PPC Audit Checklist

Why This PPC Audit Checklist Matters

A systematic PPC audit checklist is the difference between burning your ad budget and generating high-quality leads that convert. According to a Google partners study, advertisers who regularly audit their accounts see an average of 30% improvement in campaign performance, yet 61% of accounts have critical setup errors that directly impact profitability.

Without a structured approach to auditing your PPC campaigns, you’re likely overlooking crucial optimization opportunities. Advertisers who lack systematic review processes report an average of 42% wasted ad spend, according to WordStream research. This waste primarily stems from improper account structure, irrelevant keywords, and poorly optimized landing pages – all elements that a comprehensive audit would catch.

Common challenges faced without a systematic PPC audit include:

• Blindly increasing budgets when performance declines instead of identifying root causes
• Inability to accurately track which ads and content are driving qualified leads
• Missing crucial quality score factors that impact ad costs and placement
• Failing to identify connection issues between ads and website landing pages
• Overlooking critical tracking setup errors that misattribute conversion value

Following a structured PPC audit process delivers measurable benefits. Our clients report an average of 25% reduction in cost-per-acquisition within 30 days of implementing audit-based recommendations. Additionally, they save approximately 5-7 hours weekly by focusing optimization efforts on high-impact areas identified through systematic review rather than random tweaking.

This PPC audit checklist was developed through Radyant’s experience managing over $15 million in ad spend across 50+ startups and scaleups. We’ve consolidated patterns from our most successful campaign turnarounds, specifically focusing on common issues that dramatically impact marketing performance when corrected. Each item has been validated through multiple client implementations where we tracked the direct ROI impact of specific changes.

Our specialized expertise in search marketing has uniquely positioned us to develop this comprehensive framework. Unlike generic checklists, ours prioritizes items based on their proven impact on lead quality and conversion rates – not just surface-level metrics. This approach stems from our deep understanding of how the PPC ecosystem connects with your overall web presence and marketing funnel, ensuring that your paid campaigns seamlessly integrate with your marketing tools and objectives.

By implementing this PPC checklist regularly, you’ll not only improve immediate campaign performance but also build a foundation for continuous optimization that adapts to changing market conditions and algorithm updates. For even deeper insights, our SEO audit checklist provides complementary guidance for maximizing your organic search presence alongside paid efforts.

Before You Begin: Essential Preparations

Before diving into your PPC audit checklist, proper preparation is crucial for success. Setting up the right tools, permissions, and team alignment can make the difference between a surface-level review and a transformative audit that drastically improves your ad performance and ROI. Let’s ensure you have everything ready before starting.

Required Tools & Software

A comprehensive PPC audit requires access to several platforms and tools to gather complete data. Make sure you have access to:

• Google Ads interface – Your primary workspace for examining campaign structure, settings, and performance metrics
• Google Analytics – Essential for connecting ad performance to actual website behavior and conversion data
• Spreadsheet software (Google Sheets or Excel) – For exporting and analyzing large data sets
• Competitive analysis tools – Like SEMrush, SpyFu, or Similarweb to benchmark against competitors
• Bid management tools – If you’re using any third-party bid automation systems
• Heatmap and user behavior tools – Hotjar or similar to understand how users interact with your landing pages

Many marketers struggle with making sense of all this data at once. Radyant’s automation tools can streamline this process by consolidating key metrics from multiple sources into actionable insights, saving hours of manual analysis during your audit.

Access Requirements & Permissions

Before starting your audit, ensure you have the following account access:

• Admin or standard access to all relevant Google Ads accounts
• View access (at minimum) to Google Analytics
• Access to landing pages and website backend for reviewing content quality and tracking implementation
• Historical reporting data going back at least 6-12 months
• Budget documents and performance targets for context

If you’re auditing accounts for clients or other departments, request these permissions well in advance to avoid delays. Document the account structure as you go – many advertisers discover forgotten campaigns or inconsistent naming conventions during this initial access phase.

Skill Level & Team Collaboration

A thorough PPC audit requires varying levels of expertise:

• Basic audit: Intermediate PPC knowledge to identify structural issues and basic optimization opportunities
• Comprehensive audit: Advanced PPC expertise, particularly in your specific industry
• Technical elements: Knowledge of tracking implementation and conversion setup
• Content assessment: Marketing copywriting experience to evaluate ad and landing page messaging alignment

For best results, consider assembling a small team including a PPC specialist, a web developer or analytics expert, and someone familiar with your content marketing strategy. This collaborative approach ensures you’re examining both technical performance and marketing effectiveness. If resources are limited, prioritize sections of the audit based on suspected weak points in your current setup.

Time Investment & Planning

Be realistic about the time needed for a thorough audit:

• Small account (1-5 campaigns): 3-5 hours
• Medium account (5-20 campaigns): 8-16 hours
• Large account (20+ campaigns): 16-40+ hours

These estimates include analysis time but not implementation of fixes. Plan to spread the audit across multiple days to allow for thoughtful analysis rather than rushing through checklist items. Many advertisers find value in bookmarking this checklist and tackling one section per day over the course of a week.

Before beginning, set clear objectives for your audit. Are you primarily focused on improving lead quality, reducing wasted spend, scaling successful campaigns, or addressing a specific performance issue? Your focus will help determine which sections of the checklist deserve the most attention.

Taking these preparatory steps seriously will not only make your PPC audit more efficient but will significantly improve the quality of insights and the impact of the optimizations you implement. Remember that a well-executed audit can often identify opportunities to dramatically improve performance without increasing your ad spend.

The Complete PPC Audit Checklist: Step-by-Step

A comprehensive PPC audit checklist is crucial for maximizing ad spend efficiency and uncovering hidden optimization opportunities. At Radyant, we’ve refined our audit process through working with 50+ startups and scaleups, helping them transform underperforming campaigns into lead-generating machines. This step-by-step breakdown covers every critical aspect of a thorough PPC audit.

Account Structure Analysis (Essential) – Estimated Time: 2-3 Hours

The foundation of any successful PPC campaign lies in its account structure. Think of this as the architectural blueprint for your entire advertising operation. At Radyant, we always begin our client audits here because proper segmentation creates clarity and control.

• Campaign organization review: Examine how campaigns are structured by product line, service category, or funnel stage. We look for logical segmentation that allows for targeted budget allocation and performance analysis.
• Ad group assessment: Verify that ad groups contain tightly themed keyword clusters (no more than 15-20 keywords per ad group). Our startup clients see a 15-30% improvement in quality scores when ad groups are properly organized.
• Settings validation: Check campaign types, networks, locations, languages, and bid strategies. We frequently find misalignments between business goals and selected settings, especially for startups expanding internationally.
• Access and permission audit: Confirm appropriate access levels for team members and verify MFA (multi-factor authentication) is enabled for account security.

The signs of poor account structure include inconsistent naming conventions, overlapping keywords across ad groups, and inefficient budget allocation. One tech startup we worked with saw a 22% decrease in cost-per-lead just by reorganizing their account structure based on user intent rather than product features.

Keyword Performance Evaluation (Essential) – Estimated Time: 3-4 Hours

Keywords are the lifeblood of any PPC campaign, directly connecting user intent with your advertising. In our experience working with B2B SaaS clients, keyword optimization often yields the most significant performance improvements.

• Search term analysis: Review search term reports to identify converting queries and irrelevant searches. At Radyant, we’ve developed proprietary scoring systems to prioritize high-intent terms.
• Match type distribution: Assess the balance between broad, phrase, and exact match keywords. For most startups, we recommend a pyramid approach with broad match modified terms for discovery and exact match for high-converting terms.
• Negative keyword audit: Verify comprehensive negative keyword lists at both campaign and account levels. We typically identify 50-100 new negatives during initial audits for clients.
• Quality score assessment: Identify keywords with low quality scores and determine underlying causes (landing page relevance, ad relevance, or expected CTR).
• Bid strategy evaluation: Analyze if current bidding aligns with campaign objectives and if manual vs. automated strategies are appropriately implemented.

One of our climate tech clients was struggling with high CPCs until our audit revealed they were targeting broad industry terms instead of solution-specific keywords. After implementing our recommended changes, their lead volume increased by 43% while CPL decreased by 27%.

Ad Creative and Messaging Assessment (Essential) – Estimated Time: 2-3 Hours

Your ad content creates the crucial first impression that determines whether users will engage with your brand. Through our work with startups across various sectors, we’ve found that systematic creative testing can dramatically improve campaign performance.

• Ad copy review: Evaluate headline and description relevance to keywords and landing pages. We analyze if USPs and value propositions are clearly communicated.
• Ad extension audit: Verify implementation of all relevant extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, etc.). Our data shows extensions can increase CTR by 10-15% for B2B advertisers.
• A/B testing analysis: Check if proper testing mechanisms are in place with statistical significance tracking. At Radyant, we implement minimum 2-week testing cycles for valid data collection.
• Responsive Search Ad optimization: Assess headline and description combinations, pinning strategy, and ad strength metrics. We target “Good” or “Excellent” ad strength ratings for all clients.
• Dynamic keyword insertion usage: Review how dynamic elements are incorporated and if they create compelling, relevant messaging.

For SaaS clients in particular, we’ve found that highlighting specific pain points in ad copy rather than generic feature lists can increase conversion rates by 18-25%. When auditing a legal tech startup’s campaign, we discovered their ads lacked clear CTAs, which we optimized to generate 31% more qualified leads.

Landing Page and Conversion Path Optimization (Essential) – Estimated Time: 3-4 Hours

Even the best-performing ads will fail if they direct traffic to poor-quality landing pages. This critical part of the PPC audit examines the post-click experience that ultimately determines conversion success.

• Landing page relevance check: Verify alignment between ad promises and landing page content. We score pages on message match, focusing on headline continuity and visual consistency.
• Page load speed analysis: Test loading times across devices and connections. For every second of improvement, we typically see a 7% increase in conversion rates.
• Mobile responsiveness evaluation: Check how landing pages perform across various devices and screen sizes. Up to 40% of B2B research now happens on mobile devices.
• Conversion element assessment: Review forms, CTAs, and other conversion mechanisms for clarity and user experience. We look for unnecessary friction points that might be causing abandonment.
• Trust signal audit: Examine how social proof, testimonials, and trust badges are incorporated. For early-stage startups, we’ve found that adding relevant trust elements can improve conversion rates by 15-20%.

Many of our clients come to us after spending thousands on ads without realizing their landing pages are the conversion bottleneck. Using our proprietary landing page templates, we’ve helped startups achieve conversion rates 2-3x higher than industry averages, directly improving their cost per acquisition metrics.

Tracking and Attribution Setup (Essential) – Estimated Time: 2-3 Hours

Without proper tracking, you’re essentially flying blind with your PPC investments. This critical section of our audit verifies that all measurement systems are accurately capturing user interactions and conversion data.

• Conversion tracking verification: Test all conversion actions for proper firing and data accuracy. We use both manual testing and debugging tools to confirm tracking integrity.
• Google Analytics integration check: Verify proper linking between Google Ads and Analytics, with correct UTM parameter implementation. This provides crucial secondary validation of performance data.
• Attribution model assessment: Evaluate if the current attribution model (first-click, last-click, data-driven, etc.) aligns with the business sales cycle and goals.
• Tag implementation audit: Check Google Tag Manager setup and confirm all necessary event tracking is in place for micro and macro conversions.
• Cross-device tracking review: Assess how user journeys across multiple devices are being tracked and attributed, especially for businesses with longer sales cycles.

In our experience supporting B2B startups, attribution issues are among the most common and costly problems we uncover. One enterprise SaaS client was undervaluing their PPC campaigns by 42% because they were using last-click attribution for a product with a 60+ day sales cycle. After implementing a position-based model, they were able to properly value upper-funnel campaigns and scale their lead generation efforts.

Budget and Bidding Optimization (Essential) – Estimated Time: 2-3 Hours

How efficiently you allocate resources across campaigns directly impacts your return on ad spend. Our strategic budget analysis helps identify opportunities for improved resource allocation.

• Budget distribution analysis: Evaluate how budget is allocated across campaigns relative to performance and business priorities. We look for misalignment between spend and strategic importance.
• Bidding strategy audit: Review automated vs. manual bidding approaches and assess if the selected strategies match campaign objectives. For early-stage startups, we often recommend starting with enhanced CPC before moving to fully automated solutions.
• Dayparting and scheduling review: Analyze performance by time of day and day of week to identify optimization opportunities. B2B clients often see significant performance variations during business hours vs. evenings/weekends.
• Geographic performance assessment: Examine performance by location to identify high-performing and underperforming regions for bid adjustments.
• Audience bid modifier evaluation: Check if audience targeting and bid adjustments are being leveraged for remarketing, similar audiences, and in-market segments.

Proper budget allocation has been transformative for our startup clients with limited resources. One climate tech company we worked with was able to increase lead volume by 37% without increasing overall spend by reallocating budget from broad awareness campaigns to high-converting customer intent campaigns. Our strategy sessions often focus heavily on helping startups maximize limited advertising budgets through strategic allocation.

Competitor Analysis (Nice-to-Have) – Estimated Time: 2-3 Hours

Understanding the competitive landscape provides crucial context for your PPC performance and identifies strategic opportunities. While not always essential, this analysis often yields valuable insights.

• Auction insights review: Analyze impression share, overlap rate, and position metrics to understand competitive pressure. We track these metrics over time to identify trends and competitive shifts.
• Competitor ad copy analysis: Examine messaging approaches and unique selling propositions of top competitors. This often reveals positioning opportunities.
• Keyword gap analysis: Identify valuable keywords competitors are targeting that your campaigns might be missing. Our specialized tools can uncover these opportunities systematically.
• Landing page comparison: Review competitor landing pages for conversion elements, messaging strategies, and design approaches that might inform your optimization efforts.
• Share of voice calculation: Estimate your brand’s visibility compared to competitors in key search auctions using impression share data.

For emerging startups looking to disrupt established markets, competitive intelligence is particularly valuable. One B2B SaaS client discovered through our analysis that competitors were focusing exclusively on product features while neglecting to address key pain points. By reformulating their ad messaging around customer challenges rather than features, they were able to increase click-through rates by 23% and conversion rates by 17%.

The Complete PPC Audit Checklist: Step-by-Step

A comprehensive PPC audit checklist is crucial for maximizing ad spend efficiency and uncovering hidden optimization opportunities. At Radyant, we’ve refined our audit process through working with 50+ startups and scaleups, helping them transform underperforming campaigns into lead-generating machines. This step-by-step breakdown covers every critical aspect of a thorough PPC audit.

Account Structure Analysis (Essential) – Estimated Time: 2-3 Hours

The foundation of any successful PPC campaign lies in its account structure. Think of this as the architectural blueprint for your entire advertising operation. At Radyant, we always begin our client audits here because proper segmentation creates clarity and control.

• Campaign organization review: Examine how campaigns are structured by product line, service category, or funnel stage. We look for logical segmentation that allows for targeted budget allocation and performance analysis.
• Ad group assessment: Verify that ad groups contain tightly themed keyword clusters (no more than 15-20 keywords per ad group). Our startup clients see a 15-30% improvement in quality scores when ad groups are properly organized.
• Settings validation: Check campaign types, networks, locations, languages, and bid strategies. We frequently find misalignments between business goals and selected settings, especially for startups expanding internationally.
• Access and permission audit: Confirm appropriate access levels for team members and verify MFA (multi-factor authentication) is enabled for account security.

The signs of poor account structure include inconsistent naming conventions, overlapping keywords across ad groups, and inefficient budget allocation. One tech startup we worked with saw a 22% decrease in cost-per-lead just by reorganizing their account structure based on user intent rather than product features.

Keyword Performance Evaluation (Essential) – Estimated Time: 3-4 Hours

Keywords are the lifeblood of any PPC campaign, directly connecting user intent with your advertising. In our experience working with B2B SaaS clients, keyword optimization often yields the most significant performance improvements.

• Search term analysis: Review search term reports to identify converting queries and irrelevant searches. At Radyant, we’ve developed proprietary scoring systems to prioritize high-intent terms.
• Match type distribution: Assess the balance between broad, phrase, and exact match keywords. For most startups, we recommend a pyramid approach with broad match modified terms for discovery and exact match for high-converting terms.
• Negative keyword audit: Verify comprehensive negative keyword lists at both campaign and account levels. We typically identify 50-100 new negatives during initial audits for clients.
• Quality score assessment: Identify keywords with low quality scores and determine underlying causes (landing page relevance, ad relevance, or expected CTR).
• Bid strategy evaluation: Analyze if current bidding aligns with campaign objectives and if manual vs. automated strategies are appropriately implemented.

One of our climate tech clients was struggling with high CPCs until our audit revealed they were targeting broad industry terms instead of solution-specific keywords. After implementing our recommended changes, their lead volume increased by 43% while CPL decreased by 27%.

Ad Creative and Messaging Assessment (Essential) – Estimated Time: 2-3 Hours

Your ad content creates the crucial first impression that determines whether users will engage with your brand. Through our work with startups across various sectors, we’ve found that systematic creative testing can dramatically improve campaign performance.

• Ad copy review: Evaluate headline and description relevance to keywords and landing pages. We analyze if USPs and value propositions are clearly communicated.
• Ad extension audit: Verify implementation of all relevant extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, etc.). Our data shows extensions can increase CTR by 10-15% for B2B advertisers.
• A/B testing analysis: Check if proper testing mechanisms are in place with statistical significance tracking. At Radyant, we implement minimum 2-week testing cycles for valid data collection.
• Responsive Search Ad optimization: Assess headline and description combinations, pinning strategy, and ad strength metrics. We target “Good” or “Excellent” ad strength ratings for all clients.
• Dynamic keyword insertion usage: Review how dynamic elements are incorporated and if they create compelling, relevant messaging.

For SaaS clients in particular, we’ve found that highlighting specific pain points in ad copy rather than generic feature lists can increase conversion rates by 18-25%. When auditing a legal tech startup’s campaign, we discovered their ads lacked clear CTAs, which we optimized to generate 31% more qualified leads.

Landing Page and Conversion Path Optimization (Essential) – Estimated Time: 3-4 Hours

Even the best-performing ads will fail if they direct traffic to poor-quality landing pages. This critical part of the PPC audit examines the post-click experience that ultimately determines conversion success.

Do’s & Don’ts: Expert Guidance

Implementing a PPC audit checklist isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about making strategic improvements that drive better results. Having audited hundreds of Google Ads accounts for startups and scale-ups, we’ve identified patterns that separate high-performing accounts from underperforming ones. Let’s explore the quickest paths to improvement and the dangerous pitfalls to avoid.

Quick Wins

When time and resources are limited, focusing on high-impact, low-effort improvements can transform your PPC performance rapidly. These quick wins have consistently delivered significant results for our clients:

• Fix conversion tracking gaps – We’ve found that roughly 30% of accounts have incomplete or broken conversion tracking. Properly setting up conversion actions ensures you’re optimizing for genuine business results rather than vanity metrics. This alone can improve ROAS by 15-25% within weeks.
• Implement negative keyword lists – Create and apply comprehensive negative keyword lists across campaigns to immediately reduce wasted spend. One startup client saved over 20% of their budget within the first month by implementing proper negative keywords.
• Adjust device bid modifiers – Many accounts treat all devices equally despite vastly different performance. Analyzing and adjusting device bid modifiers based on conversion rates can quickly improve efficiency by 10-15%.
• Improve ad relevance with responsive search ads – Updating old ads to responsive search ad format with at least 10 headlines and 4 descriptions can boost click-through rates by 5-10% while improving quality scores.
• Reorganize ad groups for tighter themes – Restructuring broad ad groups into more focused ones with 5-20 closely related keywords improves quality scores and reduces CPCs, typically yielding 15-20% better performance.
• Update outdated landing pages – Ensuring ads point to relevant, fast-loading, mobile-friendly landing pages with clear calls-to-action can improve conversion rates by 20-30%.

When implemented together, these quick wins typically yield noticeable improvements within 2-4 weeks. The compound effect often results in 30-50% better performance without increasing budgets. At Radyant, we’ve used these exact approaches to transform underperforming accounts for B2B SaaS companies and e-commerce startups, focusing first on these foundational elements before moving to more advanced optimizations.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Even seasoned marketers make critical mistakes when auditing and optimizing PPC campaigns. Avoiding these pitfalls is often as valuable as implementing improvements:

• Optimizing for clicks instead of conversions – Many marketers focus on increasing traffic without ensuring it drives business results. This mistake occurs when conversion tracking isn’t properly set up or when teams prioritize vanity metrics. Check if you’re making this mistake by examining whether your KPIs align with actual business goals.
• Neglecting search term analysis – Failing to regularly review search terms leads to wasted spend on irrelevant traffic. This typically happens due to time constraints or overreliance on automation. If your broad match keywords aren’t generating regular negative keyword additions, you’re likely making this mistake.
• Over-segmentation of campaigns – Creating too many small campaigns with limited data makes optimization difficult and prevents machine learning algorithms from functioning properly. This commonly occurs when attempting to control every aspect manually. If most of your ad groups have fewer than 100 impressions per week, you may be over-segmented.
• Ignoring audience signals – Many accounts still run without any audience targeting or observation, missing valuable data for optimization. This oversight prevents personalized messaging and bidding strategies. Check if your campaigns leverage first-party data, remarketing lists, or in-market audiences.
• Inconsistent naming conventions – Disorganized campaign and ad group naming makes analysis difficult and leads to mistakes. This happens gradually as accounts grow. If you struggle to quickly identify campaign purposes or compare similar segments, your naming convention needs improvement.
• Setting and forgetting automation – Implementing automated bidding without regular monitoring and adjustment often leads to suboptimal results. This mistake occurs when marketers overestimate the “set it and forget it” nature of automation.

These mistakes can dramatically reduce marketing effectiveness, with our audits showing they typically decrease account performance by 30-60%. At Radyant, we help clients identify these issues through our comprehensive PPC audit process, implementing structural and strategic improvements that align with proper PPC checklist best practices. By addressing these common pitfalls, most accounts see significant performance improvements within the first month of corrections.

What to Do Next: Implementation Strategy

Now that you have your PPC audit checklist in hand, it’s time to transform those insights into actionable improvements. A structured implementation approach is crucial for maximizing the return on your Google Ads investment and ensuring that your website generates qualified leads consistently. Let’s break down how to prioritize and execute your audit findings effectively.

Prioritization Framework: What to Fix First

Not all audit findings carry equal weight. Use this three-tier prioritization system to determine which items require immediate attention:

• Critical Issues (Fix Immediately): Items directly impacting account performance such as negative ROAS campaigns, broken landing pages, improper conversion tracking, and irrelevant keywords draining budget.
• Optimization Opportunities (Fix Within 2 Weeks): Improve ad copy relevance, landing page experience, bid strategies, and audience targeting to enhance your existing campaign performance.
• Strategic Improvements (Fix Within 30 Days): Long-term enhancements like expanding into new keyword categories, testing new ad formats, and implementing advanced automation strategies.

Begin by listing all findings from your PPC audit checklist, then assign each item to one of these three categories. The goal is to stop the bleeding first, then enhance and expand. This systematic approach prevents you from getting overwhelmed and ensures that budget-draining issues are addressed before implementing new strategies.

Implementation Timeline: 90-Day PPC Transformation Plan

Break your implementation into manageable phases to maintain momentum without disrupting your entire account:

• Days 1-14: Emergency Triage – Fix all critical issues affecting account performance, including fixing broken tracking, pausing underperforming campaigns, and resolving disapproved ads.
• Days 15-30: Core Optimization – Refine existing campaigns with improved ad copy, enhanced landing page experience, and strategic bid adjustments.
• Days 31-60: Expansion and Testing – Implement new campaign structures, explore additional marketing channels, and initiate A/B testing for ads and landing pages.
• Days 61-90: Automation and Scale – Deploy advanced automation strategies, refine audience targeting, and scale successful campaign elements.

This phased approach allows you to see incremental improvements while building toward comprehensive account optimization. Each phase should build upon the progress made in previous stages, creating a compound effect on performance.

Progress Tracking: Keeping Implementation on Course

Create a dedicated implementation tracker in a spreadsheet with the following columns:

• Audit finding
• Priority level (Critical/Optimization/Strategic)
• Implementation status (Not Started/In Progress/Complete)
• Responsible team member
• Target completion date
• Actual completion date
• Expected impact (High/Medium/Low)
• Actual impact (measured 2 weeks post-implementation)

Schedule weekly implementation review meetings to assess progress, remove blockers, and adjust priorities as needed. This accountability system keeps your team focused on execution rather than just planning. Cross-reference your implementation progress with improvements in your key performance indicators to validate the impact of your changes.

Performance Measurement: Defining Success Metrics

Track these KPIs before, during, and after implementation to measure the impact of your audit improvements:

• Primary KPIs: Conversion rate, cost per acquisition, return on ad spend (ROAS), quality score, and lead quality
• Secondary KPIs: Click-through rate, impression share, average position, and landing page conversion rate
• Technical Metrics: Page load speed, bounce rate, and website engagement metrics

Create a dashboard in Google Analytics or Radyant’s Looker Studio templates to monitor these metrics in real-time. Set up weekly performance reports to track improvements against your baseline measurements from before the audit implementation began. This data-driven approach allows you to quantify the ROI of your optimization efforts.

Case Study: From Audit to Results

A B2B SaaS startup implemented their PPC audit checklist findings using this framework and saw remarkable results. After identifying that 40% of their budget was being spent on keywords generating clicks but no leads, they restructured their account using the prioritization framework above.

By first addressing critical issues in their account structure and conversion tracking, they reduced wasted spend by 35% in the first two weeks. In the optimization phase, they improved their landing page experience by aligning ad copy with web page content, increasing conversion rates by 28%. By the end of the 90-day implementation, they had reduced cost per qualified lead by 42% while maintaining the same lead volume.

The key to their success was following a structured implementation approach rather than making random changes based on the audit findings.

When to Revisit and Update

PPC optimization is never “done.” Schedule these follow-up activities to maintain momentum:

• Conduct mini-audits monthly using the same PPC checklist to catch new issues early
• Perform comprehensive quarterly audits to identify strategic opportunities
• Review implementation effectiveness 30, 60, and 90 days after completing your action plan
• Update your checklist annually to incorporate new platform features and marketing best practices

This continuous improvement cycle ensures your PPC accounts remain optimized even as the digital advertising landscape evolves. Remember that the most successful advertisers view audits not as one-time events but as integral parts of their ongoing optimization strategy.

How Radyant Can Support Your Implementation

While the checklist provides a solid foundation, implementing complex PPC optimizations requires specialized expertise. Radyant’s PPC specialists can provide:

• Expert prioritization of your audit findings based on potential ROI
• Implementation support for technical aspects like conversion tracking and audience setup
• Custom reporting dashboards to track implementation progress and performance impact
• Advanced automation scripts to maintain optimization after implementation
• Ongoing optimization support to ensure continued improvement

Our team has implemented audit findings for 50+ startups and scale-ups, with an average improvement of 35% in key performance metrics. Whether you need full implementation support or strategic guidance on specific elements, we can help transform your audit insights into measurable business results.

Frequently Asked Questions About PPC Audit Checklist

How often should I conduct a PPC audit?

We recommend conducting a comprehensive PPC audit at least once per quarter. However, the ideal frequency depends on your campaign size, budget, and volatility of your industry. For accounts spending over $10,000 monthly, consider monthly mini-audits focusing on high-impact areas while saving deep-dive audits for quarterly reviews. Seasonal businesses should schedule audits before peak periods to ensure campaigns are optimized when it matters most.

At Radyant, we’ve seen clients dramatically improve their ROAS by implementing regular audit schedules. For example, one B2B SaaS client who switched from annual to quarterly audits saw a 37% improvement in lead quality and a 22% reduction in cost-per-acquisition within six months. The key is consistency—regular small improvements compound significantly over time.

If you’ve recently made major changes to your website or content strategy, it’s also wise to trigger an additional audit to ensure your PPC efforts align with your new messaging and user experience.

What are the most critical elements to check in a PPC audit?

While a complete audit covers numerous aspects, these five elements deliver the highest impact in most cases:

• Account structure review – Ensuring your campaigns and ad groups follow logical organization that aligns with your customer journey and business goals
• Budget allocation analysis – Verifying spend is distributed optimally across campaigns based on performance data, not just set and forgotten
• Ad creative and landing page alignment – Confirming what you promise in ads matches what visitors find on your website to maximize conversion rates
• Keyword performance and negative keyword strategy – Identifying which search terms generate quality leads versus wasting budget
• Conversion tracking verification – Ensuring all conversion actions are properly tracked and attributed

Based on our experience with startup PPC campaigns, conversion tracking issues alone often account for 20-30% of wasted ad spend. When we audit campaigns for new clients, we frequently discover that their previous marketing efforts were optimizing toward vanity metrics rather than business outcomes that generate revenue.

Can I conduct a meaningful PPC audit myself, or do I need an agency?

Yes, you can absolutely conduct a meaningful audit yourself if you have a solid understanding of PPC fundamentals and sufficient time to dedicate to the process. For in-house marketing teams, self-audits can be highly effective, especially when using a structured checklist approach.

However, there are specific scenarios where working with a specialized agency like Radyant provides significant advantages:

• When you lack the internal bandwidth to conduct thorough audits
• If your team doesn’t have specialized PPC expertise beyond basic campaign management
• When you need a fresh perspective to identify blind spots in your strategy
• For complex accounts with large budgets where optimization opportunities can easily translate to significant savings
• When you need to benchmark performance against industry standards across multiple accounts

The most effective approach often combines regular internal reviews using a standardized checklist, supplemented by periodic external audits from specialists. This balance ensures day-to-day optimization while still benefiting from outside expertise and perspective that can identify deeper structural improvements.

How do I interpret the data from my PPC audit to improve performance?

Transforming audit findings into actionable improvements requires a systematic approach:

1. Prioritize issues by impact potential – Not all findings have equal importance. Categorize issues by their likely impact on key metrics like CPA, ROAS, or lead quality. Focus first on high-impact, low-effort fixes that can deliver quick wins.

2. Look for patterns, not just isolated problems – The most valuable insights often come from identifying recurring themes across campaigns. For instance, if multiple ad groups show poor quality score despite good click-through rates, this might indicate a landing page relevance issue affecting your entire account.

3. Connect PPC data with business outcomes – The most successful audits go beyond platform metrics to examine how paid traffic converts through your sales funnel. By integrating CRM data, you might discover certain keywords generate clicks and even form submissions but rarely produce qualified leads or sales.

4. Create a structured implementation plan – Develop a prioritized roadmap with specific tasks, deadlines, and expected outcomes. This prevents the common pitfall of identifying problems but failing to systematically address them.

At Radyant, we’ve developed specialized frameworks for connecting audit findings to business outcomes through our work with B2B SaaS and tech startups. The key difference between a good audit and a great one is not just identifying what’s wrong but understanding precisely how to fix it in context of your specific business goals.

What tools should I use to conduct a thorough PPC audit?

While the native advertising platforms (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, etc.) provide essential data, complementary tools can significantly enhance your audit’s depth and efficiency:

• Google Analytics/GA4 – Essential for connecting ad performance to on-site behavior and validating conversion tracking
• Google Tag Manager – Helps verify that all tracking is implemented correctly
• Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) – Creates customized reports that combine data from multiple sources for comprehensive analysis
• SpyFu or SEMrush – Provides competitive intelligence on keywords, ad copy, and estimated spend
• Unbounce or similar – For landing page performance analysis
• CallRail or similar call tracking – If phone calls are an important conversion point

For startups and growing businesses with limited budgets, we recommend focusing first on mastering the native platform tools and Google Analytics before investing in premium solutions. We’ve seen many cases where companies purchase expensive software before establishing basic measurement fundamentals, ultimately creating more complexity without adding value.

Our team at Radyant has developed custom Google Sheets templates that automate many aspects of the audit process without requiring significant investment. The right tool combination depends on your specific business model, campaign complexity, and in-house capabilities.

How do I determine if my landing pages are properly optimized for PPC traffic?

Landing page optimization is often the most overlooked component of PPC performance. Here’s how to evaluate your landing pages as part of your audit:

Message match analysis: Compare your ad copy and keywords with your landing page headlines and content. The transition should feel seamless to users, with the landing page directly addressing the promise made in your ad. Inconsistency here is a primary cause of wasted ad spend.

Conversion path clarity: Evaluate whether your desired action (form submission, sign-up, purchase) is immediately obvious. Count the number of steps required to complete a conversion and look for opportunities to streamline the process.

Mobile experience assessment: With most clicks now coming from mobile devices, your landing pages must provide an excellent mobile experience. Check load times, form usability, and overall navigation on various device sizes.

Competitive comparison: Visit the landing pages your competitors use for similar keywords. Note how they position their offerings, structure their pages, and guide visitors toward conversion.

In our case studies with B2B SaaS companies, we’ve frequently seen landing page improvements deliver 30-50% increases in conversion rates from the same traffic. This makes landing page optimization one of the highest-ROI activities in your entire PPC strategy.

If you’re struggling to objectively assess your landing pages, consider scheduling a strategy call with our team for a professional evaluation of how your current pages align with PPC best practices.