google-ads-account-audit

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• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

## Process

1. **Collect data** — Request or gather: campaign data export, search term report (90 days), Quality Score report, auction insights, change history (90 days), conversion tracking status, and account-level settings
2. **Run the audit checklist** — Work through each section below, flagging issues as Critical (red), Optimization (yellow), or Working Well (green)
3. **Score account health** — Calculate overall health score based on findings
4. **ICE-prioritize recommendations** — Score each finding: Impact (1-10) x Confidence (1-10) x Ease (1-10)
5. **Deliver action plan** — Structured output with prioritized fixes and expected impact

## Audit Checklist

### Section 1: Tracking & Measurement

| Checkpoint | What to Check | Flag If |
|-----------|--------------|---------|
| Google Tag active | gtag.js or GTM container firing on all pages | Missing or intermittent |
| GA4 linked | GA4 property connected to Google Ads | Not linked |
| Conversion actions | List all conversion actions — are they meaningful? | Counting micro-conversions as primary |
| Enhanced conversions (web) | Hashing email/phone at tag level for better matching | Not implemented |
| Enhanced conversions (leads) | GCLID-based offline import for lead gen accounts | Not implemented for lead gen |
| Attribution model | Data-driven attribution is default and recommended | Still on last-click without reason |
| Conversion windows | Windows match actual sales cycle | Default windows for long sales cycle |
| Cross-account conversion tracking | Using manager-level conversion tracking if MCC | Duplicate conversion counting across accounts |
| Offline conversion import | Uploading CRM data back to Google Ads | Lead gen account with no offline import |
| Meta tracking | Is the client also running Meta? Check if CAPI is set up | Meta tracking gaps — refer to **meta-ads-tracking-setup** skill |

### Section 2: Account Structure

| Checkpoint | What to Check | Flag If |
|-----------|--------------|---------|
| Campaign-to-objective alignment | Each campaign has a clear strategic purpose | Campaigns mixing objectives |
| Campaign count | 6-10 campaigns with clear distinctions for complex accounts | Over-segmented (20+ campaigns diluting budget) or under-segmented (1-2 campaigns for diverse products) |
| Search + Display mixing | Search and Display should be separate campaigns | Mixed in same campaign |
| PMax asset groups | Segmented by product/service line with distinct audiences | Single asset group for diverse products |
| AI Max setup | Text guidelines configured, Smart Bidding Exploration monitored | AI Max running without text guidelines (launched September 2025, avg 34% conversion improvement) |
| Demand Gen campaigns | Present if awareness/consideration is a goal | Missing from full-funnel accounts (Power Pack strategy: Demand Gen + AI Max + PMax) |
| Naming conventions | Consistent, parseable naming taxonomy | Inconsistent or absent naming system |
| Ad group theming | Tight keyword-to-ad-group mapping by intent | Bloated ad groups mixing unrelated keywords |

### Section 3: Keywords & Match Types

| Checkpoint | What to Check | Flag If |
|-----------|--------------|---------|
| Match type distribution | Balance of broad, phrase, exact appropriate for account maturity | 100% broad match without Smart Bidding, or 100% exact match limiting reach |
| Broad match readiness | Broad match requires Smart Bidding + 50+ conversions/month | Broad match with manual bidding or <50 conversions/month |
| Search term waste | N-gram analysis on search term report | N-grams with $50+ spend and 0 conversions |
| Negative keyword coverage | Themed negative lists: competitors, jobs, free/DIY, irrelevant industries | No shared negative lists, or lists not updated in 90+ days |
| Keyword conflicts | Keywords in different campaigns competing against each other | Same keyword in multiple campaigns without clear priority |
| PMax search term cannibalization | PMax stealing queries that Search campaigns should serve | High-value queries showing in PMax search term insights instead of Search |
| Low search volume keywords | Keywords flagged as low search volume | >20% of keywords with low search volume status |
| Fractional conversion distortion | Data-driven attribution splits conversions into fractions | Evaluating keyword CPA on conversions < 1 — filter to conversions > 1 before judging CPA |

**N-gram analysis quick method:** Break search queries into 1-grams, 2-grams, 3-grams. Aggregate clicks, spend, conversions, and CPA by n-gram. Action framework:
- N-gram with $50+ spend, 0 conversions → Add as negative keyword
- N-gram with strong CPA → Promote to exact-match keyword in dedicated ad group
- N-gram with high impressions, low CTR → Investigate intent mismatch

For automated n-gram analysis, use the **google-ads-scripts** skill (Brainlabs Search Query Mining Script updated for GAQL by Nils Rooijmans, March 2025).

### Section 4: Ads & Creative

| Checkpoint | What to Check | Flag If |
|-----------|--------------|---------|
| RSA completeness | 15 headlines + 4 descriptions per RSA | Under-filled RSAs (<10 headlines) |
| RSA asset performance | Asset-level reporting (2025 feature) | Multiple "Low" rated headlines/descriptions not replaced |
| Ad strength | Google's ad strength indicator | "Poor" or "Average" — target "Good" or "Excellent" |
| Headline diversity | Headlines cover different angles (features, benefits, urgency, social proof) | All headlines say the same thing with minor variations |
| Pin strategy | High-intent or brand headlines pinned to position 1 | No pins and key messages buried, or over-pinning limiting combinations |
| Extensions/assets | Sitelinks (4-6), callouts, structured snippets, images, price, call | Missing extension types — each adds CTR |
| Landing page relevance | Ad message matches landing page headline and CTA | Message mismatch between ad and landing page |
| Mobile optimization | Landing pages load <3 seconds, mobile-friendly | Slow load or poor mobile experience |

### Section 5: Bidding & Budget

| Checkpoint | What to Check | Flag If |
|-----------|--------------|---------|
| Bid strategy appropriateness | Strategy matches campaign maturity and conversion volume | See Bid Strategy Maturity table below |
| ECPC check | **ECPC deprecated March 31, 2025** — campaigns not migrated now run on Manual CPC | Any campaign still showing ECPC status |
| tCPA/tROAS targets | Targets realistic vs actual performance | Target CPA set 50%+ below actual CPA (algorithm can't deliver) |
| Smart Bidding readiness | Minimum conversion volume for strategy tier | tCPA with <30 conversions/month, tROAS with <50 conversions/month |
| Portfolio bid strategies | Shared strategies across related campaigns | Related campaigns on individual strategies that could benefit from pooling (typical lift: 19-27% ROAS improvement) |
| Budget sufficiency | Daily budget adequate for bid strategy | PMax budget < 3x target CPA daily, or < $50-100/day |
| Budget capping | Campaigns limited by budget | Impression share lost to budget > 20% on profitable campaigns |
| AI Max learning phase | 7-14 days for new AI Max campaigns | Changes made during learning phase (September 2025 global beta) |
| Impression share analysis | Search impression share vs targets | <30% = likely underbidding; >95% with low ROI = likely overspending |
| Impression share lost (rank) | Lost to ad rank specifically | High % lost to rank = Quality Score or bid issue |
| Impression share lost (budget) | Lost to budget specifically | High % lost to budget = increase budget or reduce targeting |

**Bid Strategy Maturity Table:**

| Monthly Conversions | Recommended Strategy | Notes |
|--------------------|---------------------|-------|
| 0-15 | Manual CPC or Maximize Clicks (with bid cap) | Not enough data for automation |
| 15-30 | Maximize Conversions | Building data, algorithm learning |
| 30-50 | Maximize Conversions or tCPA | Enough for tCPA if CPA is stable |
| 50+ | tCPA or tROAS | Full Smart Bidding — tROAS needs 50+, ideally 100+ |
| 50+ with broad match | Broad match + tCPA/tROAS | Recommended 2025 default for mature accounts |

### Section 6: Quality Score Deep Dive

Quality Score = expected CTR + ad relevance + landing page experience. Analyze at component level, not just the composite number.

| Component | What Drives It | Fix If Below Average |
|-----------|---------------|---------------------|
| Expected CTR | Historical CTR vs competitors for same query | Improve ad copy relevance, test new headlines, add negative keywords to filter irrelevant impressions |
| Ad Relevance | How closely ad matches search intent | Tighten ad group themes, write intent-specific headlines, use keyword insertion where appropriate |
| Landing Page Experience | Page relevance, speed, mobile-friendliness, navigation ease | Improve message match, speed (<3 sec), mobile UX, add relevant content |

**Action priority:** Landing page experience has the widest impact (affects all keywords pointing to that page). Fix landing pages first, then ad relevance, then expected CTR.

### Section 7: Audiences

| Checkpoint | What to Check | Flag If |
|-----------|--------------|---------|
| Remarketing lists | Active, properly sized, segmented by recency | No remarketing lists, or lists expired |
| Customer match | CRM lists uploaded and refreshed | No customer match lists for accounts with CRM data |
| Audience segments | In-market, affinity, custom segments applied | No audience signals on PMax/Demand Gen campaigns |
| Observation vs targeting | Audiences in correct mode per campaign goal | Observation mode where targeting is intended (or vice versa) |
| Audience performance | Segment-level performance review | Segments with high spend and no conversions not excluded |

From narayan-metaflow/metaflow-marketing-skills, MIT.

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