How to Conduct a Complete PPC Audit? + Examples

Running paid ads without regular reviews can lead to wasted spend and poor results. Conducting a PPC audit helps uncover what’s working, what’s not, and where to optimize. From keyword analysis to campaign structure, a PPC audit is key to better ROI, ad performance, and digital marketing success.

Let’s see how to conduct a complete PPC audit in 11 simple steps.

What is a PPC Audit?

A PPC audit is a full checkup of your pay-per-click ads. It helps you fix weak spots, cut waste, and improve results over time. Conducting a PPC audit means reviewing things like keywords, ad copy, bids, targeting, and landing pages to find what’s working and what’s not.

You look at:

• If your campaigns and ad groups are organized
• Which keywords are getting results or wasting money
• Whether your ads match what people are searching for
• How your landing pages perform after someone clicks
• If your bids and budgets are helping or hurting your goals

Why Should You Conduct a PPC Audit? The Benefits of PPC Audits

PPC management companies in Phoenix say that conducting a PPC audit helps you improve results and cut waste. It shows what’s working, what’s not, and how to fix it.

Main benefits:

• Spotting underperforming keywords
• Reducing wasted ad spend
• Improving ad quality and relevance
• Boosting return on investment (ROI)
• Aligning ads with business goals
• Discovering new growth opportunities
• Getting a clear action plan for improvement

11 Steps of Conducting a PPC Audit

Follow these 11 steps for conducting a PPC audit successfully. Find issues, optimize spend, and improve results for dental or small-business marketing.

Step 1: Define Goals and Key Metrics (KPIs)

Start by setting clear goals like “book appointments” or “generate leads.” Choose metrics to track:

• CTR (click‑through rate): Shows ad engagement
• CPC (cost per click): Tracks cost per visit
• CPA (cost per acquisition): Shows cost per lead or sale
• ROAS (return on ad spend): Measures revenue per ad dollar

Don’t forget to define your target range. For example, aim for CTR above 3% and CPA under $50. These give you benchmarks in your PPC audit to compare actual results.

Step 2: Pick Your Date Range

Review data over at least three months, or key season periods. A longer window (6 months) helps spot patterns like rising CPC or drops in conversions. This ensures your PPC audit is based on full performance cycles, not just short-term peaks or dips.

Step 3: Review Account Structure

A clean structure makes reporting and optimization easier when conducting a PPC audit. Check these out:

• Campaigns should match themes or services (e.g., “Dental Implants” vs. “Teeth Whitening”).
• Each ad group should combine 5–10 tightly related keywords.
• Label your campaigns with location, goal, and match type for clarity.

Step 4: Analyze Keyword and Search Term Performance

When conducting a PPC audit, review keyword data to reduce wasted spend and improve ad relevancy:

• Pause or remove keywords with high CPC (> $2.00) but low conversions.
• Add new long-tail keywords with volume (e.g., “best dentist for implants”).
• Add negative keywords for terms like “free,” “cheap,” or irrelevant queries.
• Check impression share; if low (< 50%), consider increasing bids.

Step 5: Evaluate Ad Copy and Creatives

When conducting a PPC audit, check if ads match user intent:

• Headlines and descriptions align with keywords and landing pages
• Calls-to-action (like “Book Now” or “Free Consultation”) are clear
• Test multiple versions to improve CTR over time

Note: Your PPC audit should flag ads with CTR below 2%, as they likely need rewriting.

Step 6: Audit Ad Extensions and Assets

Proper extensions boost visibility and quality score within your PPC audit. Look at ad extensions:

• Are sitelinks, call links, and review stars active and updated?
• Remove outdated extensions like seasonal promos.
• Test new ones, like structured snippets or callouts.

Step 7: Verify Conversion Tracking and Analytics

When conducting a PPC audit, ensure accurate tracking because incorrect tracking in your PPC audit can mask true performance:

• Confirm conversion tags (forms, calls) are firing without errors.
• Link ads account to Google Analytics or similar.
• Track phone, form, and other key actions.
• Remove duplicate tags to avoid inflated conversion counts.

Step 8: Assess Bidding Strategy and Budget Allocation

Your PPC audit should reallocate the budget from low ROI to high ROI campaigns:

• Check bid strategy: manual, target CPA, or ROAS.
• Identify campaigns over- or under-spending (e.g., more budget on low‑ROI ads).
• Adjust bids to focus on high-performing ad groups or keywords.

Step 9: Review Audience and Targeting Settings

When conducting a PPC audit, check who sees your ads:

• Confirm geotargeting matches your location (e.g., service areas around Phoenix).
• Ensure device settings match user behavior (e.g. dental clinic may focus on mobile).
• Schedule ads during peak hours (office hours, lunch break).
• Review demographic targeting (age, income, etc.).

Step 10: Pit Period-over-Period Analysis

Compare recent vs prior performance:

This reveals trends and validates optimizations made after conducting a PPC audit.

Step 11: Compile Audit Findings & Recommendations

After diagnosing issues, build an action plan:

• Summarize key findings, e.g., keywords to pause, ad groups to restructure.
• Recommend next steps, like testing new ad copy or adjusting bids.
• Set timelines, like weekly for quick wins, quarterly for bigger fixes.

Making these changes after conducting a PPC audit gives your PPC audit structure shape and makes ongoing optimization clear.

What Comes After Conducting a PPC Audit?

After conducting a PPC audit, the next step is to act on what you found. A good audit gives you clear direction, but it’s what you do next that drives better results. Here’s exactly what comes after your audit:

Step 1: Prioritize Findings and Create an Action Plan

Start by organizing the audit results. Rank each issue or opportunity based on how much impact it will have and how hard it is to fix.

Turn these into a simple action plan with deadlines. This helps your team stay on track and improves your PPC account step by step.

Step 2: Implement Quick Wins

Start with the fixes that are easy to do and give fast results:

• Pause expensive keywords with no conversions
• Add or fix ad extensions
• Correct conversion tracking issues
• Raise bids on your best-performing ads

These simple actions can often increase click-through rates or reduce wasted spend quickly.

Step 3: Test and Optimize Strategy

Now begin running tests to improve performance:

• Try different ad headlines, descriptions, and calls to action
• Test new bidding strategies like Maximize Conversions or Target CPA
• Adjust location, device, or time settings based on performance

Step 4: Monitor Performance and Adjust Regularly

After making changes, monitor your ads closely. Watch for sudden changes in performance and act fast when needed. Set a routine:

• Weekly: check clicks, impressions, cost per click
• Monthly: review top vs. bottom-performing ads
• Quarterly: review structure, bid strategies, and campaign goals

Step 5: Report on Results and ROI

Create a report that shows what changed and what improved:

• List updated keywords, ads, bids, and extensions
• Show changes in CTR, conversion rate, CPA, and ROAS
• Add simple charts or tables to explain results

This proves the value of conducting a PPC audit and helps others understand what worked.

Step 6: Repeat the PPC Audit Every 3–6 Months

PPC campaigns aren’t “set it and forget it.” You should audit your account regularly:

• Every 3 months for high-traffic or fast-changing accounts
• Every 6 months for smaller campaigns

Use each audit as a checkpoint to stay on track and make sure you’re getting the most out of your ad budget.

When Should You Conduct a PPC Audit?

The best time for conducting a PPC audit depends on changes in your business, budget, or campaign performance:

How Often Should You Conduct a PPC Audit?

The size of your account and how often your business changes will guide how often you audit. Here’s a breakdown:

Common Mistakes While Conducting a PPC Audit

Mistake #1: Not setting campaign goals before auditing. Solution: Before you begin, decide what success looks like. For example, is your goal to lower cost per lead or get more phone calls? Set clear KPIs like CPA, ROAS, or CTR to guide your audit.

Mistake #2: Using a short or inconsistent date range. Solution: Always review at least 3 months of data. This shows real trends and filters out short-term spikes or dips.

Mistake #3: Skipping conversion tracking checks. Solution: Test every form, button, and phone call tracking setup. Make sure your conversions are being counted correctly. If tracking is broken, your whole audit will be off.

Mistake #4: Ignoring the search terms report. Solution: Check what people are actually typing before clicking your ads. Add irrelevant terms (like “free” or “jobs”) to your negative keyword list to save budget.

Mistake #5: Only reviewing top-level metrics. Solution: Don’t stop at CTR or impressions. Go deeper into conversion rates, device performance, and landing page behavior. Focus on what turns clicks into customers.

Mistake #6: Leaving low-performing keywords active. Solution: Pause keywords with high spend and no conversions. Reinvest that budget in keywords that work.

Mistake #7: Not testing or rotating ad copy. Solution: Use A/B testing. Write 2–3 ad variations per ad group and review which headlines, descriptions, or CTAs perform best.

Mistake #8: Overlooking landing page performance. Solution: Check page load time, mobile responsiveness, and message match. If users click but don’t convert, the landing page may be the issue, not the ad.

Mistake #9: Ignoring audience and device targeting. Solution: Break down performance by device, location, and time of day. Adjust bids or exclude segments that don’t convert.

Mistake #10: Doing the audit once and not repeating it. Solution: Build a repeatable audit schedule. Conduct a PPC audit every 3–6 months, or monthly for high-spend accounts.

Best Agency for Conducting a PPC Audit in Phoenix, Arizona

Conducting a PPC audit helps you lower costs, improve results, and reach more of the right customers. It also finds what’s wasting your ad budget and shows how to fix it.

At Wise Advertisement in Phoenix, Arizona, we handle every step, so you don’t have to. Get expert PPC help today. Book your FREE consultation NOW.

FAQs