A comprehensive PPC audit is crucial for maximizing your Google Ads campaign budget and ROI. Regularly auditing your campaigns identifies areas for improvement and prevents wasted ad spend. These four key checks form the foundation of an effective PPC audit, leading to better performance and stronger results.

1. Keyword Analysis: Precision Targeting for Higher Conversions

Keywords are the backbone of any successful PPC campaign. A thorough PPC audit examines your keyword strategy for efficiency and relevance. Are you relying too heavily on broad match keywords? This common mistake can lead to a wasted budget on irrelevant clicks. Broad match keywords, without careful negative keyword implementation, trigger ads for searches far removed from your intended target audience. Switching to phrase and exact match keywords provides more control and improves your Google Ads Quality Score, leading to higher ad rank and lower cost-per-click (CPC).

Furthermore, grouping all keywords into a single ad group dilutes ad relevance and lowers click-through rates (CTR). A well-structured PPC audit segments keywords into tightly themed ad groups, ensuring ads resonate directly with user searches.

2. Ad Copy Optimization: Compelling Messaging for Increased Engagement

Your ad copy is the first impression you make on potential customers. A PPC audit scrutinizes your ads for effectiveness and identifies areas for improvement. Are you only running a single ad per ad group? This limits your ability to A/B test different messaging and discover what resonates best with your audience. Testing multiple ad variations helps identify high-performing copy, leading to higher CTRs and conversions.

A complete PPC audit also examines your use of ad assets. Leveraging all relevant ad assets, like sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets, enhances your ad’s visibility and provides more information to potential customers. Failing to use them can negatively impact your Quality Score.

Critically, ensure your ad copy aligns perfectly with the keywords in each ad group. This congruence signals relevance to Google and improves Quality Score, boosting ad rank and reducing CPC.

3. Landing Page Experience: Seamless Transitions for Higher Conversions

Following landing page best practices helps generate more conversions. A PPC audit evaluates the user experience and identifies friction points that hinder conversions.

Is your landing page simply your homepage? This generic approach often leads to low conversion rates. While homepages cater to a broad audience, effective landing pages focus on a specific offer, product, or service, directly aligning with the user’s search intent.

Using a single landing page for multiple products or services dilutes the message and confuses potential customers. A targeted PPC audit ensures each ad group directs traffic to a dedicated landing page tailored to the specific keywords and ad copy.

Your landing page must also be consistent with your ad copy. Users expect to find what is promised in the ad, and any discrepancies lead to high bounce rates and lost conversions.

4. Conversion Tracking: Data-Driven Insights for Campaign Optimization

Data is the lifeblood of successful PPC campaigns. A thorough PPC audit verifies that all necessary conversion tracking mechanisms are in place.

Are you tracking webform submissions? Without this data, you’re missing crucial insights into the effectiveness of your campaigns. Implement conversion tracking to understand which keywords and ads are driving valuable leads.

For e-commerce businesses, conversion revenue tracking is essential. This allows you to track sales generated by your ads and calculate your return on ad spend (ROAS).

A comprehensive PPC audit also considers offline conversions. Implement website call tracking to measure phone calls generated by your ads and call asset tracking to measure calls directly from the ad.

Finally, don’t forget offline sales import conversion tracking. This enables you to attribute offline sales (e.g., from phone or in-person interactions) back to your online ad clicks, providing a complete picture of your campaign’s performance. By implementing these four PPC audit checks, you can identify areas for improvement, optimize your campaigns, and maximize your return on investment.

Ready to take your PPC performance to the next level?

Conducting a thorough PPC audit can be complex and time-consuming. Boulevard Digital Marketing specializes in PPC audits and online advertising. Our team of experts can identify hidden opportunities, uncover wasted ad spend, and develop a tailored strategy to maximize your Google Ads ROI. Contact us today for a free consultation, and let us help you achieve your advertising goals.