8 PPC audit tips to maximize your budget and boost conversions

If you’ve invested any money into a PPC (Pay-per-Click) campaign for Google Ads, you want to ensure it delivers valuable results for your business. A successful PPC campaign can drive conversions, but an unoptimized campaign can lose money and tank your marketing budget.

This blog post will examine the eight most common areas to look if you don’t think your Google Ads campaigns are underperforming. This is not a comprehensive PPC audit by any means, but in this article, you will find eight areas of a PPC audit of your Google Ads campaign that you should look to improve performance and reduce wasted ad spend.

What is a PPC audit?

A PPC audit thoroughly examines an organization’s PPC campaigns to identify improvement areas and potential cost savings. After running an audit you may realize that you need to outsource PPC management to a professional, but you should take the tips below to start the process.

You can think of a PPC audit as bringing your car to the mechanic for regular maintenance. A comprehensive PPC audit will look at different areas of your campaigns, ad copy, keywords, and other settings to ensure your account is working as efficiently as possible.

Why you should conduct a PPC audit

The purpose of a PPC audit is to determine the performance of your PPC campaigns and to find areas where your account is underperforming, and find ways to maximize engagement and sales.

You can reduce ad spending by identifying ineffective campaigns and targeting strategies while achieving your desired results.

Auditing your PPC accounts can help you improve overall performance and reduce costs. A good PPC audit will help you accomplish several goals to support your business:

• Identify areas of improvement: A PPC audit can help you identify underperforming areas of your campaigns. This process can uncover keywords driving up your cost or find opportunities for additional ad groups to help you drive more qualified traffic to your website.
• Save money: An audit can help you identify and eliminate ineffective campaigns and targeting strategies, reducing your overall ad spend and increasing your return on investment. No matter how well your Google Ads account is running, I can assure you that there are areas that could be improved to help you stretch your marketing budget even more.
• Improve conversion rates: By optimizing ad copy, landing pages, and conversion tracking, a PPC audit can help you increase conversion rates and achieve a better return on investment.
• Stay ahead of the competition: Regular PPC audits can help you stay ahead by optimizing your campaigns with the latest best practices.

Whether you are a small business owner or a marketing director who wants to get a second set of eyes on your accounts, a PPC audit is a great way to find hidden opportunities to improve account performance.

If you’re not auditing your PPC accounts regularly, you leave a lot of money on the table.

8 common areas to look at during a PPC audit

As we discussed in the previous section, a PPC audit can provide valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your account. It’s impossible to talk about every aspect of an account that you should look at during an audit or provide a comprehensive guide for you to follow to conduct a thorough audit.

That is why we will look at the eight most important areas during a PPC audit to help you significantly impact your Google Ads account in the least amount of time.

We will look at what you should look at, where to find data, and also provide some Google Ads tips to improve each aspect of your audit. So please grab a cup of coffee and let’s dive into the best way to conduct a PPC audit for your Google Ads campaign!

1. Check conversion tracking settings

One of the most common mistakes that we notice when working on a PPC audit for a customer is that their account does not have conversion tracking properly set up.

Without accurate conversion tracking, it’s impossible to understand how and where your customers are converting through your Google Ads campaigns.

You can tell if you need to check conversion tracking because you will not see any conversions in your Google Ads campaign, or you will see a drop of conversions if something happens to your tracking tag for an active campaign.

It is pretty straightforward to check if you have conversion tracking in your account. You can

Two common ways to track conversions are directly through Google Ads or by linking Google Ads to your Google Analytics account and importing conversions. One caveat to performing a PPC audit is that you may need a developer if you don’t have experience implementing tracking pixels.

You will need a basic understanding of Google Analytics and Google Ads to set up tracking, but Google has lots of information to help you set up conversion tracking in Google Ads.

By ensuring that your conversion tracking settings are accurate and up-to-date, you can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions to improve your PPC strategy.

2. Show ads on the right network

Are your Google Ads reaching the right audience? As a small business owner, performing a Google Ads audit is crucial to ensure your ads are displayed on the most suitable network.

This helps you save money and increases the likelihood of achieving your campaign goals.

• Search Network: Ideal for businesses targeting users actively searching for specific products or services. This network displays your ads alongside relevant search results.
• Display Network: Best for businesses seeking to build brand awareness or retarget potential customers. This network showcases your ads on a wide range of websites and apps.
• Video Network (YouTube): Perfect for businesses leveraging video content to engage users and promote their offerings. This network runs your ads on YouTube and other video partner sites.
• Google search partners: This setting allows Google to show your ads on other platforms to increase your reach. You should turn this option off if you notice your CPC is high.

You can check what networks your ads are running on by heading to a campaign and then click on “Settings” in the left-hand panel. From there, you can choose “Networks” to select the networks you want to run on. Here are some quick tips:

• Deselect “Include Google Search partners” if your ads receive many impressions and have high CPC.
• Only show ads on the Search Network if you want to drive direct bookings.
• Show ads on the Display Network if you want to build your brand.
• Don’t use both Search Network and Display Network. Instead, create separate ad campaigns to help you control costs.

By auditing your Google Ads campaign and selecting the right network, you’ll improve your ad performance, make the most of your budget, and reach your target audience with precision.

3. Check geographic targeting

A Google Ads campaign aims to reach the right people at the right time with the right message. Controlling who sees your ads based on geographic location is a powerful part of Google Ads strategy, so it’s essential that you only show ads to people who are qualified to purchase from you. You may need to talk with a qualified outsource Google Ads management provider to help you target your ads to reach your target audience.

An audit that includes a thorough evaluation of your geographic targeting can lead to better results and smarter spending.

Are you reaching the right locations? Consider focusing on specific areas where your ideal customers reside, work, or frequently visit. This hyper-local approach can improve ad relevance and boost engagement.

It’s pretty easy to check the performance of different locations. Simply go to Reports > Basic report > Campaign. Then select “User location” in the options to find patterns of user engagement based on location.

Here are some quick tips to help you optimize your campaigns with geotargeting options:

• Depending on your business goals and audience, you may want to set up separate campaigns for different states or regions. This can reign in your cost as you can bid higher for some areas than others.
• Exclude locations that tend to drive fewer conversions or drive up your CPC.
• Create campaigns for locations that need extra attention or drive lots of conversions. Simply copy your current campaign, and adjust for the desired geographic location to focus your ad dollars.

This simple step of your PPC audit can refine your campaign’s reach, engage local customers more effectively, and ultimately achieve better ROI. Let’s take a look at several factors to consider as you review geotargeting for your campaigns.

Location targeting

Geotargeting is a crucial part of any PPC campaign that allows you to target specific geographic locations where you want your ads to be seen. This is one of the most powerful parts of Google Ads, and you can limit your ad spend and increase conversions by optimizing where your ads show.

This means you can ensure your ads are only shown to people likely to be interested in your business based on location.

Here are a few tips to consider as you review location targeting in your Google Ads campaigns:

• Define your target audience: Identify the geographic locations where your target audience is most likely to be located. This can include specific cities, regions, or countries and demographic or behavioral factors that can help narrow your target audience down.
• Consider the competition: Research your competition to see where they’re targeting their ads and identify potential areas of opportunity that you can target. This can help you refine your location-targeting strategy and gain an advantage over your competitors.
• Use bid adjustments strategically: Use bid adjustments to adjust your bids up or down based on the performance of your campaigns in specific locations. This can help you allocate your budget more effectively and maximize your return on investment in each location.

You can easily find where your ads show by going into the campaign settings and selecting what geographic locations you want your ads to display.

Exclude locations

As a business owner, you want your Google Ads campaigns to reach the right audience and drive results. One way to achieve this is by excluding certain locations where your ads are not practical or relevant.

Excluding locations in Google Ads means preventing your ads from showing in specific regions, cities, or zip codes.

Here are a few ideas to consider as you choose what locations to exclude your ads from showing in specific areas:

• Analyze geographic data: Review geographic data from your campaigns to identify regions or areas where your ads are underperforming or not generating conversions. This can help you determine which locations to exclude from your targeting.
• Understand your target audience: Understand your target audience and their needs to identify which locations are most relevant to your business. This can help you refine your targeting to reach the right people and exclude locations where your ads are less likely to be effective.
• Review shipping or service areas: If you have specific shipping or service areas, exclude locations where you cannot provide your product or service. This can prevent wasted spend on clicks from people who cannot convert due to geographic restrictions.

You can exclude locations on a campaign level, similarly to how you choose your target locations. Be sure to exclude

4. Analyze your budget

There is no way around it- Google Ads and PPC marketing is a pay-to-play marketing strategy. You need enough budget to spend on your ads to give this marketing strategy a fair shot.

Even more, you must have enough budget to let your campaigns run for at least 60 days. Since your business is unique, you should focus on collecting data for the first 30 days of the campaign, then have the ability to optimize your accounts.

With that said, you can find opportunities to improve your ad spend and extend your budget by comparing how much you spend on a campaign and how much that campaign generates for you from a budget standpoint.

To do this, you will need to look at specific metrics to understand how to optimize your campaigns:

• Cost per Acquisition (CPA): Analyze your cost per conversion to determine if you’re getting the most out of your ad spend. This metric helps you identify which campaigns or ad groups drive the most conversions. Be sure to compare your CPA to the value of your products or services to determine what campaigns or ads perform the best.
• Return on ad spend (ROAS): ROAS measures your revenue generated per dollar spent on advertising. Analyze your ROAS to determine which campaigns or ad groups generate the most revenue for your business and adjust your budget accordingly.
• Click-through rate (CTR): CTR measures the number of clicks your ads receive per impression. This metric helps you find opportunities with your ads, keywords, and targeting to maximize your marketing budget.
• Cost per click (CPC): CPC measures the average cost for each click on your ads. Analyze your CPC to ensure that you’re spending your time on clicks. You can look at your keyword data to see which keywords cost the most per click to tighten your marketing budget and optimize for more clicks.
• Conversion rate: Conversion rate measures the percentage of clicks on your ads that result in a conversion. A low conversion rate usually means that you need to optimize your landing page or ads.

5. Check ad scheduling

Like geotargeting, you can use ad scheduling to specific times of the day or days of the week you want your ads to show.

Many people overlook ad scheduling and dayparting, but this advanced tactic can help you generate more sales for less money because you can turn off your ads during specific times.

For example, if your business offers services that are only available during specific hours of the day, you can use ad scheduling to ensure that your ads are only shown during those hours when you’re available to take calls or answer inquiries.

Ad scheduling may seem overwhelming, but here are a few tips to help you maximize your PPC budget and ensure your ads only appear to customers during times throughout the day that you want your ads to show:

• Analyze historical data: Review historical data to identify the times and days of the week when your ads drive the most conversions. Made bid adjustments on campaigns to ensure your ads show to the right people at the right time.
• Consider time zones: If your business operates in multiple time zones, adjust your ad scheduling settings to avoid confusion or missed opportunities.
• Test different ad scheduling settings: Test different ad scheduling settings to see how they affect your campaign’s performance. For example, you can experiment with showing your ads only on weekends or running a campaign during specific hours of the day.

6. Evaluate Your PPC Ads

PPC ads grab your audience’s attention and entice them to click through to your website. You can use data along with AI to manage Google Ads, and you can use these tools to optimize content to drive more ROI for each campaign.

Evaluating your PPC ad copy is an essential part of any PPC audit. Your ad copy is the first thing potential customers see when searching for your product or service, and it’s crucial that it accurately reflects your business while being compelling enough to entice users to click.

You can look at different reports in Google Ads to find ads that need to be improved, but we recommend looking at the “Ads” report in the PPC reporting tool to review the performance of specific ads.

While the metrics will vary based on your business goals, products or services, and market, here are some general guidelines that you can use to determine what ads need to be optimized:

• Click Through Rate (CTR): We recommend you turn off or edit ads with a low CTR in each campaign. A low CTR can indicate that Google and your target audience don’t like the content on these ads.
• Cost/Conversion: If you know how much you make on each product or service you sell, you should look at this metric to understand if you are making money. Be sure to turn off or edit ads with a cost per conversion higher than your margins, as these ads cost you money.
• Cost Per Click (CPC): This metric tells you how much Google charges you each time someone clicks on your ad. In general, you should remove or edit ads with high CPC and low conversions, as these ads cost you money.

Now that we have a general understanding of what to look at when evaluating ads let’s look at some of the main components that can impact the performance of your ads so you can optimize your campaigns.

Ad copy & message

You need compelling ad copy that speaks to your audience, but you must also optimize each ad to meet Google’s technical requirements.

Great ad copy will address the needs of your audience, use urgency to drive a click and position your company as an expert. Here are some tips to help you write better ad copy for underperforming ads:

• Create 10-15 headlines for each ad: Google allows up to 15 headlines for each ad, and we recommend that you include as many as possible. You can use a mixture of brand names, services, and value propositions in the headlines to connect with the needs of your audience.
• Write four compelling descriptions: Include four descriptions for each ad. Google will choose which descriptions us on each ad, so it’s a good idea to include descriptions with value propositions that speak to the needs of your audience.
• Keywords: Include keywords in the headlines and descriptions you write for each ad. By using the same keywords in your ad copy that you bid on for the corresponding campaign, you should see an increase in engagement for each ad.

Display URL

The display URL is the web address that appears below your ad headline and gives potential customers an idea of where they will be taken if they click on your ad. Google and your audience will look at the display URL of a PPC ad to understand what your product or service is, so it’s essential to optimize the display URL on each ad.

We recommend that you fill out as much content on each ad as possible, and the display URL is one of the most overlooked aspects of a Google Ad. This information can help Google and your audience understand your product or service, which can increase CTR and conversions.

The display URL is the visible URL that appears in your ad and can impact the click-through rate of your ads. Here are three actionable tips to consider when reviewing the display URL of your PPC ads during an audit:

• Ensure consistency: Ensure the display URL is consistent with the final URL of the landing page the ad is linking to. Use the display URL to provide more information about your products or services.
• Use relevant keywords: Google and your target audience look at the entire ad before clicking, so it’s an excellent idea to Incorporate relevant keywords into the display URL to improve ad relevance and increase the likelihood of clicks.
• Use branding: Use the display URL to reinforce your brand and make your ads more recognizable to potential customers.

Landing pages

Your landing pages play a significant role in how much Google trusts your PPC ads, so you should do everything possible to make your landing pages and ads align as much as possible. An excellent landing page will improve conversions, but connecting your landing pages with your ads through keywords can reduce how much you pay Google for each click on your ads.

You can look in the Google Ads PPC reporting platform to learn if Google thinks the landing pages that your ads point to provide a good user experience. When auditing your PPC account, use this information to ensure you get the highest engagement and lowest cost for each click.

Here are a few tips to consider as you look at ways to improve the landing pages for each of your ads:

• Relevance: Ensure that your landing pages are relevant to the keywords and ad copy in your Google Ads campaign. Make sure that your landing pages communicate the value proposition of your product or service and are optimized for the keywords you’re targeting.
• User experience: Google wants to send its users to a landing page that is easy to use, so check that your landing pages are easy to navigate and mobile-friendly. Ensure your landing pages load quickly and have a clear call-to-action that encourages users to convert.
• Visual design: Evaluate your landing pages’ visual design to ensure they’re visually appealing and professional. Ensure that your landing pages use high-quality images and typography consistent with your brand identity.
• Conversion tracking: As we discussed previously, ensure that conversion tracking is set up correctly on your landing pages. Make sure that your landing pages have a clear conversion goal, such as a form submission or product purchase, and that tracking is set up to measure these actions.
• A/B testing: Consider conducting A/B testing on your landing pages to determine which design or messaging elements are most effective in driving conversions. Test different variations of your landing pages to optimize your user experience and increase your conversion rate.

7. Update Your Ad Extensions

Ad extensions are a powerful tool in Google Ads that allow you to provide additional information to potential customers and improve the performance of your campaigns. You can use ad extensions to provide additional information about your products or services to drive more engagement and qualified traffic to your website.

While ad extensions are a great way to boost visibility and drive more clicks to your website, they are not the perfect answer for every Google Ads strategy. For example, if you only want people to go to a specific landing page, you should not include site links in your ads.

With that said, let’s look at the top ad extensions you should consider as you assess your Google Ads performance with a PPC audit.

Site links

Site link extensions are additional links beneath your ad in Google search results, allowing potential customers to navigate directly to specific pages on your website.

Reviewing your site link extensions during a PPC audit is crucial because it can help you improve the relevance and usability of your ads and drive more clicks and conversions.

Here are three actionable tips to consider when reviewing your site link extensions:

• Keep it relevant: Ensure your site link extensions are relevant to the ad and the user’s search query. Use language that matches the ad copy and ensure the landing page is relevant to the site link extension.
• Highlight unique selling points: Use site link extensions to highlight your product or service’s unique selling points or features. This can help your ad stand out from competitors and drive more clicks.
• Use data to inform decisions: Review historical data to see which site link extensions have driven the most clicks and conversions in the past. This information will optimize your site link extensions and create more effective ads.

Location extension

If you are a brick-and-mortar business or service a specific geographic area, then a location extension is a no-brainer for your PPC strategy. Location extension is a feature in Google Ads that you can use to display important information about your business, like your address, phone number, and other information to help people contact you.

Here are three actionable tips for writing better location extensions for your PPC ads:

• Use accurate business information: Ensure that your business name, address, and phone number are accurate and up-to-date. This will help potential customers find your business and contact you quickly.
• Include relevant information: Consider including additional information in your location extensions, such as your business hours, website, or customer reviews. This can help customers make informed decisions and increase their likelihood of visiting your business.
• Use local targeting: If targeting specific regions or cities, consider using location-specific ad copy in your location extensions. For example, you might mention a nearby landmark or attraction to help potential customers better understand your business’s location.

Callout extensions

Callout extensions are a type of ad extension in Google Ads that allow you to add additional text to your ads, highlighting specific features or benefits of your product or service.

Callout extensions are some of our favorite ad extensions, and many business owners fail to use this feature properly. You can assign callout extensions on the account level, but we recommend adding callout extensions at the campaign level to give you additional control over the message of each ad.

Here are three actionable tips for business owners to consider when writing better callout extensions for their PPC ads:

• Highlight business offerings: You can promote unique aspects of your business that may not fit your ad’s main body. You can also highlight popular aspects of your products or services in a few words or a single phrase.
• Be specific: Use specific data like weight, length, or other meaningful information with detailed information to help your audience buy from you.
• Keep the text short: Google limits how much text will show in each area, so shorter callout extensions mean that Google may show more extensions.

Call extension

If you want people to call your business to set up an appointment, you should enable a call extension on your ads.

A call extension is a Google Ads ad extension that allows you to add a phone number to your ads. When someone clicks on the phone number, they are redirected to call your business directly.

Adding a call extension is a good idea for most businesses, and we notice customers see more calls and appointments when they implement this extension properly. Here are some tips to remember as you create or optimize your call extensions:

• Include a clear call-to-action: Make sure your call extension includes a clear call-to-action, such as “Call Now” or “Speak to an Expert.” This encourages potential customers to take action and call your business.
• Use a local phone number: If you have a local presence, use a local phone number in your call extension. This increases the likelihood that potential customers will call your business.
• Optimize for mobile: Since call extensions only appear on mobile devices, ensure that your ads with this extension are optimized for mobile devices. This includes using a clear and concise headline and description and ensuring your phone number is clickable.

Structured snippet extensions

A structured snippet is an ad extension in Google Ads that you can use to provide additional information about your products or services in a structured format. Structured snippets can highlight specific product or service aspects, such as types or brands, or provide information about additional services or features.

We recommend you include structure snippet extensions on all of your ads and review what structured snippets need to be optimized by reviewing their performance in the Google Ads report.

Here are three actionable tips for business owners to consider when writing great structured snippet extensions for their PPC ads:

• Choose predefined headers: You can choose from a list of predefined headers to add to your ads based on your products or services. Be sure to choose headers that make the most sense for your business.
• Create four values: Add at least four values for each header to give your audience valuable information about your products or services.
• Enable dynamic structured snippets: You can enable dynamic structured snippets in your ad settings. We recommend that you keep this option enabled since it will allow Google’s system more opportunities to show your snippets with your ads.

8. Evaluate Your Keywords

Along with your PPC ad copy, the keywords you choose for each campaign are the most important part of any PPC campaign. This is why you should pay close attention to the performance of your keywords to help keep your costs down and prioritize keywords that drive the most conversions on your website.

During a PPC audit, you should review your keyword selection and ensure they are relevant, high-performing, and aligned with your business goals. This is especially important if you are the owner of a marketing agency, so you may want to talk to a white-label PPC outsourcing provider to help meet the needs of your audience.

You should also consider the intent behind the keywords and ensure that your ad copy and landing pages are tailored to meet the needs of potential customers searching for those keywords.

Let’s look at some specific aspects of your keywords that you should pay attention to when working through a PPC audit to improve your performance and maximize your marketing budget.

Search terms

If you want to audit a PPC account, you can’t overlook reviewing the keywords used in each campaign. The terms you use in each campaign will determine what your ads appear for when someone searches for your products or services, so you need to make sure you bid on the right keywords to improve your visibility.

You can review the performance of each keyword that you bid on to ensure you target the right keywords based on your products and services. This step can be tedious, but it is essential to ensure you maximize your marketing budget and drive more qualified traffic to your site.

You can use a few tips to identify keywords that should be paused or removed and even find opportunities to add keywords in each campaign:

• Prioritize low CPC when possible: Different keywords may cost you more than others, so you should review how much Google charges you for specific keywords. Be sure to look at CPC to pause keywords with high CPC and low conversions.
• Pause keywords with low conversions: Some don’t produce as many conversions as others, and you should prioritize keywords that deliver conversions. Be sure to check out this metric as you conduct your PPC audit.
• Add more keywords when necessary: You can use Keyword Planner to find new keywords to add to your campaigns. This tool can help expand your campaign and help you generate more qualified traffic to your website.

Keyword bidding strategy

One of the best ways to control how much you spend in Google Ads is to review your bidding strategy on the keyword level of your campaigns. For most businesses, we recommend that you adjust your ad spend on your account’s campaign level so you can easily control your ad spend and performance.

However, if you are in a highly competitive market or a high-cost industry like law or healthcare, then you may need to control your bidding strategy on a keyword basis. This is usually not required, but you can find great opportunities to minimize wasted ad spend and maximize your performance by adjusting your keyword bidding strategy.

Since all companies do not need keyword-level bidding, you probably won’t have to worry about this tip, but here are some tips to consider if you need to adjust your keyword bidding strategy:

• Consider keyword relevance: Bid more on keywords that are more relevant to your business and are more likely to result in a conversion. For example, if you own a pizza restaurant, bidding on “pizza delivery near me” may be more relevant than bidding on “best Italian restaurant in town.”
• Analyze historical data: Use historical data to identify which keywords drive the most clicks and conversions. Consider increasing bids on those keywords to maximize your return on investment.
• Monitor the competition: Monitor your competitors and adjust your bids accordingly. If you’re bidding on a keyword that your competitors are also bidding on, consider increasing your bid to ensure your ad appears in a higher position.

Quality Score

Keyword quality score is a metric used by Google Ads to measure the relevance and effectiveness of your keywords, ad copy, and landing pages. Reviewing your keyword quality score during a PPC audit is crucial because it can significantly impact your ad’s visibility, cost, and performance.

Here are three actionable tips for business owners to consider when reviewing their keyword quality score:

• Focus on relevance: Ensure that your keywords, ad copy, and landing pages are all closely related and relevant to the user’s search intent. This will improve your quality score and make your ads more effective.
• Analyze performance data: Use performance data, such as click-through and conversion rates, to identify which keywords and ad groups have low-quality scores. This can help you optimize your campaigns and improve your quality score.
• Experiment with ad copy and landing pages: Test different ad copy and landing pages to see how they affect your quality score and performance. Use A/B testing to identify which variations perform best and incorporate those changes into your campaigns.

Match types

Match types are another set of tools in your toolbelt that you can use to maximize your Google Ads budget. Google allows you to use match types to dictate how closely a term used by your target audience needs to be to trigger one of your ads.

There are three types of match types: broad match, phrase match, and exact match. Each matching option will impact when and how your ads appear to searchers based on the term they use.

It’s important to note that keyword match types can significantly impact your ad spend and campaign performance, so you should always watch this aspect of your Google Ads account.

Since match type is one of the most critical areas to check during a PPC audit, here are some actionable tips that you can use to get the most out of your keyword match type strategy:

• Start with the broad match: As discussed in a previous section, you should focus on gathering data during the first month of your campaign. We recommend putting your keywords on broad match to collect as much data as possible and adjust the match type based on campaign performance and budget restrictions.
• Exact match for low budgets: If you have a low budget for Google Ads, then you should use exact match to hone in on specific users. This will limit the reach of your ads, but it will also focus your ad budget on an audience that is more likely to buy from you.
• Monitor your search terms report: Review your search terms regularly report to identify any irrelevant or low-performing keywords. Add negative keywords to your campaign to prevent your ads from showing for those terms in the future.

Negative Keywords

While keywords tell Google what you want your ads to show when someone searches for your products or services, you can use negative keywords to tell Google what you don’t want your ads to appear for.

You can add negative keywords in each ad group of your account to prevent your ads from showing for specific keywords. This is a powerful tool, and many business owners fail to capitalize on the full benefits of negative keywords in their Google Ads accounts.

Since negative keywords are so essential to maximize your Google Ads budget, let’s look at some of our favorite tips to help you build a huge negative keyword list:

• Monitor your campaign performance: Regularly monitor your campaign performance to identify search terms generating clicks but not conversions. These could be potential negative keywords that you’ll want to add to your list to prevent wasted spend.
• Analyze search term reports: Review your reports to identify any irrelevant search terms that triggered your ads. Add those search terms as negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing up in the future.
• Adjust in each ad group: You can add negative keywords on the campaign level of your account, but we recommend that you control negative keywords in each ad group. This will maximize your control of when and what will trigger your ads.

Next steps for your PPC audit

Conducting a PPC audit can be a tedious and time-consuming process that should usually be overseen by a Google Ads expert. We offered a few of the most important places to look in your Google Ads account if your ads are underperforming.

Regular audits empower business owners to make data-driven decisions, leading to increased conversions and better ROI on their marketing investments. Remember that the digital advertising landscape constantly evolves, and staying up-to-date with the latest trends and tools is essential for continued success.

By implementing these PPC audit tips, small business owners can enhance their campaigns and build a strong foundation for future growth, ensuring their brand remains visible and competitive in the ever-changing digital market.

Ready to take your digital marketing to the next level? Let StrategyBeam handle all of your PPC needs.

Contact us today to schedule a PPC audit and learn how we can manage your accounts, increase conversions, and maximize ROI today!

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