PPC audits: what should you be looking for?
You’ve followed the advice from your Google rep, implemented all their recommendations and your optimisation score is 100%. But your performance has dropped.
A 100% optimisation score doesn’t mean a well-run account
A good audit looks at the past, present and future of your campaigns
Expect steady, incremental gains rather than a silver bullet
Choose an auditor with technical, business and commercial knowledge
When it’s time for a second opinion
Campaigns have dipped, costs per click are up and your return is down. When you ask for help, you’re told to spend more and trust the algorithm to learn its way out, or that the market is simply more competitive now and this is the new normal.
I’ve seen this many times with clients, so you’re not alone. In paid media it’s easy to lose sight of the data and get tunnel vision working inside the platform, and even experienced PPC managers can miss the bigger picture.
If you’ve tried everything and it still isn’t working, a fresh pair of eyes and an independent second opinion is a sensible next step.
I’ll review your account and send you the three changes that would make the biggest difference, free and with no obligation.
A good PPC audit tells a story
A good audit doesn’t hand you a generic pack of recommendations or repeat Google’s guidelines back to you. It gives you practical actions based on your account, to fix performance issues or find new opportunities in your sector. To do that, it needs to cover the past, present and future of your campaigns.
Past
What has worked before and why, so you know what’s been tested and what the results were.
Present
How the account is set up now, what could be improved, and why things are set up the way they are.
Future
How to improve the campaigns for short and long-term goals, and what uplift you could realistically expect.
Set realistic goals
Knowing the history of your account gives you a clear view of performance, which helps set realistic objectives and KPIs. It’s tempting to aim for a 1,000% return on ad spend or to halve your cost per lead overnight, but in practice you should think in incremental gains. A good audit shows where to improve and gives you a roadmap for doing it.
For most accounts there’s no silver bullet that fixes everything at once. It’s about identifying what’s working, what isn’t and what’s still unknown, then addressing each against your business goals.
What’s working
The campaigns, keywords and audiences that are pulling their weight and deserve more budget.
What isn’t
Wasted spend, poor targeting or broken tracking that’s holding performance back.
What’s unknown
Ideas that haven’t been tested yet, and gaps in the data that need filling.
What to look for in whoever audits your account
Whoever audits your account should show three things throughout their report.
Technical knowledge
Do they understand the platform in depth?
Business knowledge
Do they understand your products or services?
Commercial awareness
Can they show how to grow your business and scale activity?
When these run through the audit, it tells a clear story with real insights and actions. It also presents the data in a way that makes sense to business owners and stakeholders, so it’s easy to see what needs improving and where the opportunities are.
The same qualities matter when you’re choosing someone to run your campaigns long term. My guide on <a href=”https://mcallisterdigital.co.uk/insights/ppc-manager/”>what to look for in a PPC manager</a> covers this in more detail.
See how your PPC campaigns are really performing
Claim a free, no-obligation PPC audit and I’ll send you the changes I’d make first.
