How to Run a Google Ads Audit in 2025: The Complete Checklist

Most Google Ads accounts bleed money in ways that aren't obvious. Wasted spend hides in search terms, outdated audiences, and settings nobody's checked in months.

A proper audit finds these leaks. Here's the complete checklist for auditing Google Ads accounts in 2025.

Why Audits Matter More Now

Google's automation handles more decisions than ever. Smart Bidding, broad match, Performance Max—the algorithm makes thousands of choices daily.

That automation can optimize toward the wrong goals, learn from bad data, or exploit settings you forgot existed. Audits catch what automation hides.

Run a full audit quarterly. Run quick checks monthly. The money you'll save justifies the time.

Account Structure Audit

Campaign organization:

• Are campaigns organized by objective, product line, or funnel stage?
• Is budget allocated to match business priorities?
• Are campaign types appropriate for goals (Search, PMax, Display, etc.)?

Ad group structure:

• Do ad groups have tight thematic focus?
• Are there too many keywords per ad group (over 15-20)?
• Do ad groups have sufficient volume for optimization?

Naming conventions:

• Can you understand campaign purpose from names alone?
• Is naming consistent across the account?
• Can you filter and report easily?

Conversion Tracking Audit

This is the most critical section. Bad tracking means bad optimization.

Conversion setup:

• Are all valuable actions tracked as conversions?
• Are conversion values accurate and updated?
• Is attribution model appropriate (data-driven preferred)?

Conversion quality:

• Are you tracking leads or just form submissions?
• Do conversion values reflect actual customer value?
• Is offline conversion data imported?

Technical verification:

• Test conversions are firing correctly
• Check for duplicate conversion counting
• Verify Enhanced Conversions is enabled
• Confirm Google Analytics 4 is properly linked

Bidding Strategy Audit

Strategy selection:

• Does the bidding strategy match the campaign objective?
• Is there sufficient conversion volume for Smart Bidding (30+ monthly)?
• Are target ROAS/CPA goals realistic based on historical data?

Performance check:

• Are campaigns in "Learning" status too often?
• Are bid strategies hitting targets consistently?
• Are there sudden performance changes indicating issues?

Settings review:

• Are bid adjustments conflicting with Smart Bidding?
• Is portfolio bidding used where appropriate?
• Are seasonality adjustments configured for known events?

Keyword and Search Term Audit

Keyword health:

• What percentage of keywords have zero impressions?
• Are there duplicate keywords across campaigns?
• Is match type strategy intentional and consistent?

Search term review:

• When was the search term report last reviewed?
• What percentage of spend goes to irrelevant queries?
• Are negative keywords being added regularly?

Match type assessment:

• Is broad match being used with Smart Bidding?
• Are phrase and exact match performing differently?
• Is there unnecessary keyword overlap?

Audience Audit

Audience usage:

• Are audiences applied to Search campaigns (observation or targeting)?
• Are remarketing lists being utilized?
• Is Customer Match implemented with quality data?

Audience performance:

• Which audiences perform best/worst?
• Are bid adjustments appropriate for audience performance?
• Are exclusions preventing wasted spend?

Data quality:

• Are customer lists updated regularly?
• Is audience size sufficient for targeting?
• Are lookalike/similar audiences performing?

Ad Creative Audit

Ad coverage:

• Does every ad group have Responsive Search Ads?
• Are all available headlines and descriptions filled?
• Is ad strength "Good" or "Excellent"?

Creative quality:

• Do ads include keywords in headlines?
• Are value propositions clear and differentiated?
• Do ads include calls to action?

Asset utilization:

• Are all relevant ad extensions enabled?
• Are sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets populated?
• Are image extensions being used?

Testing approach:

• Is there creative variation being tested?
• Are underperforming ads being paused?
• Is creative refreshed periodically?

Settings Audit

Often-ignored settings that leak money:

Location settings:

• "Presence" vs "Presence or interest" (usually want Presence only)
• Are locations appropriate for business?
• Are location exclusions needed?

Network settings:

• Is Search Partners enabled? (Often underperforms)
• Is Display expansion on Search campaigns? (Usually disable)

Schedule settings:

• Are ads running when customers convert?
• Are bid adjustments applied for high/low performing times?

Device settings:

• How does performance vary by device?
• Are bid adjustments appropriate?

Performance Max Audit

PMax requires specific audit considerations:

• Are asset groups well-organized and themed?
• Is brand exclusion implemented if needed?
• Are audience signals appropriate?
• What does the Insights tab reveal about placements?
• Is PMax cannibalizing branded Search?

The Audit Output

Don't just audit—act. Document findings in three categories:

A good audit creates a prioritized action list. Work through it systematically.

The Bottom Line

Google Ads accounts drift toward inefficiency. Automation optimizes within constraints you've set—even if those constraints are wrong.

Regular audits reset the account. They find waste, catch errors, and surface opportunities that daily management misses.