The short answer
A Google Ads audit that checks tracking, search terms, budgets, bidding and landing pages, then gives you a clear, prioritised list of fixes in plain English.
Signs you need an audit
- Clicks are coming in but the phone isn't ringing.
- Google Ads reports conversions that don't match what your team sees.
- Your cost per lead has crept up and nobody can explain why.
- You took over an account from another agency (or set it up yourself years ago).
What we check
Tracking health
This comes first, because everything else depends on it. We look at every conversion action in Google Ads and GA4, flagging any marked "inactive", "misconfigured" or "no recent conversions". We also check for double counting (a page view and a form submit both counted as leads), whether calls are tracked, and whether enhanced conversions are set up.
Search terms and wasted spend
We pull the search terms report and look for money spent on irrelevant searches: job seekers, DIY questions, competitor names you didn't mean to target, or services you don't offer. You'll get a list of negative keywords to add straight away.
Match types and keywords
Broad match can work with good data, but paired with weak tracking it drifts fast. We check which match types are running, whether keywords overlap across campaigns, and whether the structure lets you move budget between service lines.
Budget and bidding
Campaigns showing "Limited by budget" may be missing good searches, or wasting money early in the day. We review the bidding strategy against the volume of conversion data, since automated bidding like Maximize conversions or Target CPA needs reliable signals to work well.
Ads and assets
We review your ad copy and assets such as sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets and call assets. Weak or missing assets make ads smaller and less useful to searchers.
Fun fact
The first clickable web banner ad ran on HotWired in October 1994 (an AT&T ad) and reportedly got a 44% click-through rate. Today display ads average well under 1%.
Landing page match
If the ad says "emergency tree removal" and the page talks about garden design, you lose people. We check that each ad group points to a relevant page with a clear next step, and look at mobile load speed using Core Web Vitals data.
Location settings
Google's default location option targets people "in, regularly in, or who've shown interest in" your area. For a local business that often means paying for clicks from people far away. We check whether "Presence" (people in or regularly in your area) would suit you better, and whether your radius matches where you actually work.
Auto-applied recommendations
Google can apply some recommendations automatically, such as adding keywords or changing bids. We check what's switched on and what has been changed without anyone noticing.
Performance Max transparency
If you run Performance Max, we look at the search term insights, channel reporting, asset performance and any brand exclusions or negative keywords. The aim is to see what it's actually spending on.
Marketing tip
In Google Ads, open Goals, then Conversions, then Summary, and look at the status column next to each conversion action. Anything not showing as active and recording is a problem worth fixing before you touch bids.
What you get
A written report in plain English, ranked by impact, with each issue explained and a clear fix. We'll walk you through it on a call so you can ask questions. We'll also flag quick wins you can make this week. The delivery date is set out in your quote.
What happens after
You're free to take the report and make the changes yourself, or hand them to your current provider. If you'd like our team to handle it, we can fix the tracking and restructure campaigns, then move into ongoing Google Ads management with weekly reports on calls, quote requests and cost per lead. If the audit shows your landing pages are the real issue, our web team can rebuild them in-house.
Why work with us
We've worked in digital marketing and websites for 15 years, we'm Google Ads certified, and we run Google Ads for Brisbane businesses such as Shopace and Budget Tree Removal. Our team does everything in-house. We'll tell you honestly if your account is in decent shape, and we won't promise results an audit can't deliver.
Every audit is priced by written quote after a short discovery call.
Want a second opinion on your ad spend? Book a Google Ads audit.