Google Ads Audit / 90-second self-audit

Run a PPC control check before you hand over account access.

Connection
Not required
Storage
Browser-only answers
Reviewed
June 14, 2026
Audit triage

Start with the controls that usually explain waste: conversion tracking, search-term hygiene, negative keywords, landing-page match, and targeting. The scorecard gives you likely gaps and fix order, not an invented spend-loss number.

Can infer: control gaps, confidence, likely repair order.Needs account access: exact search-term waste, auction overlap, PMax asset data.
40/ 100
Account healthAt risk

0 of 15 checks passing

Your fix list15 flagged, worst first
  • Critical
    Conversion tracking, worth checkingWithout trustworthy conversion data you are optimizing blind. Smart Bidding and ROI numbers are meaningless.
  • Critical
    Negative keyword list, worth checkingMissing exclusions let irrelevant searches spend your budget all day. This is the single most common leak.4.6% vs 13%: Conversion rate without vs with negative keywords
  • Critical
    Search-term review, worth checkingIrrelevant queries quietly drain 15-40% of spend until someone reads the search-terms report.$1,127: Average monthly wasted ad spend per account
  • High
    Landing-page match, worth checkingSending paid clicks to a generic page wastes the click and tanks conversion rate.8.18%: Average conversion rate
  • High
    Quality Score, worth checkingLow-Quality-Score keywords pay 2-3x more per click for the same position.
  • High
    Ad-group structure, worth checkingBloated ad groups make ads irrelevant and testing impossible, dragging CTR and Quality Score down.
  • + 9 more in the full audit below

A self-diagnosis from your answers and 2026 benchmarks. A starting point, not a forensic audit. Exact waste requires your own search-terms, conversion, and bid data.

Start with the control checks that usually explain wasted spend. Your answers stay in this browser; analytics records only anonymous progress and score events.

  1. Is conversion tracking set up and verified (calls, forms, and chats)?
  2. Do you maintain and regularly update a negative keyword list?
  3. Do you review the search-terms report at least monthly?
  4. Are most of your keywords at Quality Score 5 or above?
  5. Does each ad group send clicks to a tightly matched landing page (not a generic homepage)?
  6. Are your ad groups tightly themed (a handful of closely related keywords each)?
  7. Have you set device bid adjustments based on how each device actually converts?
  8. Is location targeting limited to areas you can actually serve and profit from?
  9. Have you adjusted bids or pauses for low-converting hours and days?
  10. Is spend on your own brand name kept separate and controlled?
  11. Are sitelinks, callouts, and other assets in use on your main campaigns?
  12. Do you exclude people who already converted from prospecting campaigns?
  13. Do you bid differently for past visitors (remarketing lists for search ads)?
  14. Is any spend on competitor brand terms deliberate and ROI-positive?
  15. Does each campaign have enough conversion volume for its bidding strategy?
Findings docket

What the first repair queue usually looks like.

These are the high-impact controls the live scorecard sorts first. Your answers decide which ones become confirmed gaps, unknown risks, or clean passes.

SeverityControl gapWhy it burns spendProof / caveat
CriticalConversion trackingWithout trustworthy conversion data you are optimizing blind. Smart Bidding and ROI numbers are meaningless.Needs account data to quantify
CriticalNegative keyword listMissing exclusions let irrelevant searches spend your budget all day. This is the single most common leak.4.6% vs 13%: Conversion rate without vs with negative keywords
CriticalSearch-term reviewIrrelevant queries quietly drain 15-40% of spend until someone reads the search-terms report.$1,127: Average monthly wasted ad spend per account
HighLanding-page matchSending paid clicks to a generic page wastes the click and tanks conversion rate.8.18%: Average conversion rate
HighGeographic targetingBudget leaks to locations you cannot serve, or to broad regions with low intent.Needs account data to quantify
Leak anatomy

Paid search waste is usually a control-chain failure.

01Query

unqualified search terms enter broad campaigns

02Filter

missing negatives fail to block low-intent clicks

03Signal

weak conversion tracking trains bidding on noise

04Destination

generic landing pages depress conversion rate

05Repair

search-term cleanup, tracking verification, page match

15-point method

The scorecard grouped like a real PPC audit.

Measurement and query hygiene come first because bad signals poison every later optimization. Structure, bidding controls, and landing-page match follow.

Measurement

  1. Conversion trackingWithout trustworthy conversion data you are optimizing blind. Smart Bidding and ROI numbers are meaningless.

Query hygiene

  1. Negative keyword listMissing exclusions let irrelevant searches spend your budget all day. This is the single most common leak.
  2. Search-term reviewIrrelevant queries quietly drain 15-40% of spend until someone reads the search-terms report.

Account structure

  1. Quality ScoreLow-Quality-Score keywords pay 2-3x more per click for the same position.
  2. Ad-group structureBloated ad groups make ads irrelevant and testing impossible, dragging CTR and Quality Score down.
  3. Branded keyword spendUncontrolled branded bidding overpays to show up for searches you would win for free.
  4. Ad extensionsMissing assets leave CTR and free ad real estate on the table.
  5. Competitor biddingChasing rival brand terms is usually low-ROI spend unless tightly justified.

Bidding controls

  1. Device bid adjustmentsEqual bids across devices overspend on the ones that convert worst.
  2. Geographic targetingBudget leaks to locations you cannot serve, or to broad regions with low intent.
  3. DaypartingSpending around the clock funds clicks during hours that rarely convert.
  4. Audience exclusionsRe-advertising to existing customers spends prospecting budget on people who already bought.
  5. Remarketing (RLSA)Treating warm past visitors like cold traffic leaves easy conversions unbid.
  6. Bidding-strategy fitSmart Bidding without enough conversion data wastes spend while it "learns" indefinitely.

Landing page

  1. Landing-page matchSending paid clicks to a generic page wastes the click and tanks conversion rate.
Evidence sheet

Every benchmark is labeled by how it is used.

MetricValueUse in this auditSource
Average search CTR6.64%Context: CTR health, not score mathIndustry averages hide vertical spread.WordStream 2026 Google Ads Benchmarks
Average cost per click$5.42Context: click-cost pressureYour market can be much higher or lower.WordStream 2026 Google Ads Benchmarks
Average conversion rate8.18%Finding support: landing-page mismatchConversion quality still needs CRM/account review.WordStream 2026 Google Ads Benchmarks
Average cost per lead$66.69Finding support: bidding-strategy fitLead value and close rate are account-specific.WordStream 2026 Google Ads Benchmarks
Average monthly wasted ad spend per account$1,127Context: why search-term review mattersNot used as your personal wasted-spend estimate.WordStream study of 15,666 accounts
Conversion rate without vs with negative keywords4.6% vs 13%Finding support: negative-keyword coverageStudy is directional, not a guarantee.WordStream Google Ads account study
Promise boundary

Self-audit now. Manual account review when exactness matters.

ModeCan tell youNeedsCannot promise
Self-audit nowControl gaps, score, likely fix orderYour yes/no/unknown answersExact search-term waste, auction overlap, PMax asset quality
Manual account reviewSearch-term waste, negative list quality, tracking setup, bid logicAccount export or guided accessFuture performance guarantee
Objection log

What advertisers ask before they trust a no-login audit.

It identifies control gaps from your answers: tracking confidence, search-term hygiene, negative-keyword coverage, targeting controls, and landing-page match. It does not claim an exact wasted-spend number until a human reviews your real account data.

They are one of the most common, fixable leaks. WordStream’s account study found conversion rates of 4.6% without a maintained negative-keyword list versus 13% with one, so the scorecard weights this control heavily.

Fifteen areas: conversion tracking, search-term review, negative keywords, Quality Score, landing-page match, ad-group structure, geo and device controls, dayparting, brand and competitor spend, assets, audience exclusions, remarketing, and bidding-strategy fit.

Yes. Benchmark figures are labeled 2026 and were last reviewed on June 14, 2026. The source sheet links each figure and states whether it is used for scoring context or finding support.

No account data is stored. The score runs in your browser. Analytics records anonymous progress, score, and flagged-count events so we know whether the tool is useful, but it does not store the answer map.

Request a manual account review

After the self-audit, a human review can inspect your real search terms, negative list, tracking setup, bids, and landing-page paths. That is what turns likely gaps into account-specific findings.

Free first look. No performance guarantee. We only use your email to coordinate the review.