Before requesting a Google Ads audit, prepare your business goals, account details, reporting dates, conversion definitions, landing pages and lead or sales feedback. Agree on the review scope and appropriate access first. A useful audit connects observations to evidence, likely business impact and a prioritized action list.
This checklist helps advertisers prepare for an account review. It does not diagnose your account or authorize campaign changes. The example findings below are fictional illustrations, not Digiman client results. You can copy the checklist into your own preparation document without sharing passwords or unnecessary customer information.
Preparation checklist: what to have ready
- Your website and the priority products or services being advertised.
- The business problem you want the review to investigate.
- The actual areas you serve and any campaign language requirements.
- The Google Ads account identifier and business contact responsible for access.
- An agreed reporting period, comparison period and account time zone.
- Campaign goals, budgets and important recent changes.
- A list of conversion actions and what each action represents.
- Relevant landing-page URLs and the real enquiry or purchase route.
- Available search-term and campaign reports for the agreed period.
- Lead-quality or sales feedback with unnecessary personal details removed.
- Known tracking, website, billing or policy issues.
- The owners who can approve and implement follow-up work.
Mark missing items as unavailable rather than reconstructing figures from memory. An auditor should explain how missing information limits conclusions. A review can begin with partial evidence, but it should not present uncertain business outcomes as verified facts.
1. Define the problem the audit should investigate
Replace “our ads are not working” with an observable problem. Examples include enquiries from unsupported locations, a drop in recorded purchases, spending without qualified leads, or a difference between platform conversions and CRM records.
State when the issue started, which campaigns or services appear affected and what changed around that time. Include website edits, offer changes, stock availability, tracking changes and sales-process changes. A timing relationship suggests something to investigate; it does not establish the cause.
Illustrative brief: “During the last complete reporting period, our Chennai service campaign received enquiries outside our supported area. Please review location settings, available location evidence, search relevance and the form’s service-area message. Do not change campaigns without approval.” This is a sample brief, not a diagnosis.
Agree whether the review covers the whole account or selected campaigns. Different campaign types expose different reports and controls. An audit checklist should be adapted to the campaigns actually running rather than forcing every account through a Search-only process.
2. Prepare reporting dates and business context
Choose dates that support the question you are asking. Include enough context for the business’s sales cycle and note promotions, public holidays, service interruptions or other relevant changes. A short period with a few outcomes may not support a confident conclusion.
| Context item | What to record | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Review period | Start and end dates, account time zone | Makes reports comparable |
| Comparison period | Dates and known differences in offers or operations | Reduces misleading before/after conclusions |
| Business goal | Qualified enquiry, purchase or another defined outcome | Connects the review to value |
| Service coverage | Actual locations, hours and availability | Helps assess relevance |
| Recent changes | Campaign, website, price, tracking and sales-process changes | Identifies explanations to test |
| Constraints | Budget limits, asset readiness and implementation capacity | Makes recommendations practical |
For a Chennai business, provide actual service boundaries rather than assuming every enquiry from the city is eligible. If Tamil and English campaigns exist, identify their destinations and review process. Useful local context comes from your operations, not the city name alone.
3. Gather the account documents and data
Prepare existing campaign summaries and the reports relevant to your problem. Include spend, meaningful outcomes and the definitions behind them. Where access permits direct review, agree whether exports are needed rather than sending duplicate files unnecessarily.
- Campaign overview: active and relevant paused campaigns, their purpose and recent budget changes.
- Conversion inventory: action name, business meaning, source and any known implementation issues.
- Search evidence: available search-term reports for Search activity and relevant insights for other campaign types.
- Landing-page list: URLs mapped to campaigns or offers, including important mobile routes.
- Change history: dates of material campaign and tracking changes.
- Business feedback: qualification, duplicate leads, completed sales or order outcomes where available.
Google’s search terms documentation distinguishes users’ actual searches from advertiser-selected keywords. It also explains that some low-activity queries are omitted for privacy. Do not treat an export as a complete record of every query or infer that missing terms prove there was no irrelevant traffic.
Label screenshots and exports with the account or campaign context, dates and filters. Remove unnecessary personal details from customer records. A redacted report that preserves totals, definitions and qualification categories is often more useful for an initial discussion than an unstructured list of contacts.
4. Agree on appropriate auditor access
For an initial inspection, discuss whether read-only Google Ads access meets the review scope. If the auditor also needs to inspect analytics, tag configuration or a website, agree on those systems separately. Do not assume access to one account grants access to all connected assets.
Google’s access-level documentation explains that permissions determine what users can view or change. Read-only access supports viewing campaigns and reporting but does not permit campaign editing. Standard and administrator roles have broader capabilities; any request for them should be justified by the authorized task.
Ask for the exact recipient and purpose before sending an invitation. Use the platform’s access process instead of sharing a personal password. Record who approved the access and how it will be removed when the review ends. A linked manager arrangement should also be explained before you accept it.
If implementation is later agreed, review the additional permissions required at that stage. An audit engagement should distinguish inspection, recommendations and live changes so both sides understand what is authorized.
5. Prepare a conversion tracking audit brief
List the actions the account calls conversions and explain their real business meaning. A page view, form submission, qualified opportunity and completed sale are different events. Ask the reviewer to establish which actions guide campaign decisions and which are used only for observation.
Google’s conversion measurement overview describes measuring valuable actions following ad interactions. Your preparation should connect the implemented events with the outcomes the business actually wants.
- What should trigger each conversion action?
- Who implemented it and in which system?
- When was the enquiry or purchase route last tested?
- Are duplicate events or missing values suspected?
- Do platform, analytics and CRM definitions differ?
- Who can investigate or fix the implementation?
Do not create artificial sales to inflate performance records. If a controlled test is necessary, coordinate it with the relevant team and identify test records appropriately. If the auditor cannot inspect the implementation, the finding should state that limitation.
6. What areas should the account review cover?
| Audit area | Review question | Evidence to examine |
|---|---|---|
| Goals and measurement | Do recorded events represent the agreed business outcomes? | Conversion definitions, configuration and test evidence |
| Search relevance | Does available Search activity match the offer? | Search terms, keywords, exclusions and lead feedback |
| Locations and language | Does the configuration support actual customer eligibility? | Settings, available geographic reports and business coverage |
| Budgets and bidding | Do decisions align with goals and reliable measurement? | Settings, spend patterns, changes and conversion evidence |
| Ads and assets | Do claims, messages and destinations fit the offer? | Approved copy, assets, status and destination pages |
| Landing pages | Can relevant visitors understand and complete the next step? | Mobile checks, forms, checkout and offer clarity |
| Account structure | Is organization useful for management and reporting? | Campaign purposes and documented segmentation |
| Business outcomes | Are enquiries qualified and purchases meaningful? | CRM or order feedback with consistent definitions |
These questions identify review areas; they do not prescribe automatic setting changes. For example, a bidding recommendation should follow the account’s goals and measurement conditions, not a universal rule that one strategy fits every advertiser.
For service scope around campaign management, see our Google Ads service guide. Request current audit deliverables separately rather than assuming every management package includes the same review.
7. Sample findings: evidence before recommendations
All findings in this table are fictional examples. They illustrate a useful reporting format and do not describe your account or any Digiman client.
| Observation | Evidence | Likely impact to investigate | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form test does not produce the expected record | Documented test on the specified page and date | Measurement or enquiry delivery may be incomplete | Trace submission and event configuration; retest | Developer and tracking reviewer |
| Available Search terms include an unsupported service | Filtered report and confirmed service list | Some traffic may be irrelevant | Review context, exclusions and messaging before changes | Campaign manager and business owner |
| Ad destination omits a key eligibility condition | Ad copy and landing-page review | Visitors may misunderstand who the offer serves | Agree and publish a clear eligibility explanation | Business reviewer and page editor |
| Lead report has incomplete qualification feedback | Reconciliation of form and CRM records | Qualified-lead cost cannot yet be established | Complete feedback and report the remaining limits | Sales team and reporting owner |
A useful finding separates what was observed from what is inferred. Ask for the affected campaign or URL, date range and verification method. A recommendation should explain its dependencies and how success will be checked.
8. Prioritize the action list after the audit
Resolve issues that prevent reliable measurement or interrupt the enquiry or purchase route before interpreting optimization results. Then assess relevance, offer clarity and campaign improvements using the evidence available. Not every flagged item is equally important.
- Confirm the finding: verify that the evidence supports the observation and record uncertainty.
- Assess business impact: identify which decision or customer journey the issue affects.
- Name the action and owner: distinguish account work from website or sales-team work.
- Estimate effort and dependencies: identify access, approvals, assets or developer input needed.
- Approve live changes: agree what will be implemented and document material changes.
- Verify and review: retest the affected function and use a suitable later period to assess outcomes.
Ask whether implementation is included in the audit fee or quoted separately. A written report does not establish that its recommendations have been applied. Our questions to ask a Google Ads agency can help clarify responsibilities, fees and handover.
Questions before requesting a PPC account review
Can I request an audit without granting account access?
Yes, you can discuss a review based on exports or screenshots, but conclusions will be limited by the supplied evidence. Agree what can be checked and what remains unverified. Do not present a document-only review as a complete account inspection.
Should I change the campaigns before the review?
Preserve relevant evidence and document changes. If a confirmed problem is actively affecting the business, coordinate the necessary response with the responsible team. Avoid making many speculative changes simply to prepare for an audit, because they can obscure what happened.
What if the account has very little data?
The review can examine readiness, settings and measurement, but performance conclusions may remain provisional. Ask the auditor to distinguish configuration findings from conclusions requiring more outcomes or a longer observation period.
Does an audit guarantee better results?
No. It can identify supported issues and useful next actions, but results depend on implementation, demand, the offer, measurement and follow-up. A credible report explains its limits and how recommendations will be evaluated.
Request an account review through Digiman Marketing
Use the enquiry options on Digiman Marketing’s homepage to discuss a Google Ads account review. Share your website, business problem, priority campaigns and preferred reporting period first. Confirm scope, fees, access requirements and the expected report before granting permissions.
Keep the preparation checklist ready and provide the additional evidence agreed for the review. The next step is a scoped account inspection with documented findings, owners and verification—not an unsupported promise of immediate returns.
Sources reviewed 4 October 2026: Google’s account access-level, search terms report and conversion measurement documentation, linked beside the relevant explanations. Checklist structure and sample findings are editorial guidance; no account inspection or client result is asserted.