Stop Wasting Money on Google Ads [Our Audit Process]

ecommerce google ads audit google ads audit process google ads campaign structure google ads customer acquisition settings how to audit google ads Aug 04, 2025

Struggling to improve Google Ads performance? In this guide, Google Ads expert Brent Neale shares his complete audit process—perfect for marketers and business owners aiming to optimize conversion tracking, audience targeting, and campaign structure.

Why Auditing Matters in Google Ads

An audit isn’t just about spotting errors—it’s about understanding how your account aligns with your business goals. Brent explains that most marketers (and business owners) jump straight into granular data—keywords, ads, or conversions—without considering the broader structure. Start at the top: Are your conversions tracked correctly? Is your account set up to reflect your real business goals? Are you measuring success in a way that actually maps to revenue?

“Google Ads is more of an indicator than a definitive tracker of ROI—your backend numbers are the real North Star.” – Brent Neale

Audit Framework: 5 Core Layers to Review

1. Conversion Tracking

Your entire account hinges on this. If your conversion data is inflated or misattributed (e.g., counting every form submission or phone call multiple times), your optimization strategy is built on flawed metrics. Check: Primary conversion actions (e.g., purchases vs. add-to-cart); Redundant or duplicated events; Alignment with profit and revenue.

👉Why Offline Conversion Tracking is a Game Changer for Google Ads in 2025

2. Account-Level Settings

Move beyond conversions and evaluate your overarching controls: Content suitability (e.g., excluding app placements); Account-level negative keywords; Customer acquisition toggles; Lapsed customer targeting. These affect all campaigns and are often misconfigured.

3. Audience Segmentation

Your audience structure directly impacts performance and scale: Are audiences properly segmented (new vs. returning vs. lapsed)? Are campaigns leveraging audience definitions to guide bidding? Are Google’s new toggle-based audiences enabled? If your goal is to acquire new customers, but your campaigns aren’t optimized for that—Google doesn’t know your intent.

4. Campaign-Level Alignment

Now that you’ve clarified your goals and audience, evaluate campaigns: Do bid strategies align with business goals (e.g., Max Conversions vs. Target ROAS)? Are campaigns structured by intent (e.g., new customer acquisition vs. remarketing)? Are settings and objectives clearly mapped?

“Ask yourself: does this campaign reflect what I’m trying to achieve?”

5. Granular Analysis: Ad Groups and Creative

Only now should you dive into specifics: Do asset groups match product categories? Are keywords relevant to the ads? Are outdated structures (like SKAGs) still in place? Look for click-through rate outliers—but focus more on ad copy relevance and negative keywords than metrics alone.

Bonus: Landing Page Evaluation

Poor landing pages can undo everything. You don’t get the luxury of pre-framing (like on Meta); your page must do the heavy lifting. Key checks: Does the page match the user’s intent? Are you pushing traffic to the right level (product vs. collection)? Are offers and visuals aligned with the brand?

Ongoing Optimization: When Performance Drops

If you’ve been managing an account for 6–9 months and results start declining: Review long-term data trends; Cut underperforming campaigns (or isolate variables); Reassess alignment between goals and structure; Test drastic but controlled changes to regain momentum.

“Great marketing can’t fix a bad product. If spend is capped under $5,000/month and you can’t scale—look at your offer first.”

Final Thoughts

The most common issues in underperforming Google Ads accounts are not found in keywords or headlines. They’re found in: Poor conversion tracking; Misaligned campaign structure; Lack of audience targeting; Broken feedback loops with business goals. Fixing these foundational elements unlocks growth, scale, and clarity.