How to do a PPC Audit: 10 Easy Steps (+ Checklist)

Regular PPC audits show you what’s working and how to optimize your account to increase conversions. Discover how to audit your PPC ad campaigns like a pro.

Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns are a fantastic way to make new customers aware of your business and convince them to buy your products or services.

However, they’re not something you can just set up and forget about. (Luckily, that’s not our style anyway.)

The most effective PPC campaign you can run is one that you’re consistently analyzing, testing, and improving.

That’s where a PPC audit comes in. By reviewing your campaign settings, keywords, ad groups, copy, and assets, you can make educated, data-driven decisions that will drive your digital marketing strategy forward.

Not sure how to get started with a PPC audit? We understand it can be hard to know where to begin.

That’s why we’ve put together this easy-to-understand, 10-step guide to planning and implementing a PPC audit with help from Gabrielle Aldinger, a lead strategist at HawkSEM.

Whether you use Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising (Bing), or paid social, you’re one step closer to perfecting your clickable ads.

What is a PPC audit?

A PPC audit (or paid search audit) is a detailed and methodical look at your PPC account to assess its performance, as well as any strengths and weaknesses.

After conducting a PPC audit, you’ll know what tweaks to make to get better results.

Why you should conduct a PPC audit

It’s frustrating when you launch PPC campaigns only to find they don’t do as well as you hoped.

Regular PPC audits mean you can review the entire customer journey and find improvement opportunities you may have missed.

“Auditing your ad account regularly ensures your campaign aligns with your current business goals and that your ads target the right people,” says Aldinger.

“As your budget, goals, and competitors can change throughout the year, auditing can help prevent wasted spend and ensure you prioritize top-performing keywords and ad copy.”

PPC audits also help you to:

• Maximize your return on investment (ROI) on PPC campaigns
• Decrease CPC (cost per click) and CPA (cost per acquisition)
• Increase CTR (clickthrough rate)

Through PPC audits, you can collect data for marketing and performance reports, as well as the rest of your marketing channels. For example, they can help you find new keyword ideas to help your search engine optimization (SEO) marketing.

How to conduct a PPC audit in 10 steps

Before you begin your PPC audit, it’s important to put as much time aside as you can afford. You’ll want to investigate every keyword, ad group, and asset!

We recommend downloading your campaigns into an Excel document or Google Spreadsheet – this makes it easy to see all the different elements of your account at once. You can do this by going to Campaigns and clicking Download.

Once you’ve got this information, follow the ten steps below. Keep reading to download a free template you can use to make sure you’ve covered everything!

1. Double-check conversion tracking settings
2. Assess your PPC account naming structure
3. Review keywords and search terms
4. Analyze ad copy
5. Optimize assets (FKA ad extensions)
6. Audit sales landing pages
7. Review bid strategy
8. Listen to ROI and ROAS
9. Inspect targeting settings
10. Check for outdated scripts or rules

1. Double-check conversion tracking settings

It’s highly likely that you already set up conversion tracking when you created your PPC account. However, it doesn’t hurt to double-check.

A low number of conversions, or even no conversions at all, could mean something went wrong during set-up.

Here’s what to check:

• Go to Goals, Conversions, and check out all the conversions you’ve set up. If there are any “inactive” or “unverified” statuses, see what the problem might be. Google’s Tag Assistant can help with debugging
• Make sure every account has a conversion tracking code that’s linked to Google Analytics
• Ensure that you’re tracking not just website conversions, but phone calls, app downloads, and any other actions that may apply to your business
• If conversion rates are higher than they should be, you may be counting multiple conversions. Check for legacy tags and that your code is on the right pages of your website

2. Assess your PPC account naming structure

Coherent, contextual, and logical names across your campaigns and ad groups make it easy to find what you need and identify which specific elements bring in the clicks.

This is especially true if you manage a lot of different campaigns.

Consider the following in your account structure:

• Campaigns: Campaign names should describe the campaign type, theme, location, match type, and product or service
• Ad groups: Ad group names need to be clear, relevant, and unique – categorized with a keyword to improve searchability
• Labels: Labels provide an extra layer of filtering across your ad campaigns. You can use them for search ads, video ads, shopping ads, and across the display network

Here’s an example of account naming for an ecommerce business that sells skincare products.

3. Review keywords and search terms

“Search terms and negative keywords can have a huge impact on improving your ad performance, but a lot of the time they get forgotten about,” says Aldinger.

“Taking the time to add high-performing keywords and negative search terms can lead to a significantly improved return on ad spend (ROAS).”

Here’s what to bear in mind when reviewing your keywords and search terms:

• Use longtail keywords: These long search terms are highly personalized, meaning they’re great for generating leads and sales
• Optimize for primary keywords: Fit them into the display URL, paths, ad copy, and descriptions
• Add irrelevant search terms to your negative keyword list: Use your search term report to find words and phrases to add to your negative keyword list. This means your ads won’t show in unrelated search results
• Mix up your keyword match types: Use a mix of phrase, broad, and exact match types to balance volume and relevance

Don’t forget to review your keyword Quality Score. The higher your score, the more relevant your keywords and the lower your CPC. Aim for a score of 7 or higher.

If you need help finding the right keywords to add to your ad groups, here are ten of our favorite PPC keyword research tools.

4. Analyze ad copy

Every PPC audit should include a detailed review of each ad’s content. Here’s what to look out for:

• Keywords: Promote ad relevance by including keywords in your ad copy
• Relevance: Do your ads have outdated offers, times, or dates? If so, remove them or update them to be evergreen
• Spelling and grammar: While Google will not show ads with glaring spelling and grammar issues, small mistakes can sometimes slip through
• CTA (call-to-action): CTAs persuade your audience to check out your products or services. Make sure yours are catchy, concise, and engaging. Here are some great CTAs to inspire you
• Ad variations. Make sure you have at least two different ads running for each ad group. Google will show the one that your prospective customer is most likely to click on
• Google Ad Guidelines: Google has a long list of ad policies, including restricted content and technical requirements. Compare any low-performing ads with Google’s ad policies in your PPC audit

Pro tip: If you need a little extra help with your copy, it’s worth looking at your competitors’ ads. Google Ads Transparency Center shows you all the active ads currently running.

5. Optimize assets (FKA ad extensions)

Assets provide extra information about your products or services. Plus, they mean you take up more valuable space in the search results.

Check your assets at both campaign and ad group levels – add ones that are missing and improve the ones that aren’t performing well.

Try to include three of these assets when relevant:

• Sitelinks
• Structured snippets
• Lead form
• Callouts
• Locations
• Phone call extensions
• Images
• Promotions
• App

Sitelinks

Sitelinks to signpost prospective customers to relevant pages on your website, including landing pages, pricing pages, and blog posts.

These should link to pages with the same domain as your ad.

Structured snippets

Structured snippets let you provide brief information about your features and services.

For example, you can use them to show the brands you offer, the courses and degree programs people can study for, and the amenities you provide.

Lead form

A lead form extension lets you capture customer information directly within an ad.

Callouts

Callouts let you add extra pieces of information to your PPC ad. For example, you can use them to show that you offer free shipping or returns.

Locations

If you have a brick-and-mortar store, you can add your business address with a location asset.

Phone call extensions

A phone call extension allows customers to call you directly in Google if they’re searching on a mobile device.

Images

One of the most recent additions, this asset lets you upload an image to accompany your Google text ad. This can be a photo of a product you sell, a photo of your team, or your logo to raise brand awareness.

Promotions

If you run an ecommerce store, this asset (marked by a price tag icon) lets you show prospective shoppers that you’re having a sale or running a promotion.

App

If searching on mobile, customers can download your app directly through Google Ads.

6. Audit sales landing pages

It’s vital to audit the entire customer journey, not just your PPC ads. This means reviewing the landing pages your ads link to.

Here’s how to assess your sales landing pages to ensure they work in sync with your ads:

• Make sure your landing pages are easy to navigate, load quickly, and are mobile-responsive
• Check that the underlying message of your PPC ad and landing page match. Your quality score will indicate how relevant your landing page is
• Add trust signals like testimonials, case studies, and reviews to make your page more credible

7. Review bid strategy

“There are so many different types of bid strategies, and it’s important to choose the one that aligns with your campaign goals,” says Aldinger.

Your goals can change over time, so it’s essential to choose the bidding strategy that reflects your needs and ensures you reach your targets.

Here are some of the most common bid adjustment strategies and what they’re best for:

So, which is best: an automated or manual bid strategy?

“A benefit of automated bid strategies is that they evolve as your campaigns grow, allowing more flexibility to meet your end goal,” says Aldinger.

“However, a manual bid strategy may be ideal if you want close control over how much you bid for keywords.”

8. Listen to ROI and ROAS

Your metrics can tell you a great deal about your PPC account and which ads are performing best. Here’s how to monitor ROAS and ROI.

ROAS is easy to calculate and shows you how much revenue you make for every ad dollar.

ROAS = Ad spend revenue/Ad spend

ROI is trickier to calculate as you need to know your expenses – everything from labor, tech costs, and the subscriptions you use. However, it‘s more comprehensive as it considers all costs and gains.

ROI = 100 ((Revenue – Expenses)/Expenses)

Aim for:

• 25-50% ROI
• 2.87:1 ROAS

If the numbers for a campaign are lower than this, it might be time to optimize or remove it entirely.

9. Inspect targeting settings

You could have the most fantastic ad campaign with the most well-researched keywords and the highest-quality ad copy. However, if your target audience can’t see it, it’s all for nothing.

Checking your targeting settings ensures the right people see your ads.

Here are some targeting settings to get you started:

• Location targeting: Narrow in on the cities, states, and countries you sell to – this ensures only people who can buy your products and services can see your ads. You can also exclude countries and specific IP addresses
• Device: You can streamline ads by device and operating system – ideal if you offer a SaaS platform or mobile app that works on a specific device
• Timing: Sometimes, ads perform better at certain times of the day. For example, alcohol delivery service ads might fare better after the liquor stores close. Use Google’s Ad scheduling to toggle date and time settings
• Remarketing: Repeat site visitors are essential segments to track. Ad campaigns might target remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) more aggressively since the searchers demonstrate greater interest

10. Check for outdated scripts or rules

Sometimes, accounts have old scripts or rules running that can undermine your current ad campaigns.

Here’s how to check:

• Login to Google Ads
• At the left-hand side of the page, click on Tools (the wrench icon)
• Under Bulk Actions you can find Rules and Scripts

Look through and consider which rules should be retired and which new ones might be worth trying.

How often should you conduct a PPC audit?

Planning for a quarterly PPC audit is a good place to start. But your specific frequency will depend on a few factors:

• Your business needs
• Your PPC account’s age
• The size of your team
• Changes or updates to Google Ads

It might be that a biannual or annual PPC audit is right for your needs.

Once you go through the process a few times and get a feel for what you want out of your audits, you can develop a schedule that is right for your business.

“Regardless of whether you audit your PPC account yearly or quarterly, it’s vital to optimize and refresh your strategies frequently,” says Aldinger. “By avoiding a ‘set it and forget it’ mindset, you get better results and may even need to run audits less often.”

Your free PPC audit checklist

Ready to start your first PPC audit? We’ve put together this free checklist to help you out.

Print it out, stick it by your laptop, and get ready to transform your paid social and search campaigns!

Download Checklist

The takeaway

When your PPC ads look a little worse for wear and your prospective customers are getting bored, a PPC audit can revitalize your campaigns and bring fresh new conversions.

A PPC audit might seem daunting if you’re starting out, but think of it like riding a bicycle. Once you’ve got the basics down… there’s no stopping you!

Don’t have the time to run a PPC audit? We’re here to help. Our PPC experts have years of experience managing audits across a range of social media and search networks.

We’ll dig through your existing campaigns, scour through your data, and use our proprietary platform, ConversionIQ, to crunch the numbers. We’ll then make valuable recommendations that will boost your clicks and conversions.

In fact, clients who partner with us see a 4.5x return on their initial investment. Want to see how we can help with your PPC audits? Get in touch today.

This article has been updated and was originally published in May 2020.