Here is a Step-by-Step guide to perform a Google Ads Audit for Lead Generation. It includes best practices and Tips and Tricks that we used for the Google Ads Audit in 2025.
In 2025, Google Ads will be far competitive. With rising CPC costs, frequently optimizing your Google Ads campaigns is important. So, a detailed Google Ads Audit is necessary for every Lead Generation Account.
With E-commerce Google Ads accounts, it’s clear which campaigns are driving sales. But, when it comes to generating leads, the Adwords Audit has to check the Lead quality, not just ‘the numbers’.
So, now I am presenting a complete step-by-step Google Ads Lead Generation Audit. By using this detailed guide, you can audit Google Ads yourself and optimize for better quality Leads with a Low Cost per Lead.
Define your Objectives for Google Ads Audit
Before going for a Google Ads Account Audit, let’s define the Goals and objectives of our PPC Ads Audit. If you want website traffic, then your goal should be Clicks, CTR, and Cost per Click. But, that’s not what most Lead generation accounts want today.
The objective of Google PPC Ads Audit is to maximize the Cost efficiency or increase the Lead volume. The goal is to get more business from Google Ads. Metrics to measure success are Lead volume, Cost per Lead, and Lead Closing rate. CPC and conversion rates are other important metrics to check.
Analyze Business Metrics to set Benchmarks
But, how do we identify whether our Google Ads performance is good or bad?
Well, that’s simple. Review your overall business metrics like Total Leads and Closed Leads in the long term. Identify how much the business is paying per new customer acquisition and how much they make. Analyze how many leads it takes to convert one into a real customer.
Compare the new Customer Acquisition Cost with Customer Lifetime Value. This helps to set benchmarks and Targets. Must check those Metrics before jumping onto the Google Ads Account for the Audit.
What is Google Ads Audit for Lead Generation?
A Google Ads audit for lead generation is checking up campaigns to get better results.
This is what we will do:
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We look at everything in your Google Ads account and Landing Pages.
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Our main goal is to find ways to get you more Profitable leads.
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We also want to find the areas of inefficiency. The Goal is to fix anything inside Google Ads that’s wasting your money, so you spend less and get better results.
We’re making sure your Google Ads are set up in the best way possible. And it brings in more of the right Leads who could become your customers.
Why do you need Frequent Audits for your Google Ads Campaigns?
Regular audits are needed because the Google Ads platform and market change with time. leading to potential inefficiencies and missed opportunities over time.
A new competitor can join the Party, demand for service may go down, Google Ads platform may roll out new updates. So, it’s important to keep optimizing the Google Ads Account to get the best possible results. And that helps even if you have limited Ad spend.
Regular reviews help identify and eliminate wasted spend. Audits improve lead quality and conversion rates. It keeps you competitive, ensuring accurate tracking for data-driven optimization in Google Ads.
Review Google Ads Account Structure (Lead Generation)
Account structure refers to how the campaigns, ad groups, and ads are organized in the account. Google Ads Account has 3 Levels.
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Account Level
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Campaign Level
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Ad group Level
Assess whether the way your account is structured is in the best interest of your business. The account can be either consolidated or segmented.
If the services are consolidated into one campaign, Audit these points.
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Are you still delivering relevant Ads and Landing Pages?
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Are you still providing sufficient budget to the most valuable services?
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Have you separated the keywords by theme in Ad groups?
In case of the segmented structure by Areas, Services, or bidding strategies. Analyze these points.
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You get a good number of clicks on those campaigns.
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Search volume is good enough for those campaigns.
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Identify if the Account structure is overly segmented.
Having a balance with the Google Ads account structure is important to achieve success in Google Ads. Over-consolidation disturbs the relevant user experience. Over-segmentation doesn’t let the Google ads algorithm learn and optimize quickly. So, try to maintain a balance where you get a good number of clicks per asset. Also, provide a relevant user experience in the form of Ads and Landing Pages.
Separate Brand vs. Non-Brand Campaigns
A lot of accounts run brand and non-brand keywords together in a single campaign. This is one of the crucial mistakes we notice while auditing Google Ads accounts. To have clarity about results, it’s important to segment these campaigns.
Monitor Budget Allocation (Across Lead Gen Campaigns)
After reviewing campaign segmentation, check the daily budget assigned to the services. Shift more budget towards top-performing and profitable services.
Review the Campaigns and Ad groups one by one. Identify the budget assigned to the services while checking the Lead volume and cost per lead.
Test Conversion Tracking (Lead Form Submissions, Calls)
In a Google Ads audit, test your conversion tracking for both lead form and calls to ensure accuracy.
Lead Form Submissions: Submit test forms using Google Tag Assistant to verify the tag is firing.
Calls: Match backend data with Google Ads report. This helps to check if Call conversion actions are firing correctly in Google Ads.
Here’s how to check if you’re using the Right conversion goals for Lead Generation
Are you using the right conversion actions as campaign goals inside Google Ads?
Most service businesses rely on form submission and Call tracking. And, it’s the best choice if you have both a call for lead form on the landing page.
Further, Call extensions in responsive search ads let users directly call from Ads. In this scenario, it’s the best practice to optimize your campaigns towards ‘Call from Ads’ as well.
If you are curious to set up the conversion tracking for lead generation, we’ve got you covered. Check our detailed guide on Google Ads lead generation conversion tracking by using GTM.
Use Enhanced or Offline Conversions Import for Lead Generation
Using generic lead generation conversion tracking helps gather data for new accounts. But accounts with more spend and volume should shift to ‘Quality Leads Tracking‘.
Introducing enhanced conversion or offline conversion, let us import converted and qualified leads. This not only helps us to get a realistic view of Google Ads results but also improves the Lead Quality in the long run. Lead Quality should dictate Google Ads optimizations.
By feeding quality data back into Google Ads, we’re using the Google Ads algorithm to get us more results. And, this is one of the valuable tactics to fight spam leads in Google Ads.
Overview of Location Targeting (Relevant Geographic Areas)
Location targeting has been overlooked in most of the Google ads audits. But, location targeting is the basis of Google Ads success for service businesses. Here is how you examine whether the Target Location inside Adwords is in the best interest of your business.
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Target areas where you provide services via Zip code, cities, or location targeting.
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Ensure Location Match Type is set to ‘presence: people inside selected Locations’.
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View the location report in Google Ads Editor to see the performance by physical location.
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Assess if you need to segment the campaigns for best best-performing locations.
A multi-location service can consider to create different campaigns for different business locations.
Ad Schedule (Check Optimal Times for Lead Generation)
When it comes to analyzing ad schedules during a Google Ads audit, check performance by hours of the day. Analyze the hours and days performing well. Here are the possible situations in the Ad schedule case.
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In terms of cost per Lead, your Ad may perform better in the evening hours of the day. This happens as your competitor’s budget gets washed out. That means you may not be spending the proper budget in the later hours. A campaign’s separate for later working hours is a strategy that works in many cases.
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While for Lead volume and quality, day times are best as more demand exists during those times. So, assess the performance and make sure you bid enough to get that quality traffic in those hours.
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An important factor is the availability of sales teams to pick up calls and lead form follow-ups. While setting the Ad schedule for your Google Ads campaigns, take that into consideration in the first place. Run your campaign in the hours when your sales team is available to pick up calls and reply to lead forms.
Conduct a Google Ads Account-Level Audit
Some account-level settings may be the reason for bad performance inside Google Ads. For example, Auto apply recommendations can add broad keywords to the campaigns.
So, let’s review all of such account-level settings one by one and make sure the correct settings are in place.
Review General Account Level Settings (For Lead Generation)
Here are some general settings to check before proceeding with your Google Ads Account Audit.
Auto Tagging (Account Setting)
Auto-tagging is a setting in Google Ads that adds a unique parameter (gclid) to your ad URLs. Go to Account Settings > Auto-tagging. It should be turned ON to add gclid.
‘gclid’ is an important parameter to import qualified leads back into google ads through offline conversion tracking.
URL Tracking Options
URL tracking in Google Ads helps you understand where your traffic comes from. They can be set up at the account level, campaign, ad, keywords, and extensions level.
Analyze if URL tracking is being used in the account. Check if parameters like campaign ID, keyword, and source are being tracked.
Here’s is an example of a url tracking template.
{lpurl}?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign={campaignid}&utm_term={keyword}
Call Reporting turned on
Call Reporting in Google Ads tracks when someone clicks or dials a phone number from your ad. When turned on, Google replaces your phone number with a Google forwarding number (GFN) to record key call metrics.
It tracks and reports calling numbers, Call duration, Caller area code, and call start and end times. And whether the call was answered or not.
Account Level Negative Keywords
Account-level negative keywords allow you to block irrelevant or low-intent search terms across all campaigns in your Google Ads account.
It’s important to check the account-level negatives in your Google Ads audit to see if you’re not missing out on important terms by blocking them. Check if the right match types are being used in negative keywords.
Auto Apply Recommendations
Google Ads can make certain suggested optimizations without manual approval. This is termed as Auto Apply Recommendations.
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Audit the Auto Apply recommendations at the account level.
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Disable the ones that don’t align with business goals to get more control and clarity.
Review Account Level Automated Assets
Account-level automated assets are ad components that apply across all campaigns. For example, sitelinks, callouts, Images, or business names.
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Review them under the “Assets” tab to ensure they reflect your brand and are performing well.
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Disable non-relevant assets via Account Settings to maintain control over your messaging.
Identify if using Account Level Bidding Strategies
Check if campaigns are using Portfolio bidding strategies at the account level. With portfolio bidding, you can add shared budgets. Combining multiple campaigns works well for low-volume campaigns.
Portfolio bidding strategies like Target CPA with manual CPC bid can help controlling rising CPC costs.
Check the Google Ads Location Asset for the Physical location
If your business has a physical location, connect your GBP to create a Location asset. This lets your address, map, and business hours show with your ads, helping customers visit you. Add it under Assets > Location and ensure your profile is verified.
Identify the Linked Accounts in Google Ads
Google Analytics Integration
During your audit, ensure that Google Analytics is integrated with Google Ads. We encourage using conversion tracking through Google Tag Manager. GA4 conversion events can be used as secondary events. Connecting Google Ads and GA4 lets you see Google Ads reports in Google Analytics 4 as well.
Google Search Console
During your audit, verify that Google Search Console (GSC) is linked to your Google Ads account. This information helps in comparing the performance for both organic and paid terms. This integration helps you understand keyword rankings, impressions, and clicks. It allows you to assess how your paid ads complement your organic efforts.
Check Networks and Devices
Review which networks (Search, Display, Search Partners, etc.) your campaigns are targeting. Check the performance for each network. For high quality, target Google Search and opt out of Search and display partners.
Search Partners (Impact on Lead Quality)
During your audit, check if campaigns are opted into Search Partners. While Search Partners increase reach, they bring lower lead quality. Check the Lead quality from Search Partners.
Device Targeting (Evaluate Performance by Device)
Check how your ads perform across mobile, desktop, and tablet devices. Use the device report to spot trends in conversion rates, cost per lead, and CPC. Adjust bids or exclude devices that underperform to maximize efficiency.
Inspect Ad Group Structure (Keyword Themes for Lead Gen)
Review your ad group structure to ensure each group targets a tight keyword theme. Before segmenting keywords by Ad groups, ensure you get fair amount of clicks. Tight keyword themes let you deliver relevant Ad copy and landing page experience. And, this helps in getting better and higher-quality clicks and leads.
Analyze Keywords and Match Types
During the Audit, check if the right keywords and match types are being used. Here are some factors to consider and check for keywords.
Keyword Relevance (To Lead Intent)
Ensure your keywords align with the intent of your ideal lead. Focus on terms that signal action or interest (e.g., “hire,” “services,” “near me”). Remove generic or low-intent keywords. High relevance improves CTR, Quality Score, and conversion rates.
Keyword Match Types (Balancing Volume and Quality)
Use broad, phrase, or exact match to balance lead volume with quality. Broad match can bring reach, but often lowers precision. Exact match delivers higher intent but limits scale. Adjust based on performance to ensure you’re attracting the right traffic.
Search Terms (Identifying High/Low Converting Queries)
The search terms report helps in finding new keywords. Audit the terms that convert more. If they have good search volume, add them as keywords. Review the Search terms report daily. This helps identify high and low converting terms.
Negative Keywords (Blocking Irrelevant Lead Gen Terms)
Use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic. Update your list from the search terms report to protect your budget. Negative keywords help in improving conversion rate and lead quality. Audit the negative keywords to check if the right match types are being used.
Keyword Bids (Optimizing for Lead Cost)
It’s important to optimize keyword bids based on performance data to lower the cost. Increase bids for high-converting keywords and lower bids for underperforming ones. Audit and make sure bids are high enough to get visibility and high-intent clicks
Keyword Quality Score (Impact on Lead Gen Performance)
Long-Tail Keywords (Specific Lead Intent)
Analyze the keywords inside the Ad groups. Long-tail keywords have low competition and high conversion rates. So, they improve the Lead quality and cost per lead.
Optimize Ad Copy and Ad Extensions
After auditing keywords, assess the Ad copy and Ad extensions. The Purpose of an Ad is to get relevant and high-intent clicks. Use your key terms and unique selling proposition in Ad copy. Here are the points you should audit while analyzing Ad copy for Google Ads.
Ad Copy Relevance (To Lead Gen Offers)
Ensure your ad copy aligns with your offers. Mention the Top keywords in your Ad copy. Ensure the combination of headline and descriptions delivers a good Ad. This relevance improves conversion rates and builds trust with potential leads.
Sitelink Extensions
Sitelink extensions direct users to relevant pages. This enhances the Ad visibility and provides more options for users. Further, it increases the chances of getting a Click, improving the CTR. Audit the Structured snippets in all of the Ads. Assess if relevant links are being used as Sitelinks and they are working well.
Callout Extensions (Highlighting Lead Gen Benefits)
Callout extensions allow you to emphasize key benefits of your service. That could be Free consultations, 24/7 support, or limited-time discounts. It’s your chance to be unique and get a competitive advantage. Check the Callout extensions in your Ad copy and audit their effectiveness.
Structured Snippets (Showcasing Relevant Services)
Structured snippets display relevant details about your services. Use Structured snippets to improve ad relevance and increase the CTR. Mention your key services and provide more relevant information.
For Lead generation, it could be the type of services you offer. Audit Structured snippets and check if they are relevant to Ads.
Promotion Extensions (If Applicable to Lead Gen)
Ad customizers (Relevance to Lead Searches)
During the audit, check if ad customizers are being used in the Ad copy. Dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) helps in getting better CTR and Ad score. Ad customizers like Location insertion work well for lead generation Ads.
Review the Landing Pages being used
Analyze Landing Page Experience (Relevance to Ad & Keywords)
Test Mobile-Friendliness of Landing Pages (Crucial for Leads)
Compare your Offer with Competitors
Users like to check different service providers before contacting one. Check your Top competitors from Google Ads Auction Insights. Identify the competitors where the overlap rate is high. Check their Landing Pages and analyze the offers.
Offer a better offering and a perfect user experience on your website. Cover the gaps left by competitors in your landing pages.
Review the Bidding Strategies for all campaigns
During the Google Ads Audit, assess the bidding strategies for all campaigns. Ensure they make sense considering the budgets, volume, and goals.
Manual bidding offers more control. Smart bidding also helps to optimize the campaigns for conversions.
How to Determine if Your Current Bidding Strategy is Effective
No bidding strategy works in every case. It all depends on the situation and business goals. During an ad audit, identify the performance of the current bidding strategy. Identify if the bidding strategy is according to the best practices.
We always recommend testing the bidding strategies. Try Manual and Smart bidding strategies to find the best strategy in your case.
For Lower budgets, we recommend sticking to Manual bidding strategies to retain control.
Assess Invalid Clicks and Click Fraud
Invalid clicks are interactions with your ads that Google considers illegitimate.
Google filters most invalid clicks in real-time and won’t charge you for them. Check your campaign reports under “invalid clicks” and “invalid click rate”.
During a Google Ads audit, check invalid clicks and see if it affects conversion rates.
Invalid clicks are the identification of Click fraud in Google Ads.
Fraud Clicks can include:
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Clicks from bots or automated tools
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Repeated clicks from the same user or IP (a form of click fraud)
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Clicks made to exhaust your budget (often by competitors)
How to Fight Click Fraud and Spam?
1. Enable Click Fraud Detection Tools
Use tools like ClickCease to avoid spam clicks. These tools block bots, repeat clickers, and malicious activity in real time.
2. Use IP Exclusions
Identify suspicious IPs from your logs and add them to the Google Ads IP exclusion list. It stops repeated clicks from the same source.
3. Feed Quality Leads in Google Ads
Track real leads and customer actions, CRM, or offline import. Optimize the Google Ads algorithm to find more quality leads.
Monitor Quality Scores
Here’s how to check and improve Quality Score
Quality score is an important factor in Google Ads. To check your Quality Score, navigate to the Keywords tab and review the score for each keyword. A low score indicates room for improvement. Here’s how to improve your quality score inside Google Ads.
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Focus on enhancing ad relevance.
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Optimize your landing page experience,
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Ensure the keyword aligns with user intent.
Review these factors to boost your Quality Score, lower CPC, and improve ad rank.
Compare Overall Performance
While it’s important to focus on Campaigns and Ad groups, perform a complete audit of Google Ads. Compare the Total business leads and Lead closing ratio with Google Ads results. Identify the pattern between Account performance and Business results. It’s important to know the exact Lifetime value of the customer. Knowing that, you can set profitable targets inside Google Ads.
Here are the Perfect Metrics to measure Lead Gen Success
There are a few important metrics to track while conducting a Google Ads audit. It includes conversion rate, cost per lead (CPL), return on ad spend (ROAS), and click-through rate (CTR).
Additionally, track quality of leads, close rate, and customer acquisition cost (CAC). It helps to ensure that you’re not just generating leads. But you are converting them into valuable customers, which maximizes your Advertising effectiveness.
Analyze and Track competitors to Adjust Accordingly
Analyze and track competitors to stay ahead in the market. A good competitor analysis increases the chances of better performance.
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Check the Auction Insights report at the Campaigns, Ad groups, and keyword levels.
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Monitor their ad copy, keywords, bidding strategies, and landing page tactics.
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Use this insight to adjust your campaigns and identify new opportunities or gaps.
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Present a better offer and landing page experience.
Monitor and Adjust Regularly
Monitor your campaign performance and adjust strategies based on data insights. Review metrics like CTR, CPL, and conversion rates to identify opportunities for improvement. Stay proactive and optimize your approach. Try not to make frequent changes in your Ads account. Make one big change at a time. Compare results before and after making the change.
Here’s How Often You Should Do a Google Ads Audit
You should perform a Google Ads audit at least once a quarter. This ensures your campaigns are well optimized and aligned with your business goals. But if you’re running high-budget campaigns, consider conducting an audit monthly. High budgets offer more data for optimization. Regular audits adjust strategies and keep your lead generation efforts on track.
Here’s how to use data and insights to make informed adjustments:
How Scaleket can help with Google Ads Audit
Google Ads Audit: Optimize Campaign Performance
A Google Ads audit helps identify areas of improvement within your campaigns. This includes underperforming keywords, ineffective ad copy, or bidding issues. Review your Ads to optimize performance, boost CTR, lower CPL, and maximize ROI. Regular audits of your Ad account ensure your campaigns are in line with business goals. And it improves the quality of your Leads.