Why a Google Ads account audit isn't enough

Previously I wrote about how a recent Google Ads audit made me realise that both me and my clients were basing important decisions on our opinions instead of on evidence.

It got me thinking about what an audit should cover.

When someone approaches me for an audit they're almost concerned about the Google Ads account:

• Is the set up right?
• Are we targeting the right keywords?
• Why am I paying so much more than I did last year?
• Is the person managing the account doing a good job?

Reviewing the account often uncovers problems. Fixing them improves results. But looking at the account in isolation is unlikely to flag the most important opportunities.

That's because Google Ads is most profitable when it's part of a working system. (That's pretty much the thesis of my book Profitable Google Ads. You can download a free copy using the form below this article.)

I call the system the CLIENT framework:

• Clicks — the right people, clicking your ads
• Landing page — turning clicks into leads
• Insight — the person managing your ads understanding your business
• Engage — turning leads into customers
• Nudge — continual small improvements
• Track — measuring what your ads actually make

If one part of the system is weak, it caps profitability. Clicks come from the right people, but the landing page doesn't convert them? Leads show up, but engagement is poor? Whoever's managing the Google Ads doesn't know your business?

That means we need a Google Ads system audit, not just an account audit.

Sometimes the biggest improvements will come from the ad account, the kind of thing an account audit would catch. But sometimes the system audit finds more important work elsewhere.

Take click-to-lead conversion rate. If it's sitting at 3%, improving it is usually a priority. Go from 3% to 6% and you've doubled your leads for the same spend. This is the kind of thing an account audit is built to find: it's sitting right there in the account data.

But the system audit also looks at what happened after the lead arrived. If speed-to-lead is so slow that leads are choosing a competitor before anyone calls back, fixing that is probably worth more than pouring extra leads into a leaky bucket. An account audit would never have found it because the problem isn't in the ad account.

A system audit's value is knowing what to prioritise. Whether you're a business owner or a PPC professional, there are always more things you could improve than you have time to fix. A system audit helps identify the highest-leverage changes.

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