Free Google Ads Audit — Plus an In-Depth Option When You Need It

What is a Google Ads audit?

A Google Ads audit is a structured review of an advertising account that finds where money is being wasted, where growth is being left on the table, and whether the account is even set up to be measured properly. It looks at the strategy and the plumbing, not just the surface numbers, and ends with a plain-English verdict on what to do next.

The two levels: free health check vs in-depth audit

Most “free audits” are a sales tactic — built to find fault so someone can pitch you a switch. I’ve never liked that, so I split it into two honest levels and let you choose how far to go.

• Free health check. A quick review by me — not a tool or a junior — flagging wasted spend, whether your conversion tracking actually works, obvious structural problems and the quick wins. It’s free, and it’s honest enough to tell you the account is well run and you should leave it alone.
• In-depth audit (paid). A full manual review of the whole account, a written report, and a prioritised roadmap of what to change and what it’s worth. For when you want the full picture and a plan you can act on. It’s paid because the diagnosis and the roadmap are the valuable part, not the button-clicking that follows. See what’s in the £450 in-depth audit.

What a good Google Ads audit actually checks

Whichever level you choose, this is the checklist that separates a real audit from a screenshot of your account with a few red circles on it:

• Conversion tracking. Whether conversions are counted once, accurately, and mean a real lead or sale — not page views, duplicates, or double-counted actions. Everything else is worthless if this is wrong.
• Wasted spend. Search terms, placements and audiences paying for clicks that never convert, and how much that’s costing per month.
• Account structure. Whether campaigns and ad groups are organised so the budget goes where it earns, or spread so thin nothing can be optimised.
• Bidding and budgets. Whether the bidding strategy matches the goal, and whether budget is trapped in the wrong campaigns.
• Keywords and negatives. Coverage of the terms that matter, and a negative list stopping the ones that don’t.
• Performance Max and assets. Whether PMax is helping or quietly cannibalising your other campaigns, and whether the creative and feed are pulling their weight.
• Landing pages. Whether the page the click lands on is built to convert — the best campaign in the world can’t fix a page that leaks.

Are free Google Ads audits worth it?

They can be, as long as you know why they’re free. A free audit is a sales device, and most are built to criticise whoever runs your ads now so an agency can win the account. That’s why my free version is deliberately a genuine health check with an honest verdict — including the verdict that nothing needs changing. If you want more than a health check, the in-depth audit is the honest, senior-led version, and it’s allowed to reach boring conclusions.

When is it worth getting your Google Ads looked at?

Usually when one of these is true: your cost per lead has crept up and you don’t know why, you can’t tell which campaigns actually make money, you suspect conversions aren’t being tracked properly, or you’ve simply lost confidence that anyone senior is looking at the account. A free health check costs you nothing and tells you quickly whether the deeper audit is worth paying for. I’ve managed over £3 million in ad spend across fourteen years, as a Google Partner and Microsoft Advertising certified consultant — which is what lets an audit be quick and honest rather than a fishing expedition.