Google Ads audit checklist: find waste in 15 minutes

You can find the most common money leaks in a Google Ads account in about 15 minutes. This checklist has 10 items at roughly 90 seconds each, and each one links to a page that explains the fix.

Before you start

1. Open Google Ads and go to Campaigns.
2. Set the date range to the last 30 days. If your account gets only a few clicks a day, use 90 days.
3. Keep a note open. Write down each red flag and the campaign it’s in.

Google’s menus move often. (If you can’t find any page below, type its name into the Google Ads search bar.)

The checklist

1. Is conversion tracking working? Open Goals, then Conversions, then Summary. Look at the Status column. A conversion is a sale, call or form you count as a result. Red flag: a status like “Misconfigured” or “Needs attention,” zero conversions when you know you had leads, or “conversions” that are really page views. Fix: Conversion tracking not working and duplicate conversions.

2. Does your bid strategy match your goal? Look at the Bid strategy type column in the campaigns table. Red flag: you want leads or sales, but the campaign uses Maximize Clicks. That strategy buys as many clicks as it can, not customers. Fix: Maximize Clicks vs Maximize Conversions.

3. Are search partners paying off? Select Segment, then Network (with search partners). Each Search campaign splits into Google Search and search partners. Google says partners are included by default in new Search campaigns. Red flag: partners cost real money with few or no conversions. Fix: Should you turn off search partners?

4. Is the Display Network inside a Search campaign? In the same network segment, look for a Display row under your Search campaigns. Red flag: Display spend with no conversions. Fix: Turn off the Display Network in a Search campaign.

5. Who counts as “in your area”? Open a campaign’s Settings, expand Locations, then Location options. Google’s default is “Presence or interest.” Red flag: you only serve local customers, but the setting is Presence or interest and the Matched locations report shows clicks from places you don’t serve. Fix: Presence vs Presence or interest.

6. What did people actually search? Go to Insights and reports, then Search terms. Sort by Cost, highest first. Red flag: paid searches for jobs, free stuff, DIY, other towns or things you don’t sell. Fix: Read the search terms report and negative keywords for small businesses.

7. How loose are your keywords? Open Keywords and look at the Match type column. Red flag: most keywords are broad match while the campaign uses Maximize Clicks, or while conversion tracking is broken. Fix: Is broad match a good idea on a small budget?

8. Where does Performance Max spend? Open a Performance Max campaign, then Insights and reports, then Channel performance. Red flag: most of the cost goes to YouTube or Display with few conversions there. Fix: Is Performance Max spending on YouTube? and Performance Max placement exclusions.

9. What can Google change or write without asking? Open Recommendations, then Auto-apply settings. Then open a Search campaign’s Settings and look at AI Max. Red flag: auto-apply is on for keywords, bidding or networks and you didn’t choose it, or Google is writing ad text you’ve never reviewed. Fix: Turn off auto-apply recommendations, automatically created assets and the AI Max auto-upgrade.

10. Has spend or the account changed recently? Open Change history for the last 30 days and read the User column. Then switch the date range to the last 14 days and select Segment, then Time, then Day. Google only allows the Day segment for 16 days or less. Red flag: changes by people or tools you don’t recognize, days well above twice your daily budget, or a campaign marked “Limited by budget” whose cost per conversion has crept up. Fix: See what your agency changed, spent more than your daily budget and budget-limited target CPA.

How to fix what you find

1. Add up what each red flag cost over the 30 days. Use the cost column for that campaign, network or search term.
2. Fix the most expensive one first. Usually it’s a network setting, a location option or a batch of bad search terms.
3. Make one change at a time per campaign, and note the date.
4. Wait two to four weeks, then run the checklist again and compare.

Small fixes add up. For example, if search partners cost $90 a month with no conversions, turning them off saves $1,080 a year.

When to leave it alone

Not every red flag is waste. Judge each one by real leads and sales, not by clicks:

• A network or location that converts at a cost you accept is doing its job.
• A few odd search terms with one cheap click each aren’t worth chasing.
• If conversion tracking is broken, fix that first. Every other number on this list depends on it.

If you’re running ads without an agency, see Google Ads for small business without an agency for a weekly routine that keeps these problems from coming back.

Check it automatically

The free SpendCanary scan runs most of this checklist for you: search partners, Display in Search, Performance Max channels, location options, search terms, bid strategy, conversion tracking, Google-made assets and auto-applied changes. It puts a monthly dollar figure on each leak it can price.