{"id":5879,"date":"2023-12-17T10:03:36","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T05:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ppcexpo.com\/blog\/?p=5879"},"modified":"2024-10-22T18:58:07","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T13:58:07","slug":"ppc-audit-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/ppc-audit-checklist","title":{"rendered":"PPC Audit Checklist Template &#8211; 10 Steps Campaign Audit Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Getting started with Google Ads is easy. Attaining success, however, is a completely different story. <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/ppc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pay-Per-Click advertising<\/a> requires a proactive attitude, and your campaigns will only yield results when you put in the effort. One of the most effective ways of doing that is by performing a PPC audit.<\/p>\n<p>The question is, how do you perform an effective paid search audit? You might be needed a PPC audit checklist template for 2022.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4345\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ppc-audit-checklist-1-1.png\" alt=\"PPC Audit Checklist\"><\/div>\n<p>Just ticking the boxes on a checklist template with a perfunctory look through some metrics and a half-hearted attempt at optimizing a few ads is not enough.<\/p>\n<p>If you really want to see results from a PPC audit, then you need to know how to do it right. Just read this audit guide to learn more about it.<\/p>\n<h2>What is a PPC Audit?<\/h2>\n<p>In Google Ads, a PPC audit is a structured evaluation process that helps you determine the efficacy of <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/google-ads\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google Ads<\/a> account. Done right, it can reveal issues that are contributing to underperforming campaigns, and give you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ppcexpo.com\/blog\/data-driven-ppc-analysis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">actionable insights<\/a> that you can use to improve the overall performance and health of your account. You must have some audit template.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/ppc-audit\/free-ppc-audit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4345 ppc_audit_top_ads\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ppcaduitaccount-3.png\" alt=\"ppc audit report bottom\"><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Today, you can find a host of automated services to run a pay-per-click audit. Unfortunately, many of these lack proper context for your specific PPC goals which fulfils all the requirements of paid search audit checklist.<br \/>\nIdeally, in a good PPC audit template you will:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify items for review with a full understanding of their importance.<\/li>\n<li>Document the status of each item.<\/li>\n<li>Make comprehensive notes about items that require maintenance, and use these notes to guide your post-audit action plan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why You Need a PPC Account Audit<\/h2>\n<p>A finely-tuned campaign is more likely to succeed, which makes it more likely to make money instead of wasting it. Therefore, an campaign audit is needed because a PPC audit offers you several benefits:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify areas of <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/ppc-optimization-checklist\">wasted spend<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Discover new revenue opportunities.<\/li>\n<li>Enhances management process.<\/li>\n<li>Gain insights to guide marketing efforts.<\/li>\n<li>Validate assumptions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>PPC Audit Checklist &#8211; Improve Your Paid Search Campaign<\/h2>\n<p>So, without further ado, let\u2019s see how to do a PPC audit on your <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/google-ads-account\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google Ads account<\/a>. We will look at several key areas, posing key questions, which you should focus on to maximize your <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/google-ads-average-roi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">return on investment (ROI)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Step 1: Goals<\/h3>\n<p>First things first \u2014 you need to clarify your business objectives. Have this thing in the top of your audit checklist.<\/p>\n<p>Ask yourself the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is your primary conversion goal? (Phone calls, Form Fills, In-Store Visits, Purchases, etc.)<\/li>\n<li>Is conversion tracking set up correctly?<\/li>\n<li>Is call tracking enabled?<\/li>\n<li>Do your customers have an established buying cycle?<\/li>\n<li>Is there an established CPA (Cost per Action)?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Step 2: Campaign Analysis<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s usually easy to review campaign settings quickly, however, occasional tweaking helps to keep things optimized. Review the following while having audit your paid search campaigns if you really want to <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/what-are-tactics-to-use-in-improving-your-ppc-campaign-performance\">improve campaign performance<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are you running distinct Search campaigns or distinct Display campaigns?<\/li>\n<li>Are you running YouTube campaigns?<\/li>\n<li>Are you running distinct remarketing campaigns for display, search or YouTube?<\/li>\n<li>Are you running campaigns dedicated to branded terms?<\/li>\n<li>Have you used a logical, descriptive naming convention for your campaigns based on common themes?<\/li>\n<li>Are your ad groups named and organized into relevant categories and sub-categories?<\/li>\n<li>Are you running campaigns that have similar audiences setup?<\/li>\n<li>Is there a credit card or back-up funding option on the account to prevent Google Ads from pausing due to billing issues?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Step 3: Settings Analysis<\/h3>\n<p>Your settings may always change depending on your review of other areas during the paid search audit. Here are the key questions which should be in PPC audit template:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is &#8216;include search partners&#8217; selected?<\/li>\n<li>Is mobile bid adjusts set up?<\/li>\n<li>Are your ads rotating evenly?<\/li>\n<li>Are you using day-parting?<\/li>\n<li>Is location targeting set up in a logical manner?<\/li>\n<li>Do you have language targeting setup in a logical manner?<\/li>\n<li>Is enhanced CPC (<a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/cost-per-click-formula\">Cost Per Click<\/a>) enabled for GSN (Google Search Network)?<\/li>\n<li>Have you double-checked your bidding strategy? For a new campaign it\u2019s always better to start with &#8220;Manual Bidding&#8221;. Once you have enough data you may decide to test &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/adwords-smart-bidding\">Smart Bidding<\/a>&#8221; options<\/li>\n<li>Are you excluding your ads from acquiring impressions from your own o\u00ef\u00ac\u0192ce and home IP addresses?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Step 4: Google Search Network Ad Group Analysis<\/h3>\n<p>This is a crucial area where you will look at keywords, ads, <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-good-quality-score\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google ads quality score<\/a>, and landing pages. It\u2019s all about the potential for conversion. Think about these aspects:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Has each <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/how-many-ads-per-ad-group\">ad group<\/a> got less than 20 keywords?<\/li>\n<li>Do you have <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-negative-keyword\">negative keyword<\/a> lists at the ad group level?<\/li>\n<li>Did you check there are no &#8216;below \u00ef\u00ac\u0081rst page bid&#8217; ads?<\/li>\n<li>Have you con\u00ef\u00ac\u0081gured appropriate match types on your keywords?<\/li>\n<li>For all keywords, is the average quality score above 7?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/PPC-Signal\/best-ppc-optimization-tool\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4345 ppc_signal_middle_ads\" src=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ppc-signal-ad-3.png\" alt=\"ppc-signal-optimization-tool\"><\/a><\/div>\n<h3>Step 5: Google Display Network Ad Group Analysis<\/h3>\n<p>Similar to the Search network, you must ask yourself important questions about the <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/what-is-google-display-network\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google Display Network<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are ad groups targeting \u2018display keywords\u2019?<\/li>\n<li>Are ad groups targeting \u2018similar audiences\u2019?<\/li>\n<li>Are ad groups targeting &#8216;topics &amp; interests&#8217;?<\/li>\n<li>Are ad groups targeting &#8216;managed placements&#8217;?<\/li>\n<li>Are you leveraging demographics settings?<\/li>\n<li>Are you adjusting site category options to exclude placements that are unrelated to your business? (e.g. mobile app ads, below the fold ads, categories that do not apply to you such as \u2018adult\u2019 or \u2018gambling\u2019)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Step 6: Ads Analysis<\/h3>\n<p>It can be risky to rely too heavily on Google\u2019s algorithm. In your PPC audit, check the following to identify issues that the autopilot is overlooking and it is affecting your <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-ppc-campaign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PPC campaign performance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are there at least 2 desktop ads being split tested on all ad groups?<\/li>\n<li>Are there at least 2 mobile ads being split tested on all ad groups?<\/li>\n<li>Do your display campaigns have banner ads in all sizes?<\/li>\n<li>Are you using gif creative instead of \u00ef\u00ac\u201aat creative?<\/li>\n<li>Are you split testing your banner creative?<\/li>\n<li>In display campaign(s) are you using BOTH text Ads and image ads?<\/li>\n<li>Have you ensured there are NO disapproved ads statuses?<\/li>\n<li>Have you ensured there are NO broken links in your ads?<\/li>\n<li>Have you ensured there are NO grammar or spelling mistakes in ads?<\/li>\n<li>Do your ads include features, bene\u00ef\u00ac\u0081ts, and an o\u00ef\u00ac\u20acer or incentive?<\/li>\n<li>Are your ads linking to the best landing page(s)?<\/li>\n<li>Do you have &#8216;Click to Call&#8217; enabled for mobile ads?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Step 7: Bid Based Analysis<\/h3>\n<p>Don\u2019t waste money on locations, devices, or time periods that aren\u2019t working out.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are you making <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/google-ads-bid-adjustments\">bid adjustments<\/a> based on Geography?<\/li>\n<li>Are you making bid adjustments based on Device?<\/li>\n<li>Are you making bid adjustments based on Time?<\/li>\n<li>Are you making bid adjustments based on GDN for Topics &amp; Interests, Gender or Age?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Step 8: Landing Page Analysis<\/h3>\n<p>While landing pages are external, they have a direct impact on your campaign performance, and they also influence <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/campaign-effectiveness-analysis\">key metrics in Google Ads<\/a>. Think about this if you want to improve campaign performance, make landing page analysis a part of PPC audit template:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are you using dedicated PPC landing pages?<\/li>\n<li>Are you using landing pages for each stage in the funnel \u2014 top, middle, and bottom?<\/li>\n<li>Are you conducting A\/B Split testing on landing pages?<\/li>\n<li>Are you running heat map analysis on your landing pages?<\/li>\n<li>Do you have Exit or Cart Abandonment software?<\/li>\n<li>Are your landing pages mobile-responsive?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Step 9: Comparison from Previous Period<\/h3>\n<p>With the previous period data at hand, you can make comparisons and get vital <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/what-is-an-insight-in-advertising\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">insights for your ads campaign<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are your CPAs trending down for the current month?<\/li>\n<li>Are your CPAs trending down for the last quarter?<\/li>\n<li>Are your CPAs trending down this year compared to last year?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Step 10: Budget Utilization<\/h3>\n<p>Pay-per-click audit guide cannot be completed without talking about budget utilization. Following points should be the part of PPC audit checklist:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are Search Campaigns or Display Campaigns with conversions losing <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/what-is-impression-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Impression Share<\/a> due to budget limitations?<\/li>\n<li>Do you have zero active search ad groups that do not have any conversions in last 90 days?<\/li>\n<li>Do you have zero display ad groups that are active and do not have any conversions or view-through conversions in the last 90 days?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/ppc-audit\/free-ppc-audit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4345 ppc_audit_bottom_ads\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ppcaduitaccount-1.jpg\" alt=\"ppc audit report top\" width=\"778\" height=\"347\"><\/a><\/div>\n<h3>Take Your PPC Audit to the Next Level<\/h3>\n<p>To optimize the performance of your search ad campaigns, advertising managers need to do a campaign audit regularly to ensure their campaigns are running smoothly and generating the best possible <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/ppc-roi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PPC ROI<\/a>. Data analytics is a huge part of modern business, and the more you tap into it, the more success you will have in paid advertising.<\/p>\n<p>Get a <a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/ppc-audit\/free-ppc-audit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">free audit of PPC account<\/a>, try running the Account Audit Report from PPCexpo to really cut to the core of campaign issues, and ultimately, run a PPC campaigns audit that boost performance on all levels. We hope this would be the ultimate PPC audit checklist 2022 to better improve your Google Ads performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><p>In paid advertising, a PPC audit checklist can make all the difference to your bottom line. Learning how to do it right could save you a lot of time and money.<\/p>\n&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/ppc-audit-checklist\"><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[271,729],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5879"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40450,"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5879\/revisions\/40450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ppcexpo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}