The Google Ads Audit: What Gets Reviewed and What It Reveals

What Is a Google Ads Audit and Why Does It Matter?

A Google Ads audit is a comprehensive review of an existing Google Ads account — examining every component of the account’s structure, targeting, performance, and tracking to identify what is working, what is wasting money, and what opportunities are being missed.

For Australian businesses running Google Ads, an audit is the starting point for any meaningful improvement. You cannot optimise what you have not diagnosed. And in most accounts, the issues found in an audit — once corrected — deliver measurable performance improvements within 30 to 60 days.

Campaign Structure Review

The foundation of any Google Ads account is its campaign and ad group structure. A well-structured account has campaigns organised by service type or product category, ad groups with tight thematic relevance, and clear separation between different intent levels. Common structure problems found in audits: single campaigns attempting to serve too many purposes simultaneously, ad groups mixing unrelated keywords, and no separation between branded and non-branded traffic.

Keyword and Match Type Analysis

Keyword review is often where the most significant waste is found. The audit examines: which keywords are triggering ads, which search terms those keywords are actually matching to, the distribution of match types across the account, and the quality and comprehensiveness of negative keyword lists. Broad match keywords without robust negative lists consistently appear as the largest source of wasted spend in Australian accounts.

Ad Copy and Quality Score Review

Quality Score is one of the most misunderstood metrics in Google Ads. A below-average Quality Score means you are paying more per click than competitors with more relevant ads. The audit reviews Quality Scores at the keyword level, identifies specific copy issues reducing expected CTR, and flags disconnects between ad messaging and landing page content.

Quality Score is not a vanity metric. Every point below 7 typically means you are overpaying for clicks that your competitors are getting cheaper with better campaigns. — Severino Murze

Conversion Tracking Assessment

Conversion tracking is reviewed comprehensively — not just whether tracking is present, but whether it is tracking the right conversions at the right stages. Common tracking issues found in Australian accounts: tracking configured for page views rather than actual conversions, call tracking not implemented, form submissions double-counting, and Google Ads conversion actions not aligned with actual business goals.

Landing Page and CRO Review

Where ad traffic is being sent — and what happens when it arrives — is assessed as part of the audit. This covers: landing page relevance to ad copy, mobile performance and page speed, clarity of the call-to-action, presence of trust signals, and friction points in the conversion process. A landing page that takes 6 seconds to load on mobile will lose the majority of clicks before a visitor even sees the offer.

What the Audit Delivers

The output is a clear action plan: what to fix, in what priority order, and what the expected impact of each fix is on performance. For businesses in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, this plan is the clearest path from current performance to meaningful improvement.