Before changing a Google Ads account, check that the data and goals describe what the business actually wants. An audit should connect targeting, measurement, spend, and landing pages to useful outcomes, then turn the findings into a prioritized plan.
Confirm Goals, Dates, and Business Context
Write down the services or products being promoted and how success is defined. Choose a reporting period with enough activity to assess, allowing for conversion delay and major account changes. Keep comparisons consistent so a short window or changed conversion definition does not create a misleading performance story.
- Record the selected dates and comparison.
- List the actions the business values.
- Note significant budget, site, or campaign changes.
Check Conversion Tracking Before Judging Performance
Review what each conversion action records, whether it fires correctly, and how campaign goals use it. A form submission, call, and qualified opportunity should not be assumed to represent the same value. Test the real action where appropriate and investigate duplication or missing data before adjusting bidding around the totals.
- Confirm the event behind each goal.
- Check thank-you and form behavior.
- Separate tests, duplicate actions, and actual inquiries in analysis.
Review Search Terms and Targeting
Look at available queries alongside the services, coverage, and customer needs the business accepts. Identify patterns of irrelevant intent before making exclusions, and check whether a negative would block useful demand. Review locations, languages, schedules, and network settings as part of the same relevance check.
- Use lead feedback as well as keyword wording.
- Check ambiguous or unrelated meanings.
- Document the reason for meaningful exclusions.
Assess Campaign Structure and Landing-Page Fit
Campaign organization should make budgets, goals, and service priorities manageable. Review whether ad groups and ads lead to a suitable page, then test the contact or purchase path on mobile. Avoid treating one match type, bidding strategy, or generic account structure as the answer to every issue.
- Compare ad promises with the destination page.
- Review conversion goals used by each campaign.
- Check important forms, phone links, and checkout routes.
Create a Prioritized Change Log
Separate confirmed problems from recommendations that need a test. For each proposed change, record the evidence, expected purpose, and how you will assess it after implementation. Large simultaneous changes can make later results harder to interpret, so choose a sequence that answers a concrete question.
- Fix broken measurement or contact paths first where confirmed.
- Assign an owner and review date.
- Record what changed before assessing the outcome.