How to perform a Google Ads audit
Some of us are tidy on the surface, but chaotic underneath. Others appear to be in complete disarray, but manage to create beautifully ordered and structured work. This is also true of those managing websites and Google Ad campaigns.
Imagine for a moment one personality type having to give way to another in a change of personnel and imagine the chaos that may cause! Such situations would undoubtedly mean an audit was in order and there are many other reasons to perform a Google Ads audit.
The simple matter of time having passed, trends and demographics shifting and new product launches can all mean an audit is in order. But what makes for a successful Google Ads audit?
Check the tracking of conversions
How can you measure success if you’re not measuring success?! It may sound like nonsense, but here it is imperative. Failing to track conversion rates is one of the most common errors a PPC manager will make. Without the necessary data it is completely impossible to tell whether your Google Ads campaign is successful. The best way of achieving the successful tracking of PPC conversion is by linking your Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts. From there you need to determine clear conversion targets in the latter and import your conversion goals into Google Ads. All of these goals should measure consumer intent such as the completion of forms, transactions and phone calls. These goals should be in the tools section of the Google Ads interface under ‘conversions.’ When enough data is gathered it becomes an invaluable tool in comparing the success rates of different ads.
Keyword management
This is absolutely vital. Keep track of which positive keyword searches are yielding results and which keyword searches are red herrings that always lead to a lack of conversion. Both lists should be updated after thorough research during a PPC audit. You should definitely take a look at your landing page as it is generally very tricky to boost performance here. Google looks over your page and assesses it on relevance, user performance and originality. Once you’ve established keyword performance in a quality analysis you should try to integrate as many of the best performers on your landing page.
Overhaul of campaign settings
This is particularly important when looking at performance across a region. If you can analyse the data across a particular area compared to another you can adjust your bids up for certain locations that are over performing and down for areas that consistently let you down. You can take a look at your overall bidding strategy and see what is working and what is failing.
Ad extensions
Should you not have any ad extensions then now is the time. They are vital for the creation of competitive online advertising. The basic idea is to make sure that your ad has some of these features: callout extensions, structured snippets and sitelinks. It is vital that these are all relevant and current. Ensure that any contact details and sitelinks are up-to-date and ready for action.
