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I've audited over 50 Google Ads accounts in the past year. Every single one—and I mean every single one—was wasting money on something avoidable.
Not "minor optimisation opportunities." Actual money bleeding out through conversion tracking bollocks, budget allocated to campaigns that haven't converted in months, or Quality Scores sitting at 3/10 because no one's looked at them in two years.
The worst part? Most business owners have no idea. They're told "Google Ads is expensive" or "our industry is competitive," when really, their account just needs a proper once-over.
So here's the exact checklist I use when auditing accounts. No fluff. Just the red flags that cost you money, and what good performance actually looks like.
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Three reasons:
1. You're probably wasting 20-30% of your budget. That's not a guess—it's what I find in most accounts.
2. Google's automation needs clean data. Feed it rubbish tracking or wrong signals, and it'll optimise you straight into bankruptcy.
3. Small problems compound. That negative keyword list from 2018? It's now blocking your best-performing searches.
I recommend auditing quarterly. More often if you're spending over £10k/month or making significant changes.
I audit accounts quarterly because Google changes things, campaigns drift, and what worked in January doesn't necessarily work in June. If you're wondering what you should actually pay for Google Ads management or whether to hire someone, I've broken down UK pricing in detail.
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This is where most accounts fall apart.
If your conversion tracking is broken, everything downstream is meaningless. Google's bidding algorithms, your ROAS calculations, your "winning" campaigns—all based on phantom data.
What to check:
Pull your CRM/GA4 data. Compare it to Google Ads conversions for the past month. If there's more than a 10% discrepancy, something's broken.
I've seen accounts optimising for newsletter sign-ups when they should be tracking purchases. Or counting every form view as a lead. Google doesn't know the difference—you need to tell it.
In 2026, this isn't optional anymore. First-party data matters, especially with GDPR and cookie restrictions. If you're not using enhanced conversions, you're flying blind.
Check that all conversion actions use the same attribution model and conversion window. Mixing data-driven with last-click? That's a recipe for confused reporting.
Red flag: Conversion tracking hasn't been touched since the account was created. Or worse—"conversions" includes button clicks that aren't actual business outcomes.
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The foundation of your account.
Poor structure means you can't scale without chaos. Good structure means you can spot problems instantly and make changes with confidence.
What to check:
Running them together dilutes your data. Search intent is different from browsing intent. Split them.
If you can't tell what a campaign does from its name, neither can anyone else managing the account. Use a consistent naming convention.
I regularly find accounts where one campaign targets "People in or regularly in the UK" and another targets "People interested in the UK." That second one is showing ads to Americans researching a UK holiday. Not your customer.
Your top-performing campaign shouldn't be "Limited by budget" while your experimental campaign from 2022 has £50/day to burn.
What good looks like:
Red flag: Ten campaigns all called "Campaign 1," "Campaign 2," etc. Or Display and Search mashed together because "it's easier."
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Where your money actually goes.
Keywords determine who sees your ads. Get this wrong, and you're either missing opportunities or haemorrhaging budget on irrelevant traffic.
What to check:
This is non-negotiable. Go through your actual search queries from the past 30 days. You'll find gold (new keywords to add) and absolute garbage (queries you're somehow matching to).
All Broad Match? You're probably wasting money. All Exact? You're missing opportunities. I typically use 60% Phrase, 30% Exact, 10% Broad (with tight negative lists).
More than 20 keywords in a single ad group is a red flag. Ideally, keep it under 10 closely related terms. If you have 50+ unrelated keywords in one ad group, your ads aren't relevant to half your searches.
When did you last add negatives? If it's been more than a month, you're wasting money. Negative keywords are more critical now than ever - here's why. Check campaign-level and account-level negative lists.
Benchmark: A healthy account has 3-5 positive keywords for every 1 negative keyword. Too few negatives = wasted spend. Too many = you're blocking good traffic.
Red flag: Seeing queries like "how to" or "free" or "jobs" in your Search Terms Report. That's budget on people who will never buy.
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This is money on the table.
Quality Score directly affects your cost-per-click. A keyword with QS 3 pays 67% more per click than one with QS 7. Same click, same traffic—you're just overpaying.
What to check:
Pull a report of all keywords with QS 5 or lower. These are costing you. Pause or improve them.
If it's "Below average," your ad copy isn't compelling enough for that keyword. Rewrite it or pause the keyword.
"Below average" means your ad doesn't match the search intent. Fix the ad or change the keyword targeting.
Google's telling you your landing page is slow or irrelevant. Test a different page or improve load times.
What good looks like:
Red flag: Quality Scores sitting at 3-4 for months. You're paying Google a premium for the privilege of terrible placement.
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What people actually see.
Your ad is competing with 3-4 others on the same page. If yours looks like everyone else's, you've already lost.
What to check:
Check the "Ad Strength" metric. Anything below "Good" needs more headlines or descriptions. Aim for "Excellent."
At least one headline should mirror the user's search. If they search "Google Ads consultant UK," that exact phrase should appear in your ad.
What makes you different? Price? Speed? Guarantee? It should be obvious from your headlines.
These boost CTR by 10-15%. If you're not using callouts, sitelinks, and structured snippets, you're leaving money on the table.
I've seen estate agents with callouts like "Free Shipping" (copy-pasted from a template). Make sure your extensions actually apply to your business.
Benchmark CTR:
If you're below these, your ads aren't working.
Red flag: All ads use generic copy ("Best service," "Great prices," "Call us today"). Or worse—no ad extensions at all.
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How you're spending your money.
Bidding strategy determines how aggressively Google chases clicks or conversions. Get it wrong, and you'll either run out of budget by noon or barely spend anything.
What to check:
If your goal is leads, "Maximise Clicks" is the wrong strategy. Use "Maximise Conversions" or "Target CPA" once you have enough conversion data (50+ conversions in 30 days minimum). For ecommerce, consider switching to profit-based bidding instead of chasing revenue.
Setting a £10 target CPA when your average is £45? Google can't work miracles. Set targets based on actual historical performance, not wishful thinking.
PMax is powerful, but I've seen it cannibalise branded traffic and waste money on low-intent placements. Check the "Insights" tab for where your budget's actually going.
Shared budgets across multiple campaigns sound efficient, but one campaign can hog the lot. I prefer individual budgets for control.
What good looks like:
Red flag: Using "Maximise Conversions" with no target CPA on a brand-new account with 3 conversions. Or burning through your monthly budget in week one.
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Understanding what's actually working.
You can't improve what you don't measure. But measuring the wrong things is worse than not measuring at all.
What to check:
High revenue doesn't mean profit. What is a good ROAS for your industry? Check UK benchmarks here. Check your actual Return on Ad Spend. Anything above 400% is generally healthy for ecommerce (depending on margins). Below 200%? You're losing money.
How long from click to conversion? If it's 7+ days, you need a longer conversion window in your tracking, or you're undercounting.
Are you using Last Click? That ignores everything before the final click. Data-Driven attribution gives a fuller picture (if you have enough data).
Google Ads lives in a silo. Pull your actual business data—not just what Google tells you. I've found accounts where Google reported 50 conversions but the CRM had 12 actual customers.
Benchmark conversion rates (UK):
Below these? Something's broken in your funnel (or targeting).
Red flag: Reporting conversions that don't match actual sales. Or celebrating a 600% ROAS on a product with 10% margins (you're still losing money).
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You've now got a list of problems. Here's the order I fix them:
1. Conversion tracking - Nothing else matters if this is broken
2. Quality Score killers - High-spend keywords with QS below 5
3. Budget reallocation - Move money from losers to winners
4. Negative keywords - Stop the bleeding immediately
5. Ad copy improvements - Low-hanging fruit for better CTR
6. Campaign structure - Longer-term, but foundational
Don't try to fix everything at once. Pick the three biggest money-drains and sort those first.
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Most Google Ads accounts aren't failing because "Google Ads doesn't work." They're failing because no one's looked under the bonnet in 18 months.
If you've made it through this checklist and found even three things to fix, you'll probably save 10-20% of your monthly spend. If you found ten things? Your account's been on life support.
I audit accounts quarterly because Google changes things, campaigns drift, and what worked in January doesn't necessarily work in June. Set a reminder. Do the work. Your bank balance will thank you.
Want someone else to do it? That's literally what I do. Get in touch if you'd rather spend your time running your business instead of spelunking through Google Ads reports.
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Google Ads Management Cost UK - Want someone else to audit your account professionally? Here's what you'll pay.
Why Negative Keywords Are More Important Now - Deep dive into one of the most commonly missed audit items.
The Rat Farm Effect: Why Chasing Wrong Metrics Kills Profit - Make sure you're auditing the metrics that actually matter.
Switching to POAS Bidding - After your audit, fix your bidding strategy to focus on profit.
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PPC Consultant Involved in online marketing for the last 25 years first with SEO , Web Development and now for the last 12 years focusing on PPC & Google Ads