Google Ads Audit: 4 Mistakes Killing Your Budget and Cracking Your Foundation
Are you a Google Ads manager, business owner, or marketer responsible for paid search campaigns? If so, understanding how to conduct a Google Ads audit is essential for maximizing your ad spend and campaign results. A Google Ads audit is a thorough review of your existing pay-per-click campaigns to evaluate their performance. This process helps you identify inefficiencies, uncover hidden issues, and create a clear action plan for improvement. Conducting a Google Ads audit regularly helps maintain optimal performance and provides a clear action plan for improvement.
In this article, we’ll cover the 4 most common mistakes found during Google Ads audits and, more importantly, how to fix them. Avoiding these mistakes can save significant ad spend and improve campaign results. Whether you’re new to Google Ads or a seasoned pro, these insights will help you build a stronger, more profitable account.
A proper Google Ads audit can help save money by identifying and correcting inefficiencies that drain your budget and limit your results.
If you’re nodding right now, you’re definitely not alone. After nearly two decades in paid search, I know exactly what’s causing that disconnect.
I’m not talking about minor budget hiccups or a few weak ad headlines. I’m talking about fundamental flaws—like poor budget allocation—that make an account impossible to manage profitably and often lead to wasted spend.
🧐 What We’ll Cover
- Why faulty Google Ads conversion tracking is the #1 silent budget killer.
- How lazy keyword segmentation leads to wasted ad spend.
- The difference between a "diagnostic tool" and an actual auction input.
- What to do when your boss or client asks for an impossible miracle.
🛠️ Mistake #1: Your Conversion Data Is Lying to You
This is the most critical and frequent challenge I fix for clients. It’s always a poor data foundation, period. Verifying that conversion tags are implemented correctly is essential to ensure accurate tracking and reliable measurement of your Google Ads performance.
A solid foundation starts with reviewing your account setup, including checking that all tracking and analytics configurations are correct. This means confirming that tracking URLs, goals, and conversions are set up properly so your data is accurate and actionable.
Broken Tracking Is the Silent Killer
If you’re counting “page views” or “add-to-carts” as actual, valuable conversions, you’re getting an inflated, unrealistic picture of success.
Use the Segment option for Conversion action in your reports to see which specific actions are being counted as conversions.
It’s also important to choose whether to set conversion actions at the account level or campaign level, as this ensures your reporting aligns with your campaign goals and provides accurate tracking.
You are celebrating activity, not results. This causes you to pour money into campaigns that are actually losing you money.
It’s the number-one reason businesses give up on Google Ads, and it has nothing to do with the platform itself.
How to Build a Solid Foundation
Track Meaningful Actions: Verify that you are only counting a submission, a purchase, or a quality lead—the stuff that actually makes you money.
Segment for Clarity: In your Google Ads campaign view, use the Segment option for Conversion action. This lets you see exactly which actions are being included in the “Conversions” column.
Question Everything: If your Conversion Rate is 50%, your tracking is almost certainly broken. Conversion Rate (CVR) tracks the percentage of visitors who take a desired action. If the data looks too good (or bad!) to be true, you need to investigate the root cause.
Fun story: I once audited an account where they thought they were getting a 1,000% return. Turns out, they were counting every single scroll on the landing page as a conversion. Oops.
If you suspect your foundation is shaky, this is what the $750 Google Ads Audit is designed to fix. We find those broken trackers and show you the real performance story.
Landing Pages: The Overlooked Conversion Leak
When it comes to Google Ads, most advertisers obsess over keywords, ad copy, and bidding—but overlook the silent budget drain: landing pages. Your landing pages are where all your paid search traffic lands, and if they’re not up to par, you’re essentially pouring ad spend down the drain. Even the best ads can’t save a campaign if the landing page fails to convert visitors into leads or customers.
Regular Google Ads audits shouldn’t just focus on campaign settings or keyword lists—they must include a deep dive into your landing pages. By identifying areas where your landing pages fall short, you can dramatically improve conversion rates and make every advertising dollar work harder.
Why Landing Pages Matter
A successful Google Ads account is built on more than just clever ad copy and well-chosen keywords. Your landing pages are the final stop in the user journey, and they need to deliver on the promise your ads make. If your landing pages don’t align with the user’s search intent, or if the messaging is unclear, you’ll see low conversion rates and wasted budget—no matter how strong your ads are.
Think of your landing page as the handshake after a great introduction. It should reinforce ad relevance, provide a seamless experience, and make it easy for users to take action. When your landing pages are tightly connected to your keywords and ad groups, you’ll see a boost in both conversions and overall account performance. Don’t let a weak landing page undermine your Google Ads investment—optimize for clarity, relevance, and results.
How to Audit Landing Pages
Start by using your search terms report to uncover the most relevant keywords and phrases your audience is actually searching for. Build tightly themed ad groups and create landing pages that directly address those search terms, ensuring every visitor feels like they’ve landed in the right place.
Use Google Analytics to monitor how users interact with your landing pages and identify areas where visitors drop off or fail to convert.
Landing Page Optimization Tips
Ready to stop the conversion leaks? Try these quick fixes:
Feature a clear headline that matches your ad’s promise.
Use a strong call-to-action (CTA) that stands out.
Minimize distractions—remove unnecessary links or clutter.
Ensure fast load times and mobile responsiveness.
Test different headlines, CTAs, and layouts using split testing.
Leverage responsive search ads to match user queries.
Regularly review landing page performance in Google Analytics.
By regularly reviewing and optimizing your landing pages as part of your Google Ads account audit, you’ll reduce wasted spend, improve campaign performance, and turn more clicks into conversions.
Once your landing pages are optimized, it’s time to focus on how you organize your keywords for maximum efficiency.
🗺️ Mistake #2: Strategic Sloppiness with Keywords
Once your data foundation is solid, the next common mistake is organizing your account like a junk drawer you haven’t cleaned out since college. Selecting the right match type for each keyword group is crucial for maximizing your Google Ads audit results and ensuring your campaigns are both efficient and effective.
Group by Intent, Not Just by Product
Instead of dumping all keywords into one ad group, segment by intent—such as “buy,” “compare,” or “learn.” This allows you to tailor ad copy and landing pages to the user’s stage in the funnel. Using exact match keywords within these intent-based groups can provide tighter targeting and help control which searches trigger your ads. Regularly reviewing and updating your negative keywords is also essential to exclude irrelevant search terms, improve ad relevance, and optimize your budget.
The goal isn't just to group similar keywords. The goal is to group keywords that share the exact same user intent. They should all be served the exact same ad copy.
Think about it: If a user is searching for "residential cleaning," their intent is vastly different than someone searching for "commercial office cleaning."
They need separate ad groups. They may even need separate campaigns, because the buyer, the messaging, and the price point are completely different.
Start Small, Then Expand
Don’t launch with 500 keywords. Start with your highest-value terms and expand as you see what works. Choose appropriate match types based on your budget and campaign goals—starting with more restrictive match types like Exact or Phrase can help control spend and improve targeting, then expanding to Broad as you gather data. Incorporating long tail keywords can help you better match specific user intent and drive more qualified traffic to your landing pages.
A well-structured search campaign helps you avoid keyword cannibalization, aligns with your SEO strategy, and improves overall performance.
The Small Budget Keyword Rule
For smaller businesses or those just starting, the general rule is: start small to win big.
When your budget is conservative, your keywords need to be conservative. This means favoring Exact Match for precision and control.
Don't let Broad Match run wild and blow your budget on tangential search terms unless you have the budget and expertise to wrangle it.
Once your keyword structure is intentional and organized, the next step is to ensure you’re interpreting your metrics correctly to drive better decisions.
📊 Mistake #3: Metric Misinterpretation
A lot of people managing Google Ads are focused on “tricks” or “hacks.” Then, the minute something unexpected happens, they try to fix the wrong thing. Monitoring click through rate is crucial, as it serves as a key indicator of ad relevance and engagement. Click-Through Rate (CTR) measures ad engagement, with low CTR indicating poor ad copy or targeting.
This is the why I created the 90-Day Build & Train Program—to teach you the fundamentals of diagnosis, not just tactics. Regularly reviewing Google Ads performance metrics helps you identify trends and make informed decisions.
CPC Spiked? Don’t Panic, Hypothesize
When a key metric like your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) suddenly jumps, don’t waste hours spinning in circles. Cost Per Conversion (CPA) shows the cost to acquire a customer, identifying overspending.
Build a Hypothesis: A sudden CPA spike means one of two things: your CPCs went up or your Conversion Rate went down. That’s it. Conversion Rate (CVR) tracks the percentage of visitors who take a desired action. Use data to pinpoint areas of your account that are under performing.
Investigate: Look at the data to see which of the two happened.
Test: If CPC spiked, your list of culprits is narrowed to just a handful: bidding, Quality Score, competition, or query demand. Investigate those changes. Reviewing your bidding strategy is also essential, as it can directly impact costs and conversions.
Let’s Talk About Quality Score (Again)
If you’ve heard that Quality Score (the 1–10 number) doesn’t matter because it’s a “diagnostic tool,” you need to hear this: that’s a serious misinterpretation. Quality Score evaluates ad, keyword, and landing page relevance, impacting costs and ad position.
The 1-10 score is a diagnostic tool—it helps you see a problem.
However, the underlying Ad Quality (Google’s assessment of your ad relevance and landing page experience) is absolutely a key auction input that determines your Ad Rank.
Higher Ad Quality generally leads to better ad positions and lower cost. You should also identify keywords with low scores (typically those under 7) and take action to improve or manage them, as addressing low scores can significantly enhance ad performance and reduce costs. So, yes, you should absolutely work to improve it.
With a clear understanding of your metrics, you’re ready to tackle the final challenge: managing expectations and communicating effectively with stakeholders.
🤝 Mistake #4: The Unreasonable Expectation Trap
The final mistake isn’t technical, it’s political: making changes because a boss or client tells you to, even when you know it’s the wrong move.
Adopting a mindset of continuous improvement is key for long-term success in Google Ads. By focusing on ongoing optimization, you can refine your campaigns and achieve more conversions over time.
Organized processes, such as clear naming conventions and structured monitoring, can make your life easier by streamlining account management and improving campaign efficiency.
Your Job is to Educate and Communicate
This is where you stop being a practitioner and start being a paid search expert.
You must educate your stakeholders about the realities of Google Ads. This includes communicating things like the natural ebb and flow of performance or the impact of conversion lag.
Resist the urge to "just do something" if there’s no strategy behind it. Doing something poorly is often worse than doing nothing at all.
Opportunity Isn’t Infinite
There is a hard limit to how much you can scale. If you’re already dominating your core keywords with a high Impression Share, increasing your budget will simply inflate your costs. Setting an appropriate daily budget is crucial to maintain proper pacing and ensure your campaign objectives are met without overspending.
You’re just paying more for the same amount of search demand. You need an expansion strategy (more keywords, new targeting, or other platforms), not just a bigger budget. When considering new targeting, evaluate the display network and search network as separate options for campaign expansion, as each offers different user intents and targeting strategies. Incorporate remarketing lists and similar audiences to reach new potential customers, leveraging first-party data and lookalike segments to improve your campaign's reach and efficiency.
🎯 Practical Takeaways: Fix This Today
The most important shift you can make is moving from a frantic, reactive approach to a strategic, data-informed one.
Start at the bottom: Verify your conversion tracking today. It’s the single most impactful action you can take to stop wasting money.
Regularly test ads to identify the best-performing variations and improve your results.
Evaluate when to use manual bidding versus automated bidding based on your campaign goals—manual bidding can offer more control in brand campaigns, while automated bidding can help maximize impression share and ad placement.
Audit all PPC campaigns for optimization opportunities, not just your top performers.
Review your Google Ads campaigns as part of your regular audit process to ensure ongoing improvement.
Leverage a free tool, such as Microsoft Clarity, for website analytics or user insights to better understand user behavior and compliance.
Analyze your website structure and performance to support ad success, focusing on speed and user experience.
For example, after restructuring a campaign by user intent and testing new ad variations, one client saw a 30% increase in conversion rate within a month.
Next, simplify your keyword structure. Segment by user intent, not by keyword volume.
Finally, manage expectations. If you know the budget won’t hit the goal, present the data that proves why, and offer a path for realistic growth.
Conducting a Google Ads audit regularly helps maintain optimal performance and provides a clear action plan for improvement. By addressing these four common mistakes, you’ll not only save significant ad spend but also set your campaigns up for long-term success.
Ready to stop fixing the wrong problems and start growing your business with confidence?
The 90-Day Build & Train Program is exactly where we fix all these issues—I build your account from the ground up and train your internal team to run it profitably.
You could also join my email list for more practical, no-fluff Google Ads fixes delivered to your inbox every week!
