Most accounts leak 10–30% of spend through tracking gaps, mis‑targeting, and loose structure. This PPC audit checklist is built to help you find waste you can stop today and the wins you can scale within 30 days.

You’re here for a practical, platform‑agnostic PPC audit checklist you can run in a day. And, a deeper view into Google Ads and paid social where it counts.

After hundreds of PPC audits, we’ve refined a 60‑point process that finds waste, fixes tracking, and shows you how to scale winners with less guesswork. Skim, check off, log findings in the account audit template, then prioritize by impact versus effort.

If you’d like our team to validate your findings or run the audit with you, request a PPC audit. For a ready‑to‑use worksheet, download the PPC Account Audit Template (Google Sheet).

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How to use this PPC audit checklist

Move section by section. For each item, mark status, capture the finding, and rate Impact (H/M/L) and Effort (H/M/L) in the template. Prioritize quick wins first, then build a 30‑day and 90‑day plan. Revisit monthly for hygiene and quarterly for a deeper refresh.

Scoring: Each check is pass/fail. 0 = needs work. 1 = healthy. There are 60 points total. Your scorecard shows red/yellow/green by section so you can see where to act first.

How to run a PPC audit in 5 steps

• Verify tracking and attribution.
• Map account structure to business goals.
• Find and stop waste (search terms, placements, audiences).
• Fix foundations (keywords, bids, ads, landing pages).
• Prioritize tests and scale winners.

What is a PPC audit?

A PPC audit is a structured review of your paid search and paid social programs to confirm strategy‑fit, measurement accuracy, and efficient use of spend.

A strong PPC audit checklist covers governance, tracking, budgets and bids, keywords and ads, audiences, geo/device controls, landing pages/CRO, and a paid social audit pass. Outcomes: waste reduced, tracking fixed, and a clear path to scale. If you need a quick “google ads audit checklist,” focus on Sections D–H; for a “paid social audit,” see Section J.

Use our account audit template to document and prioritize.

60‑Point PPC Audit Checklist

Use this 60‑point, cross‑channel Google Ads audit checklist and paid social audit to benchmark your program.

A. Governance, access, and hygiene

[ ] 1) Confirm account ownership, billing profile, and legal entity are correct; turn on 2FA for every user. This protects spend and prevents lockouts.
[ ] 2) Review user roles using least‑privilege; remove ex‑employees/partners and stale API keys. Fewer high‑privilege users reduce risk.
[ ] 3) Scan change history weekly cadence and notes; ensure changes map to a plan, not reactive tinkering.
Tip: tag changes with an initiative code for traceability.
[ ] 4) Validate account structure mirrors business goals with a clear taxonomy and naming conventions. If leadership can’t read the structure, it won’t scale.

B. Measurement and attribution

[ ] 5) Link GA4 or analytics and import trusted conversions (or measure natively) without duplicates. Test each conversion fires once per action.
[ ] 6) Define 1–2 primary conversions; demote micro‑conversions so bidding doesn’t chase the wrong signals.
[ ] 7) Enable Enhanced Conversions (Google) or UET with enhanced signals (Microsoft) where appropriate to improve match quality.
See Microsoft Advertising Help: UET and conversion tracking.
[ ] 8) Set up offline conversion imports from your CRM (leads, qualified pipeline, closed‑won) and deduplicate on gclid/msclkid.
Tip: pass opportunity value for value‑based bidding.
[ ] 9) Use data‑driven attribution where available; retire last‑click unless you have a proven reason not to.
[ ] 10) Set conversion windows to your sales cycle; decide intentionally on view‑throughs by channel.
[ ] 11) Confirm value‑based bidding readiness: accurate values or value rules applied by audience/geo/device.
[ ] 12) Standardize UTMs and enable auto‑tagging; test a full click → session → conversion path. Tip: compare ad platform conversions vs. GA4 for reasonableness, not perfect match.

C. Budgeting and bidding

[ ] 13) Align daily budgets to targets and pacing; resolve “limited by budget” or concentrate spend to priority campaigns.
[ ] 14) Match bid strategies to objectives (e.g., Max Conversions/Value, tCPA, tROAS) and avoid mismatches (awareness with tROAS).
[ ] 15) Use portfolio bid strategies where beneficial, but don’t mix conflicting goals in one portfolio.
[ ] 16) Check seasonality adjustments and data exclusions; remove stale settings that distort bidding.
[ ] 17) Respect learning periods; avoid frequent changes that reset algorithms.
Tip: batch edits once or twice weekly.
[ ] 18) Monitor Impression Share and Lost IS (budget/rank); plan to capture profitable lost share with incremental budget or quality improvements.

Common Waste Sources

• Duplicate or conflicting keywords
• Broad match without robust negatives
• Auto‑applied recommendations that conflict with strategy
• Irrelevant placements/partners
• Mixed objectives in paid social
• “Limited by budget” across too many campaigns with poor prioritization

D. Keywords and search terms (Google/Microsoft)

[ ] 19) Separate brand vs. non‑brand; ensure exact match for your highest‑value terms to stabilize performance.
[ ] 20) Use broad match only with strong signals (robust negatives, value bidding, DDA) or avoid intentionally; monitor query expansion closely.
[ ] 21) Maintain negative keyword strategy at account/campaign/ad group levels; run conflict checks to prevent cannibalization.
[ ] 22) Review Search Terms reports; pause zero‑intent n‑grams (e.g., “free,” “jobs,” “definition”).
Tip: export 90 days, pivot on n‑grams to spot patterns fast.
[ ] 23) Map query coverage to intents; make sure each key intent has a relevant ad group and landing page.
[ ] 24) Consolidate duplicate/near‑duplicate keywords to reduce auction overlap and concentrate data.
[ ] 25) Clean up “low search volume” and historically non‑serving terms to reduce account bloat.
[ ] 26) Compete on competitor terms strategically; model CPCs, Quality Score, and conversion economics before scaling.
See Google Ads Help: About Quality Score and its components.

E. Ads, assets, and extensions (Google/Microsoft)

[ ] 27) Run at least two Responsive Search Ads per ad group; aim for “Good/Excellent” ad strength with sensible pinning where needed.
[ ] 28) Use a test framework (message, benefit, CTA) with one variable at a time; document hypotheses and outcomes.
[ ] 29) Populate all relevant assets: sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, images, phone, lead forms.
Tip: sitelinks + callouts are often low‑effort, high‑impact.
[ ] 30) Apply ad customizers and countdowns for personalization and urgency when time‑bound offers run.
[ ] 31) Clear policy disapprovals; monitor account status to avoid suspensions.
[ ] 32) Tighten ad‑to‑landing message match; echo the primary keyword/theme and the same CTA.
[ ] 33) Maintain creative freshness; rotate in new variants and archive stale or underperforming ads.

F. Audiences and signals

[ ] 34) Activate remarketing lists (site visitors, cart abandoners, high‑value users) with membership duration aligned to your cycle.
[ ] 35) Build compliant Customer Match lists; segment by lifecycle value or product line for relevance.
[ ] 36) Layer in‑market, affinity, and custom segments on observation to gather insights and set bid modifiers.
[ ] 37) Apply demographic exclusions or bid adjustments where performance supports it.
[ ] 38) Use RLSA for non‑brand search; tailor bids and creatives for returning users.
[ ] 39) For broad match or PMax, seed audience signals with high‑quality first‑party data to guide exploration.

G. Shopping, PMax, and feeds

[ ] 40) Keep Merchant Center healthy: resolve feed diagnostics, policy flags, shipping/tax issues.
[ ] 41) Improve product feed quality: optimized titles, accurate attributes/GTINs, clean images, price parity.
Tip: suppress products with chronic poor ROAS while you fix data.
[ ] 42) Structure PMax asset groups by product/category; complete audience and creative assets.
[ ] 43) Use brand exclusions/brand safety controls; review PMax search term insights regularly.
[ ] 44) Monitor incrementality and cannibalization vs. Search; run experiments when possible to confirm lift.

See how our audits reduce waste and unlock scale.

Our PPC engineers follow a proven 60‑point process and hand you a prioritized roadmap. Copy the account audit template to score your program, then talk to us about a paid media strategy and an experiment roadmap built from your findings.

Request a PPC Audit

H. Geo, device, and schedule controls

[ ] 45) Set location targeting to Presence (people in or regularly in) and exclude irrelevant geos. This alone often cuts waste.
[ ] 46) Review geo performance; split or adjust bids by region where demand and costs differ.
[ ] 47) Analyze device performance (desktop/mobile/tablet); segment or bid‑adjust where meaningful.
[ ] 48) Daypart with data: build ad schedules by hour/day; avoid 24/7 if off‑hours drain budget.

I. Landing pages and CRO alignment

[ ] 49) Check page speed and mobile UX; keep Core Web Vitals within recommended thresholds for better CPCs and CVR.
[ ] 50) Ensure message match: headline, offer, and CTA align to query/ad; remove friction points.
[ ] 51) Optimize forms: minimize fields, show trust signals, and confirm thank‑you tracking works.
[ ] 52) Run an A/B testing plan (headline, offer, layout) with clean experiment design and adequate sample size.
[ ] 53) Track post‑click funnels; identify drop‑offs between steps and fix the biggest leaks first.
Tip: build a simple Impact vs. Effort matrix to prioritize.

J. Paid social audit (Meta/LinkedIn/TikTok)

[ ] 54) Install and verify Pixels/Insight Tags; map standard + custom events to funnel stages.
[ ] 55) Handle limited/aggregated tracking (prioritized events, consent) per platform policy.
[ ] 56) Structure campaigns by single objective each; avoid mixing objectives within the same campaign.
[ ] 57) Build audience strategy with lookalikes and value‑based audiences; monitor overlap and frequency.
[ ] 58) Diversify creative (video, static, carousel) with varied hooks; track fatigue and refresh cadence.
See Meta Business Help Center: Ad relevance diagnostics.
[ ] 59) Set placement controls and exclusions (brand safety, inventory filters) and maintain blocklists.
[ ] 60) Improve measurement with server‑side Conversions API where supported; import offline conversions and compare modeled vs. observed outcomes.

Quick Wins to Implement Today

• Flip location targeting to Presence (not Presence or Interest)
• Add negative keywords from the last 90 days of search terms
• Enable Enhanced Conversions or UET and verify with test traffic
• Turn on sitelinks and callouts in all core campaigns
• Pause spend‑sink placements and low‑quality PMax inventory
• Refresh top creative with your strongest hook and benefit

When to bring in a partner

Bring in help when bandwidth is thin, experiments aren’t structured, or multi‑channel complexity masks what’s working. Our audit‑led onboarding delivers a 60‑point review, a ranked action plan, and a screen‑share walkthrough in 7 business days.

Ready to make decisions with confidence? Book a PPC Audit. If you need ongoing execution and testing velocity, ask about managed PPC and an audit‑led roadmap.

Ready to turn audits into outcomes?

We’ll validate tracking, stop waste, and build your 90‑day test plan.

Exploring ongoing support? Learn more about how PPC management can boost your pipeline and help you achieve goals with less.