1. Account Setup

  • Account Settings
    • Ensure you have access to the correct AdWords account
    • Ensure billing info is accurate
    • Ensure permissions are setup
    • Ensure auto-tagging is setup
    • Ensure GA is linked to AdWords
  • Account Structure
    • Is this account leveraging the logical campaign types for it's business?
    • Does a Brand Campaign exist?
    • Is there a nomenclature in place to keep campaigns focused/organized?
    • Is the account using campaign budgets or shared budgets?

2. Campaign Setup

  • Tracking
    • What are the client's goals?
    • What are the KPIs?
    • Ensure conversion goals are setup
    • Unless importing from GA, ensure conversion tracking scripts are placed correctly
    • Ensure URL tracking is in place
  • Campaign Settings
    • Ensure budgets aren't constrained
    • Ensure there are no campaign end dates
    • Make note of bid strategy
    • Ensure ad delivery is set to standard
    • Ensure geo-targeting is setup for location-specific campaigns
    • Ensure ad scheduling is setup for time-specific campaigns
    • Are mobile bid modifiers being used?

3. Ads & Landing Pages

  • Ads
    • Ensure no ads have been disapproved
    • Ensure all ad groups have ads associated to them
    • Check for ad copy relevance
    • Analyze ad performance
    • Check if ads are being tested
    • Is the account leveraging ad labels?
    • Are mobile optimized ads being used?
  • Landing Pages
    • Check landing page relevance
    • Check page responsiveness
    • Ensure conversion mechanisms exist, are visible, and are working
    • Ensure dedicated landing pages are no-index

4. Ad Groups & Keywords

  • Ad Groups
    • Ensure Ad Groups are relevant to the parent campaign
    • Ensure a logical default max CPC is in place
    • Take note of how Ad Groups are structured
    • Is there a nomenclature in place to keep ad groups organized?
  • Keywords
    • Check keyword status
    • Ensure negative keywords are being added
    • Ensure negatives aren't blocking ads from serving

5. Extensions & Advanced

  • Ad Extensions
    • Ensure ad extensions are relevant
    • Ensure sitelink landing pages have conversion mechanism(s)
    • Ensure location extension addresses are accurate
  • Dive Deeper into Keyword Performance
    • Upload keyword data into PPC audit document
    • Ensure at least 80% of keywords have clicks
    • Ensure at least 90% of keywords have impressions
    • Ensure at least 75% of keywords are converting
    • Analyze match type efficiency
    • Ensure the majority of keywords have a Quality Score of 6 or greater