What I Learnt From Auditing 100 Google Ads Accounts

After auditing over 100 Google Ads accounts across industries, budgets, and agencies, I noticed something:

The problems aren’t random. They repeat. Over and over.

Some accounts waste thousands. Others survive — but never scale. And a rare few? They quietly outperform everyone else.

Here’s what I’ve learned — and what separates average accounts from exceptional ones.

🔍 Top 5 Issues That Show Up in Most Google Ads Accounts

No matter the niche, 80% of audits reveal the same culprits:

1. No Clear Conversion Tracking

Most accounts either track the wrong thing (e.g., pageviews, clicks) or have duplicate, missing, or outdated tags.

Without clean data, smart bidding becomes guesswork.

2. Broad Match Chaos

Broad match is fine — if it’s managed. But many accounts run broad without negative keywords, audience layering, or signal strategy.

Result: high CPCs, irrelevant traffic, low conversion intent.

3. Stale Ad Copy

If I had ₹100 for every account with ads from 2022 still running, I’d have… well, at least enough to run my own campaign properly.

No rotation, no testing, no variation = ad fatigue.

4. Lack of Campaign Segmentation

One campaign targeting 12 services in 3 locations with no naming convention. I wish I was exaggerating.

If your naming doesn’t make sense to you — it won’t make sense in reporting either.

5. Reporting Disconnect

Clients get PDFs with metrics they don’t understand. No ROAS tracking. No pacing insights. No conversion segmentation.

When reporting fails, trust breaks.

🛠️ How to Fix Them (And Fast)

You don’t need 6 tools and a data warehouse. You need focus. Here’s where I start every audit:

✅ Set Up a Tracking Layer You Can Trust

• Use Google Tag Manager

• Clean up duplicate conversions

• Mark primary conversions correctly in Google Ads

• Align all goal values to business impact

✅ Match Type Strategy

• Use phrase + exact for control

• Broad only when paired with strong audiences or exclusions

• Add negative keywords every 3–5 days in scaling accounts

✅ Modular Ad Copy Structure

• Break out headlines into intent-driven variations

• Refresh ads monthly, not yearly

• Use ad customizers for geo/service-based accounts

✅ Campaign Naming & Segmentation

• Example: Search_Exact_DentalImplants_NY

• Keep one goal per campaign

• PMax? Only after cold + brand + remarketing are fully mapped

✅ Dashboards Clients Actually Read

• Focus on 3 metrics: cost, conversions, ROAS

• Use Looker Studio or Google Sheets

• Include monthly pacing and action notes

🚀 What Great Accounts Do Differently

In top-performing accounts, the patterns reverse:

• They track fewer conversions — but better ones

• They automate only what they’ve tested manually first

• They optimize faster — because the data speaks clearly

• They talk business goals, not just CPCs and CTRs

• They spend less time guessing, more time scaling

It’s not about big budgets. It’s about clarity, control, and consistency.

✅ My Google Ads Audit Checklist (Used on Every Account)

You can steal this.

1. Tag Assistant check → GTM vs hardcoded

2. Conversion goals (primary + secondary) verified

3. Match type distribution scan

4. Ad copy variation count

5. Negative keyword presence

6. Geo and device bid adjustments

7. Naming convention review

8. Pacing vs budget analysis

9. Search terms audit

10. Dashboard accuracy + client clarity test

If you audit these 10, you’ll already be in the top 10% of account managers.

💬 Final Thought

Running Google Ads well isn’t magic.

It’s method.

And audits are how you cut through the noise, clean up the chaos, and create margin for scale.

If you’ve managed an account that feels stuck — chances are, one of these issues is quietly eating your results.

👉 Want to see what I’d find in your account? Drop me a DM with “AUDIT” and I’ll share how I run mine.

Or tell me this: What’s the one thing you always check first in a Google Ads account? Let’s compare notes.