.png)
1. Understanding What’s Going on in Your Account
The first thing we do is get a detailed understanding of the account’s current performance. For example, in one of my client’s accounts, we spent $4,800 and generated $46,000 in sales. Obviously, this account is performing very well, but there’s always room for improvement. By looking at the numbers, we can better understand where the money is being spent, how it’s driving sales, and if there are any areas where performance can be further optimized.
2. Ensuring Conversion Tracking Is Set Up Correctly
One of the biggest mistakes we see in Google Ads accounts is improper conversion tracking. You can’t measure success without tracking the right metrics! So, we start by making sure the conversion tracking is set up correctly. For example, if the main goal is to generate sales, the "Purchase" action should be marked as the primary conversion event. Without this, it’s hard to know which campaigns are bringing in sales and which are wasting money. Proper conversion tracking also helps you see what’s working and what needs improvement.
3. Reviewing Campaign Performance: Good vs. Bad
Once we’ve confirmed that tracking is in place, we take a close look at how each campaign is performing. We compare high-performing campaigns with those that are underperforming to figure out why one is doing better than the other. Maybe the keyword targeting is more refined, or perhaps the ad copy is more engaging. We also look at the types of campaigns that are running, whether it’s search, display, or Performance Max. Each of these serves a different purpose, so we evaluate how well they align with the overall goal of the account.
4. Staying on Top of Google’s Policy Violations
Google is strict about its advertising policies, and sometimes ads get disapproved without us noticing. Google usually sends an email when this happens, but those can easily be missed. That’s why as part of our audit process, we always check for disapproved ads. If any ads have been disapproved, we either fix the issue or appeal the disapproval to get them back up and running as soon as possible.
5. Analyzing Search Terms: Finding Winners and Losers
One of the most crucial parts of our audit is digging into the search terms report. This helps us identify which search terms are bringing in the most revenue for the business. We love to find the “winners”—the search terms that are driving profitable conversions. Once we’ve found those, we allocate more of the budget to these high-performing terms. On the flip side, we also find the “losers”—the search terms that are costing money but not generating results. We either remove these terms from our campaigns or add them as negative keywords to avoid wasting more budget.
6. Day-by-Day Performance Monitoring
It’s important to look at performance on a daily basis. Sometimes, one day of the week will perform significantly better than others. For instance, in one of our client’s accounts, we found that Fridays were consistently outperforming other days, while Tuesdays were underperforming. Based on this, we paused the ads on Tuesdays and reallocated the budget to Fridays. This kind of adjustment won’t be necessary for every account, but it’s something we look at to optimize performance. We track changes over time to see how day-by-day optimizations affect the overall campaign.
7. Time of Day: When Do Ads Perform Best?
Another factor we consider is the time of day. For some clients, certain hours of the day consistently perform better than others. For example, in the same account, ads performed poorly in the early morning but saw much better results in the afternoon and evening. If we put ourselves in the customer’s shoes, it makes sense—customers may be more likely to browse or purchase later in the day. We adjust the ads to run during the most productive times, ensuring the budget is spent when it will have the highest impact.
8. Location-Based Performance
Location can also play a big role in campaign success. In one of our client accounts, Texas was outperforming all other states. In cases like this, we sometimes create separate campaigns specifically targeting the high-performing locations. By narrowing the focus, we can tailor ads more precisely to the audience in that location and often see even better results. For clients whose businesses rely on specific geographic areas—like a boating company—it’s important to show ads in regions close to water. We wouldn’t want to waste ad spend in landlocked areas where there’s no market for their products.
9. Product-Level Performance: What’s Selling Well?
When working with eCommerce accounts, we also look at performance on a product-by-product basis. If a certain product is driving more sales than others, it might make sense to create separate campaigns for that product. By doing this, we can focus more budget and energy on promoting high-performing products, maximizing the return on investment.
10. Take Action Today—Get a Free Audit
If you’d prefer not to implement these strategies yourself, don’t worry—that’s where we come in. Our team would love to perform a free audit on your account. There’s no payment needed. Simply click the link below, and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours. All we need is your name, email address, phone number, and customer ID, and we’ll dive into your account to optimize your campaigns for better performance.
