Every account I take over gets the same treatment before I change a single bid: a full audit, top to bottom. Not because it's ritual — because in 100+ accounts, I have never once found nothing. Here's the exact checklist, in the order I run it.
Part 1 — Measurement (checks 1–7). Start here or don't start.
- 1. Does every conversion action match a real business outcome? (Purchases, qualified leads — not page views wearing a costume.)
- 2. Any duplicate conversion actions double-counting? (GA4 import + Google tag counting the same purchase is the classic.)
- 3. Are "Primary" vs "Secondary" conversions set deliberately? Smart Bidding only optimizes toward Primary.
- 4. Do platform numbers reconcile with the backend within ~15–20%? Bigger gap = tracking problem, see server-side tracking.
- 5. Enhanced Conversions enabled and validated?
- 6. Conversion values passing real values (or margins), not hardcoded 1.0?
- 7. Which attribution model is active, and does anyone know why?
Part 2 — Account structure (checks 8–13)
- 8. Is brand search split from generic? Blended = inflated numbers hiding generic underperformance.
- 9. Campaign count sanity: enough consolidation for data density (Smart Bidding wants 30+ conversions/month per campaign), enough separation for budget control.
- 10. Do PMax campaigns have brand exclusions? (They almost never do.)
- 11. Ad groups themed tightly enough that one ad can genuinely speak to all its keywords?
- 12. Geo settings: "Presence" vs "Presence or interest" — the default quietly ships your budget abroad.
- 13. Language + location vs actual service area; check the user-location report for surprises.
Part 3 — Keywords & search terms (checks 14–19)
- 14. Read 30 days of search terms. Ten minutes, always horrifying, always worth it.
- 15. Negative keyword lists exist, are shared, and were touched in the last month?
- 16. Match-type strategy deliberate? Broad match without Smart Bidding + solid negatives is a money pit.
- 17. Money keywords: impression share and lost-IS (budget vs rank) on your top 10 revenue terms.
- 18. Duplicate keywords competing across campaigns/ad groups?
- 19. Any keyword spending >5% of budget with zero conversions in 90 days? Kill or fix.
Part 4 — Ads & assets (checks 20–23)
- 20. RSAs with 12+ distinct headlines, not the same benefit rephrased twelve ways?
- 21. Ad strength "Good"+ where it matters — but judge CTR and conversion rate, not the label.
- 22. Sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, images present at account level?
- 23. When did creative last change? >90 days static = fatigue tax already being paid.
Part 5 — Bidding & budget (checks 24–27)
- 24. Bid strategy matches data volume? tCPA/tROAS on 10 conversions/month is astrology.
- 25. Targets realistic vs trailing 90-day actuals? (Setting tCPA 40% below reality just strangles volume.)
- 26. Budget-limited campaigns: is the constraint deliberate or accidental?
- 27. Spend by device/hour/day vs conversion by device/hour/day — big mismatches = free money in adjustments or ad scheduling.
Scoring: 0–5 fails = healthy account, tune it. 6–12 = real money leaking monthly. 13+ = stop spending, rebuild foundations first.
The pattern behind the checklist: measurement → structure → queries → creative → bidding. Fix upstream before downstream, because every downstream fix inherits upstream garbage. Run it quarterly — accounts drift, defaults reset, and Google's "auto-apply recommendations" toggle (check #0, honestly: turn it off) plants surprises while you sleep.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I audit my Google Ads account?
Quarterly at minimum for active accounts. Google's defaults and "auto-apply" settings drift on their own even when you change nothing, so a clean account three months ago isn't guaranteed clean today.
What's the most common mistake in Google Ads accounts?
Broken or double-counted conversion tracking — by a wide margin. Almost every account I've audited had at least one measurement issue before I looked at a single bid.
Should I audit a new Google Ads account before making changes?
Yes, always. Changing bids or budgets on an account with broken tracking or structural issues just optimizes faster toward the wrong outcome.