PPC Audit Service

If you run Google Ads, or pay someone else to run them, and you've got a nagging feeling that too much of the budget is disappearing without much to show for it, my PPC audit services are for you. You get a full, hands-on review of your account and a plain-English explanation of what to fix first.

Hi, I'm Chay. I'm a freelance digital marketing consultant based in Suffolk, and I've been working in digital marketing since 2017. I audit accounts for business owners and in-house marketers who want an honest outside view.

How Working With Me on a PPC Audit Works

Every audit follows the same simple process, and you deal with me from start to finish.

1. I start with a kickoff call to ask about your goals, your budget and what's worrying you about the account. That tells me where to dig hardest.
2. Next, I review your account campaign by campaign, from structure and tracking to search terms and landing pages.
3. I talk you through what I found on a call, so you can ask questions before you decide anything.
4. Implementation is optional. I can make the changes for you, work alongside your team while they make them, or leave you to it.

Turnaround is as quick as three days, depending on the size of the account and my workload. If you're up against a deadline, such as a product launch or the run-up to Black Friday and Christmas, drop me a message, as I can often turn an audit around in 24 hours.

Some audit services run your account through an automated scanner and send you whatever it produces. I review yours by hand, in the context of your business.

You keep full ownership of your Google Ads account and your data throughout. Under Google's own rules, a client account keeps ownership of its data and can remove a manager's access at any time by unlinking. I'd recommend you hold your own admin login too, because Google warns that an account with only one administrator can lose access to its tags if that person becomes unavailable. Taking an audit doesn't tie you into ongoing management or a long-term contract.

Experience Across Sectors and Campaign Types

I'm Google Ads certified, and I spent my whole career in small, fast-paced agencies before going freelance, working on lots of different accounts at once, including international campaigns. It's a good way to learn what a healthy account looks like and how quickly one can drift.

I've run Google Ads across B2B and B2C sectors including financial services, healthcare, construction, security, pets and flowers, for clients ranging from niche B2B businesses to larger B2C companies serving thousands of customers.

The campaign types I work with are:

• Search
• Display and remarketing
• Shopping
• Local Services
• Performance Max

The same skills carry across to Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads), so if you run campaigns there too, I can review both.

Mismatched ads and landing pages are one of the things an audit often flags. On one lead generation account, rebuilding the landing pages to match each ad group brought the average cost per click down 21% across all keywords.

What My PPC Audit Covers

A PPC audit is a structured review of a pay-per-click advertising account, such as Google Ads, to find where budget is being wasted and where performance could improve. It checks structure, tracking, keywords, bidding, ads and landing pages, and then sets out what to fix first.

Here's what I check in every audit:

• Account and campaign structure. I check that campaigns, ad groups and keywords are organised logically, so each ad group has a clear theme and your budget goes where you intend.
• Conversion tracking accuracy. If the tracking is wrong, every decision built on it is wrong too, including Google's automated bidding. I look for missing conversions, conversions counted twice and consent settings that stop data reaching Google. If the tracking needs work, my Google Analytics and conversion tracking service can put it right.
• Search terms and keywords. The searches that trigger your ads can be very different from the keywords you bid on, especially with broad match. I go through the search terms to find irrelevant traffic you're paying for and build negative keyword lists to stop it, using Google's search terms insights, which cover Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns as well.
• Budget allocation and bidding. I look at whether your budget sits with the campaigns that earn their keep, and whether your bid strategy suits your goals and the quality of your conversion data.
• Ad copy and relevance. I check whether your ads match the searches they appear for, whether they give people a reason to click, and how they're affecting your Quality Score.
• Landing page effectiveness. A good ad that sends people to the wrong page wastes the click, so I check that each landing page matches the promise in the ad and makes the next step easy.

Findings come back in priority order, with the changes likely to save or earn you the most at the top and a short explanation of why each one matters.

If you'd like the recommendations handled for you, my ongoing Google Ads management picks up where the audit leaves off. You can also see everything else I offer on my PPC management page.

If you'd rather check things over yourself first, I've put together a straightforward Google Ads audit checklist you can work through. And if your rankings need the same kind of look, my SEO audit covers the organic side too.

How Often You Should Get a PPC Audit

I recommend a light-touch audit every six months and a fresh outside audit every 12 months as my own rule of thumb.

The six-monthly review can happen in-house. The yearly audit is worth doing with someone outside the business, even if your account is managed in-house or by another agency. When you're in an account every day, it's easy to stop seeing an old campaign eating budget or a conversion action nobody has checked in a while. A fresh pair of eyes catches those.

It's also worth bringing an audit forward if performance suddenly drops, you're launching new products or you're about to make big changes to your campaigns.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Often Should I Get a PPC Audit?

I recommend an in-depth audit every six months, which can be done in-house, and a fresh outside audit every 12 months from someone who doesn't work on the account day to day.

What Does a PPC Audit Usually Find?

The most common issues are wasted spend on irrelevant search terms, budget spread inefficiently across campaigns, poor account structure, and conversion tracking that is inaccurate or missing. Underperforming ads and weak landing pages come up often too.

How Much Does a PPC Audit Cost?

The cost of a PPC audit depends on how complex your account is: the number and type of campaigns, the number of ad groups and keywords, and how many platforms need reviewing. I'll give you a clear quote once I know what's involved.

How Long Does a PPC Audit Take?

Turnaround is as quick as three days, depending on the size of the account and my workload. For urgent jobs, such as a launch or a seasonal peak, I can often complete an audit in 24 hours.

Do I Keep Control of My Google Ads Account During an Audit?

Yes. You keep full ownership of your account and your data, and you can remove my access whenever you like. Acting on my recommendations is optional, and an audit doesn't tie you into ongoing management or a long-term contract. If you have questions first, drop me a message.