance and adapt to market changes.
• Continuous Improvement Mindset: Emphasize that PPC is an iterative process, requiring constant testing, learning, and adaptation. The audit provides a baseline and a roadmap, but ongoing vigilance is key to long-term success. The insights from one audit should feed into the next cycle of strategic planning and execution.