Full audits take hours. Sometimes you need answers in minutes.
This is the 15-minute audit—the highest-impact checks that find the biggest problems fast. Run this when you inherit an account, start with a new client, or just need a quick health check.
Set a timer. Let's go.
Minutes 1-3: Conversion Tracking
Nothing else matters if tracking is broken.
Check 1: Conversions exist
- Go to Goals → Conversions → Summary
- Are there conversions recording?
- Do conversion numbers match reality (check against CRM/backend)?
Check 2: Primary conversions make sense
- Which conversions are marked "Primary"?
- Are you optimizing toward actions that matter?
- Is "Page View" or "Time on Site" accidentally primary?
Check 3: Recent conversion data
- Any sudden drops in conversion volume?
- Compare last 7 days to prior period
- Drops might indicate tracking issues, not performance issues
Quick fix: If tracking looks wrong, stop the audit. Fix tracking first. Everything else depends on it.
Minutes 3-6: Wasted Spend
Find where money is disappearing.
Check 4: Search terms report
- Go to Insights & Reports → Search terms
- Sort by cost, descending
- Scan top 20 terms—are they relevant?
- How much spend on obviously irrelevant queries?
Check 5: Locations report
- Go to Insights & Reports → Locations
- Check "Geographic report" (where users physically are)
- Any spend in countries/regions you don't serve?
- Check location settings: "Presence" vs "Presence or interest"
Check 6: Networks and placements
- Are Search Partners enabled? Check performance vs. Google Search
- Is Display Network enabled on Search campaigns?
- For Display/PMax: any suspicious placements eating budget?
Quick fix: Add obvious negative keywords. Fix location settings to "Presence" only. Disable Search Partners if underperforming.
Minutes 6-9: Campaign Settings
Settings mistakes are invisible until you look.
Check 7: Bidding strategies
- What bidding strategy is each campaign using?
- Does strategy match the goal?
- Are targets (CPA/ROAS) realistic based on historical data?
Check 8: Budget allocation
- Which campaigns are limited by budget?
- Are your best performers constrained while poor performers have headroom?
- Is budget matching business priorities?
Check 9: Ad schedule
- Go to Ad schedule in any campaign
- Is there a schedule set, or running 24/7?
- Check performance by day/hour—any obvious patterns?
Quick fix: Reallocate budget from losers to winners. Set realistic bid targets. Add scheduling if data supports it.
Minutes 9-12: Ad Quality
Ads are what users actually see.
Check 10: Ad strength
- Go to Ads & assets → Ads
- Filter by ad strength
- How many ads are "Poor" or "Average"?
- Are there ad groups with no RSAs?
Check 11: Extensions/assets
- Go to Ads & assets → Assets
- Are sitelinks populated?
- Callouts? Structured snippets?
- Any disapproved assets?
Check 12: Disapprovals
- Filter for disapproved ads
- Any active campaigns with all ads disapproved?
- Policy issues need immediate attention
Quick fix: Improve "Poor" ad strength by adding headlines/descriptions. Enable missing extensions. Fix disapprovals immediately.
Minutes 12-15: Performance Trends
Zoom out to see the bigger picture.
Check 13: Overall trend
- Go to Overview, set to Last 90 days
- Is performance improving, stable, or declining?
- Any sudden changes that need investigation?
Check 14: Top campaigns
- Sort campaigns by cost
- Are the highest-spend campaigns the highest performers?
- Any high-spend campaigns with poor ROAS/CPA?
Check 15: Comparison periods
- Compare last 30 days to prior 30 days
- Compare last 30 days to same period last year (if data exists)
- What's changing and why?
Quick fix: Investigate any sudden performance changes. Reduce spend on consistently poor campaigns. Document questions for deeper analysis.
The 15-Minute Audit Scorecard
Rate each area:
| Area | Status | Immediate Action Needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion tracking | ✅ / ⚠️ / ❌ | Yes / No |
| Search term waste | ✅ / ⚠️ / ❌ | Yes / No |
| Location settings | ✅ / ⚠️ / ❌ | Yes / No |
| Network settings | ✅ / ⚠️ / ❌ | Yes / No |
| Bidding setup | ✅ / ⚠️ / ❌ | Yes / No |
| Budget allocation | ✅ / ⚠️ / ❌ | Yes / No |
| Ad quality | ✅ / ⚠️ / ❌ | Yes / No |
| Extensions | ✅ / ⚠️ / ❌ | Yes / No |
| Performance trend | ✅ / ⚠️ / ❌ | Yes / No |
Three or more ❌? The account needs serious work.
Mostly ⚠️? Normal—most accounts have room for improvement.
All ✅? Either you're great, or you missed something. Dig deeper.
What This Audit Doesn't Cover
15 minutes finds urgent issues. It doesn't cover:
- Audience strategy and segmentation
- Keyword-level optimization
- Competitive positioning
- Landing page quality
- Full creative testing analysis
- Attribution modeling
- Cross-channel impact
Those require a full audit. But this quick check finds the fires that need immediate attention.
When to Run This Audit
New client onboarding: Before you promise anything, know what you're working with.
Account inheritance: Previous manager might have left landmines.
Monthly check-in: Quick verification that nothing's broken.
Before big meetings: Know the account state before presenting.
After major changes: Platform updates, tracking changes, or big optimizations warrant a quick check.
Common Quick Audit Findings
What you'll usually find:
80% of accounts: Location targeting set to "Presence or interest" (should almost always be "Presence")
60% of accounts: Search Partners enabled and underperforming
50% of accounts: Significant search term waste with no recent negative keywords
40% of accounts: Budget concentrated on wrong campaigns
30% of accounts: Missing or incomplete ad extensions
20% of accounts: Conversion tracking issues of some kind
10% of accounts: Display Network accidentally enabled on Search
These are the usual suspects. The 15-minute audit catches them quickly.
The Bottom Line
You can't fix what you don't find. The 15-minute audit finds the biggest problems fast.
It's not comprehensive. It's efficient. Run it first, then go deeper where problems surface.
Set your timer. Start now. You'll find something.
