How to Audit a Google Ads Account: A Step-by-Step Guide for Marketers and Agencies

TL;DR: A Google Ads audit is a systematic review of your account structure, keywords, match types, search terms, bids, and ad performance to find wasted spend and missed opportunities. This guide walks you through exactly how to do one—step by step—in under a few hours.

Whether you've inherited a messy account, just onboarded a new client, or want to sanity-check your own campaigns, a proper audit gives you a clear picture of what's working, what's bleeding budget, and what needs fixing fast.

Most Google Ads accounts have issues hiding in plain sight. Irrelevant search terms eating up budget. Keywords running on the wrong match types. Ad groups stuffed with mixed intent. Bids that haven't been touched in months. An audit surfaces all of it.

This guide is structured as a practical workflow, not a vague checklist of "review your campaigns." Each step focuses on a specific layer of the account: what to look for, and what to do when you find a problem. We'll cover account structure, keyword health, search term analysis, match type strategy, ad copy, bidding, and conversion tracking.

By the end, you'll have a prioritized list of fixes and a repeatable process you can run monthly or hand off to a client.

Tools you'll need: access to the Google Ads interface, and optionally a Chrome extension like Keywordme to speed up the keyword and search term steps significantly.

Step 1: Check Account Structure and Campaign Settings

Start at the top before you touch anything else. Account structure problems compound everything downstream, so it's worth spending 20-30 minutes here before diving into keywords or bids.

First, review your campaign types. Make a quick list of every campaign running and confirm each one has a clear, single purpose. Search, Display, Performance Max, and Shopping campaigns all behave differently and should be managed separately. In most accounts I audit, you'll find at least one campaign trying to do too many things at once.

Next, check campaign-level settings. These are easy to set once and forget, which is exactly why they cause problems:

Network settings: Search campaigns should not be opted into the Display Network. This is a default setting in older account setups and a well-documented source of wasted spend. Check every Search campaign and uncheck "Display Network" if it's enabled.

Location targeting: Confirm you're targeting the right locations and, importantly, that you're using "Presence" rather than "Presence or interest." The latter can serve ads to people who are merely interested in a location, not physically there.

Ad scheduling and device bid adjustments: Look for campaigns with zero bid adjustments across all devices and all hours. This isn't automatically wrong, but it usually means nobody has looked at the data. Flag it for review in Step 6.

Now look at ad group structure. Each ad group should tightly map to one keyword theme. If you open an ad group and see keywords covering three different products or intents, that's a problem. It hurts ad relevance, Quality Score, and your ability to write targeted copy.

Also check for duplicate campaigns or ad groups targeting the same keywords. This creates internal auction competition where you're essentially bidding against yourself. It's common in accounts managed by multiple people over time.

Red flags to note for your fix list:

Campaigns with no negative keyword lists attached: Every campaign should have at least one negative keyword list applied.

Ad groups with 20+ keywords crammed in: This almost always signals poor structure. Break these up.

Campaigns running with no conversion tracking goal attached: If a campaign has no conversion action associated, Smart Bidding has nothing to optimize toward. Flag these immediately.

Step 2: Audit Your Keyword List for Relevance and Redundancy

Pull the Keywords report and sort by spend, descending. Your top 20 spend keywords tell you where the budget is actually going, and you'd be surprised how often those keywords no longer align with the current offer.

Start there. For each high-spend keyword, ask: is this still relevant to what we're selling? Is the landing page still live and aligned? Has the offer changed since this keyword was added? In inherited accounts especially, you'll often find keywords that made sense 18 months ago but are now sending traffic to an outdated page or a discontinued product.

Next, look for keywords with zero impressions over the last 30 days. These fall into a few categories: low search volume, policy restrictions, or simply irrelevant terms that never triggered anything. Pause or remove these to keep the account clean.

Keyword cannibalization is one of the most common structural issues I see, particularly in accounts with multiple ad groups targeting similar themes. If two ad groups are competing for the same query, Google decides which one enters the auction, and it's not always the one you'd choose. Use the Search Terms Report (covered in Step 3) alongside the keyword list to identify overlap.

Check Quality Scores. Anything below 5 warrants investigation. Low Quality Score usually signals a mismatch somewhere in the chain: the keyword doesn't match the ad copy, or the ad copy doesn't match the landing page, or the landing page experience is poor. A score of 3 or below on a high-spend keyword is a priority fix. If you're seeing widespread low scores, the guide on how to improve Google Ads Quality Score covers the most effective fixes in detail.

Flag keywords with high spend and zero conversions over a meaningful time window, typically 30-90 days depending on your traffic volume. These are your primary candidates for pausing or restructuring. Don't pause blindly though: check the search terms they triggered first, because sometimes the keyword itself is fine but the match type is causing it to pull in irrelevant queries.

Finally, use keyword clustering logic to verify that related terms are grouped correctly. Mismatched groupings hurt ad relevance and make it harder to write ads that speak directly to intent. Tools like Keywordme include keyword clustering features that can help you spot grouping issues faster than manually scanning a long keyword list.

Step 3: Dig Into the Search Terms Report

This is where most wasted spend hides. The Search Terms Report shows you what people actually typed before clicking your ad, and in most accounts, there's a meaningful gap between the keywords you're bidding on and the queries that are actually triggering them.

Set your date range to the last 30-90 days. For lower-spend accounts, go wider. Filter for search terms that have spend but zero conversions. These are your primary negative keyword candidates. Work through them systematically.

What you're looking for:

Irrelevant queries triggered by broad match: Broad match has expanded significantly in recent years. It now incorporates signals from landing pages, other keywords in the ad group, and audience data. This gives Google more flexibility, which is useful when you have strong conversion data and Smart Bidding in place. Without those guardrails, it can pull in queries that have nothing to do with your offer. Learning how to stop Google Ads showing for wrong searches is one of the highest-value skills you can develop.

Competitor brand terms you didn't intend to bid on: These show up more often than people expect, especially with broad or phrase match keywords.

Informational queries mixed in with commercial ones: If you're selling software, you don't want to pay for "how does X work" queries unless you have a content strategy to support them.

High-performing search terms not yet added as keywords: This is the flip side of the negative keyword work. If a search term has converted multiple times and isn't in your keyword list, add it as an exact match keyword so you can control bidding and messaging for it directly.

The standard workflow here is: export to spreadsheet, sort, categorize, then go back into Google Ads and add negatives manually. That process works, but it's slow. This is exactly where Keywordme earns its keep. It lets you review search terms faster and add negatives with one click, directly inside the Google Ads interface. No exporting, no switching tabs, no re-importing. For accounts with large search term volumes, this step alone can go from a two-hour task to a 20-minute one.

When adding negatives, think about the right level. Campaign-level negatives block a term across all ad groups in that campaign. Ad group-level negatives are more surgical and allow you to funnel traffic between ad groups rather than blocking it entirely. Use both strategically.

Aim to review search terms at least weekly for active campaigns. Monthly is the minimum for lower-spend accounts. This is the single highest-ROI optimization habit in Google Ads, and it's also the one most frequently skipped.

Step 4: Review Match Types Across the Account

Map out which match types are in use across the account and whether the distribution makes sense for the account's goals and budget. This is easier to see if you export the keyword list and add a filter by match type.

What you're looking for:

Broad match without Smart Bidding and strong negative lists: This is a common source of wasted spend. Broad match can work well when paired with Target CPA or Target ROAS bidding and a solid conversion history. Without those elements, it's essentially giving Google permission to show your ads for loosely related queries with no guardrails. Flag any broad match keywords in campaigns that don't have an automated bidding strategy and a clean negative keyword setup.

High-converting keywords not protected by exact match: If a specific query is driving most of your conversions, you want that keyword running as exact match so you control precisely when it triggers. Check your top-converting search terms from Step 3 and confirm the corresponding keywords are exact match.

Same keyword in multiple match types in the same ad group: This creates redundancy and can confuse the bidding algorithm. Pick the right match type for each keyword and stick with it.

Legacy BMM syntax still in the account: Modified broad match was deprecated in 2021. Any keywords still using the +keyword format are now functioning as phrase match. This isn't broken, but it's worth cleaning up for clarity. The guide on how phrase match changed in recent Google Ads updates is useful context here.

For accounts in the early stages, phrase match and exact match together give you good coverage with reasonable control. For mature accounts with strong conversion data and Smart Bidding in place, broad match can be used more safely as a discovery tool. The key is that the match type strategy should be intentional, not just whatever was set up years ago and never revisited.

For a deeper breakdown of when to use each match type, the Keywordme blog has a useful reference on broad match vs. exact match that's worth bookmarking.

Step 5: Evaluate Ad Copy and Landing Page Alignment

Check that each ad group has at least one Responsive Search Ad with strong asset ratings. In Google Ads, RSA performance ratings show as "Poor," "Good," or "Excellent." Any RSA rated "Poor" needs copy improvements. Look at which headlines and descriptions are getting low ratings and rewrite them to be more specific, more relevant to the keyword theme, and more aligned with what users are searching for.

Verify that ad headlines include the primary keyword for each ad group. This directly impacts Quality Score, specifically the ad relevance component. If your ad group is targeting "project management software for teams" and none of your headlines include that phrase or a close variant, you're leaving Quality Score points on the table.

Check for outdated content in ad copy. This is especially common in inherited accounts. Look for seasonal promotions that have expired, pricing claims that are no longer accurate, or messaging that references products or features that have changed. Any of these create a disconnect between what the ad promises and what the landing page delivers.

Speaking of landing pages: confirm every destination URL is live, loads quickly, and matches the intent of the ad. A mobile click landing on a slow, desktop-only page is a conversion killer. Check a sample of your top-spend ad groups manually.

Look at CTR by ad group. Low CTR often signals a mismatch between what the keyword implies and what the ad delivers. If users are searching for something specific and your ad headline is generic, they'll scroll past it. CTR also feeds into Quality Score via expected CTR, so improving it has compounding benefits. For a practical breakdown of what good performance looks like, the post on how to know if your Google Ads are performing well is a useful benchmark reference.

Flag ad groups with only one active ad. Google Ads needs at least two to three ad variations to test and optimize. Single-ad groups are a missed opportunity and a sign that ad testing hasn't been prioritized.

Step 6: Assess Bidding Strategy and Budget Allocation

Start by mapping which campaigns use manual CPC versus automated bidding strategies: Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value. Neither approach is universally better, but the choice should be intentional and matched to the account's data maturity.

For automated bidding campaigns, check whether they have enough conversion data to function properly. Smart Bidding generally needs a minimum of 30-50 conversions per month per campaign to make reliable auction-time decisions. Campaigns running Target CPA with five conversions a month are essentially flying blind. In those cases, Maximize Clicks or manual CPC may be more appropriate until volume builds up. The post on how many conversions Google Ads needs to optimize explains the thresholds in more detail.

Look for campaigns consistently hitting their daily budget cap. This is a signal that the campaign is performing and you're leaving auctions on the table by under-investing. Flag these for a budget increase conversation with the client or internal stakeholder.

Identify campaigns with very high CPC relative to conversion value. If you're paying $40 per click and converting at 2%, the math doesn't work at most CPA targets. These campaigns may need bid caps, a strategy shift, or a harder look at whether the keyword targeting is right.

Review impression share data. Low Search Impression Share due to budget means you're missing auctions you could win with more spend. Low IS due to rank means Quality Score or bids need work. These require different fixes, so it's important to distinguish between them.

Finally, check bid adjustments for devices, locations, and audiences. In most accounts I audit, these are sitting at 0% across the board even when performance data clearly shows that mobile converts at half the rate of desktop, or that one city drives most of the revenue. Data-driven bid adjustments are one of the fastest ways to improve efficiency without changing anything else.

Step 7: Verify Conversion Tracking and Data Integrity

This is the most critical step in the entire audit. Everything else you've done is meaningless if conversion tracking is broken or misconfigured. Smart Bidding optimizes toward conversions. Your reporting reflects conversions. Your decisions are based on conversions. If the data is wrong, everything built on top of it is wrong too.

Go to Tools and Settings, then Conversions. Look for any actions marked "Unverified," "Inactive," or "No recent conversions." These need immediate attention. Also look for duplicate conversion actions: the same conversion being tracked twice under different names. This is one of the most common issues in audited accounts and it inflates conversion numbers significantly, which in turn misleads Smart Bidding algorithms.

Check the conversion category for each action. Is a purchase being categorized as a purchase? Is a lead form submission categorized as a lead? Miscategorized conversions affect how Smart Bidding interprets and prioritizes them.

Check the counting method. "Every conversion" makes sense for e-commerce where each purchase is a separate transaction. "One per click" makes more sense for lead gen where you don't want a single user filling out a form twice to count as two conversions. Many accounts have this set incorrectly.

Look for micro-conversions being counted as primary conversions. Page views, button clicks, and scroll depth are useful engagement signals, but if they're set as primary conversion actions, they're feeding the bidding algorithm the wrong signal. Demote these to secondary conversions.

Compare Google Ads conversion data to Google Analytics. Some discrepancy is normal due to attribution differences, but large gaps signal a tracking problem. If Google Ads is reporting 200 conversions and Analytics shows 40, something is broken or double-counting. If your tracking setup needs a full rebuild, the step-by-step guide on how to set up conversion tracking in Google Ads walks through the entire process.

Finally, if you're using Smart Bidding, confirm the conversion window is appropriate for the sales cycle. A 30-day conversion window might be too short for a high-consideration B2B product where the sales cycle runs 60-90 days.

Once you've completed all seven steps, organize your findings into a prioritized fix list:

Critical: Broken conversion tracking, massive wasted spend on irrelevant search terms, campaigns opted into Display Network unintentionally.

High: Match type issues, missing negative keyword lists, duplicate conversion actions, campaigns without conversion goals.

Medium: Ad copy improvements, landing page misalignment, poor RSA ratings, ad group restructuring.

Low: Minor bid adjustments, QS improvements on low-spend keywords, legacy BMM cleanup.

Your Google Ads Audit Checklist

Here's the full process at a glance, structured as a repeatable workflow:

Step 1: Account Structure — Review campaign types, network settings, location targeting, ad group themes, and duplicate keywords.

Step 2: Keyword Health — Sort by spend, check Quality Scores, identify zero-impression and zero-conversion keywords, flag cannibalization.

Step 3: Search Terms Report — Find irrelevant queries, add negatives at the right level, identify high-performing terms to add as keywords.

Step 4: Match Types — Audit match type distribution, protect high-converting terms with exact match, remove redundant match type duplication.

Step 5: Ad Copy and Landing Pages — Check RSA ratings, confirm keyword inclusion in headlines, verify landing pages are live and aligned.

Step 6: Bidding and Budget — Confirm Smart Bidding has enough conversion data, check impression share, review device and location bid adjustments.

Step 7: Conversion Tracking — Check for inactive or duplicate conversion actions, verify counting methods, compare to Analytics data.

Run this audit monthly for active accounts. Quarterly is the minimum for lower-spend or maintenance-mode accounts. Steps 2 through 4 are the most time-intensive, but they're also where you'll find the highest-ROI fixes in almost every account.

The search term review in Step 3 in particular is the kind of task that's easy to deprioritize because it's tedious. Keywordme was built specifically to solve that problem. Instead of exporting to a spreadsheet, sorting, categorizing, and re-importing, you can review and action search terms with one click directly inside the Google Ads interface. For agencies managing multiple accounts, that time saving compounds quickly.

A good audit isn't a one-time cleanup. It's the foundation of a repeatable optimization process. Do it regularly, document your findings, and track what you fixed. Over time, you'll spend less time finding problems and more time scaling what works.

Start your free 7-day trial and see how much faster the search term and keyword steps go when you're working directly inside Google Ads instead of juggling spreadsheets. After the trial, it's $12/month per user.