How To Carry Out A PPC Audit

When completing a comprehensive PPC audit, it’s important to analyse various aspects of the campaign to identify opportunities for improvement, potential issues, and areas of inefficiency. Here’s a detailed checklist of key areas to focus on:
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1. Account Structure

                 •               Campaigns and Ad Groups: Ensure campaigns and ad groups are logically organised. Ad groups should focus on tightly themed keyword clusters for relevance.

                 •               Keyword Organisation: Are keywords properly grouped? Look for ways to improve by splitting into more specific ad groups (SKAG – Single Keyword Ad Groups can be helpful in certain scenarios).

                 •               Naming Conventions: Ensure consistent naming for campaigns, ad groups, and ads to keep the account easy to manage.

2. Keyword Analysis

                 •               Match Types: Are you using a variety of keyword match types (broad, phrase, exact)? Broad match can drive irrelevant traffic if overused. Analyse the performance of different match types and adjust accordingly.

                 •               Negative Keywords: Are there sufficient negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic? Review search terms reports to identify unwanted queries.

                 •               Keyword Bidding: Check if bids are appropriate for performance. Look for high CPC keywords that aren’t converting and underperforming keywords to reduce spend.

                 •               Search Term Report: Are the actual search queries relevant? Consider adding high-performing queries as exact match or refining negatives.

3. Ad Copy and Extensions

                 •               Ad Copy Relevance: Review the ad copy for relevance to the targeted keywords. Are you using engaging and compelling CTAs (Calls to Action)?

                 •               Ad Copy Testing: Are you running A/B tests? Regularly testing different versions of ad copy helps improve CTR (Click Through Rate) and conversions.

                 •               Ad Extensions: Are all relevant ad extensions being used (e.g., sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets)? These improve CTR and provide additional information to users.

4. Landing Page Experience

                 •               Relevance to Ad Copy: Do the landing pages align with the ad copy and targeted keywords? A mismatch can reduce Quality Score and conversions.

                 •               Conversion Optimisation: Is the landing page optimised for conversions (clear CTAs, user-friendly layout, fast loading times)? Consider heat maps or A/B testing landing pages to boost performance.

                 •               Mobile Friendliness: Check whether landing pages are mobile-friendly. A growing portion of traffic is mobile, so a responsive design is essential.

5. Targeting Settings

                 •               Geographic Targeting: Ensure you’re targeting the right locations and excluding irrelevant areas. Check for anomalies in location reports.

                 •               Ad Scheduling: Review ad scheduling. Are ads being shown at optimal times? Adjust the schedule based on when conversions typically occur.

                 •               Device Targeting: Analyse performance across devices (mobile, desktop, tablet) and adjust bids or create separate campaigns based on device performance.

6. Bidding Strategies

                 •               Bid Adjustments: Are bid adjustments in place for different locations, devices, or audiences? Consider raising or lowering bids for better control over spend.

                 •               Bidding Strategy: Is the current bidding strategy (e.g., Manual CPC, Target CPA, Maximise Conversions) aligned with the goals? Consider testing different strategies, such as automated bidding for improved efficiency.

7. Conversion Tracking

                 •               Accurate Conversion Tracking: Are all conversion actions being tracked accurately (e.g., form submissions, phone calls, transactions)? Ensure the conversion tracking codes are firing correctly.

                 •               Attribution Model: Is the attribution model appropriate for the business type (e.g., last click, linear, time decay)? Review how conversions are being attributed to different touchpoints.

8. Quality Score

                 •               Keyword-Level Quality Score: Analyse the Quality Score for individual keywords. Break it down by ad relevance, landing page experience, and expected CTR to identify areas for improvement.

9. Budget and Pacing

                 •               Budget Allocation: Is the budget being spent efficiently across campaigns? Review pacing to ensure you’re not over- or under-spending throughout the month.

                 •               Spend vs. Performance: Compare spend against key metrics like CTR, conversion rate, and CPA. Are you getting a good return on ad spend (ROAS)?

10. Competitor Analysis

                 •               Auction Insights: Use Auction Insights to analyse how you perform compared to competitors. Are you missing out on impression share or being outbid by others in the space?

                 •               Ad Copy and Keywords: Review competitor ad copy and keyword strategies to identify gaps and opportunities.

11. Audience Targeting

                 •               Remarketing Audiences: Are remarketing lists set up properly to capture users for retargeting? Consider different audiences (site visitors, past converters, etc.).

                 •               Demographic Targeting: Review demographic performance (age, gender, household income) and adjust bids or exclusions based on who is converting.

12. Performance Metrics

                 •               CTR (Click-Through Rate): Is CTR above industry average? Low CTR can signal poor ad relevance or targeting issues.

                 •               Conversion Rate: Analyse the conversion rate across campaigns, ad groups, and keywords. Poor conversion rates may indicate targeting or landing page issues.

                 •               CPA (Cost Per Acquisition): Review cost per conversion and identify high-cost keywords or placements to adjust or pause.

                 •               ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): If you’re focusing on revenue, evaluate ROAS to ensure campaigns are profitable.

13. Campaign Goals Alignment

                 •               Goal Setting: Are the campaigns aligned with the business’s overall goals (e.g., lead generation, sales)? Review KPIs to ensure alignment with objectives.

                 •               Conversion Funnels: Check if your funnel from clicks to conversions is efficient. For example, if you’re getting lots of clicks but no conversions, there may be an issue in the middle of the funnel.

14. Ad Platform Features

                 •               New Features: Are you leveraging the latest features from Google Ads (e.g., Performance Max, responsive search ads, smart campaigns)?

                 •               Ad Automation: Consider opportunities for automation, such as automated rules or scripts to manage bids, budgets, and ads.

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