Google Ads audit checklist. Review what matters.

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By Jim Slaton · Updated October 1, 2026

A practical review, in order

Review a period that gives enough context for your account. Record findings and dates before making changes. This checklist is a starting point, not an instruction to change every setting.

1. Define a useful lead. Write down the services, locations, and customers you want. Separate inquiries, qualified leads, appointments, and customers so a high form count is not mistaken for business growth.
2. Inventory conversion actions. Identify each tracked form, phone action, and imported event. Check which goals each campaign uses and which actions are primary or secondary. A phone-button click is not proof of a completed call.
3. Check for duplicate measurement. Trace one genuine inquiry through the website, analytics, and Ads setup. Investigate duplicated tags, shared confirmation pages, and overlapping native/imported actions before trusting totals.
4. Review actual search terms. Compare searches with the services you sell. Classify irrelevant intent, relevant intent, and queries that need more evidence. The search terms report is not a complete list of every search.
5. Review negative keywords carefully. Check their match types, scope, and whether they unintentionally block useful searches. Exclude irrelevant intent; avoid importing a generic list without understanding its effect.
6. Check geographic intent. Review targeted areas, exclusions, location options, and available geographic reports. Determine whether presence or location interest fits how customers buy your service; do not assume every business needs the same setting.
7. Review budget allocation. Compare spend and useful inquiries across services and campaigns. Note limited budgets and conversion delays. Investigate weak measurement before changing bidding or shifting spend based on unreliable numbers.
8. Check ads and landing-page agreement. Verify that the promised service, location, and offer appear on the destination page. Check headlines, assets, policies, and working contact options.
9. Test the mobile customer journey. Open the landing page on a phone. Check readability, navigation, buttons, form errors, loading, confirmation, and actual message delivery. A form that looks correct can still fail downstream.
10. Prioritize, document, and review. Address broken measurement and customer journeys first. Record the action, owner, and review date. Judge changes using lead quality and business context rather than clicks alone.

Turn the review into an action list

For each finding, record the evidence, likely impact, recommended action, and dependency. Separate confirmed defects from questions that require more data. An improvement in a metric is not a guarantee of future results.

Reference: Google: primary and secondary conversion actions, search terms reports, and negative keywords.

Need help interpreting your findings? Discuss an account audit or consulting with Jim.

Review the foundations first.

Avoid making changes simply because one metric moves. Start with your goals and tracking, then examine where budget goes and whether the people you reach are a good fit.