The Google Ads Audit Checklist That Finds What to Fix First
Google Ads counted 412 booked hearing tests for Linwood Hearing Center, an illustrative account, in September. Its thank-you page counted 58. This free checklist starts where that audit did, with what an account counts, and ends with what to fix first.
The checklist is free to print or download as a .docx. Go to the checklist
Linwood Hearing Center in Google Ads, as found on Oct 1
GoalsConversionsSummary
Booked hearing testRecording conversions
- Goal
- Book appointment
- Event
- Page load
- URL
- URL containsbook-a-hearing-test
412 counted in September
The URL rule matches the booking form too.
- Action optimization
$148.97
a booking, counted by the thank-you page’s 58
Google Ads reported $20.97, and Maximize conversions bid for more of those form opens.
- Count
- One
Goals and measurement
0 of 7Structure
0 of 4Traffic
0 of 5Budgets
0 of 3Ads
0 of 3Destinations
0 of 3
How to use the checklist
Run it before you change anything
Go through the six parts in order on a prospect’s or a new client’s account, before the first call or the first edit.
Settle what the account counts
A failed check in goals and measurement comes before any cost, because every cost after it is judged against that count.
Put a cost on every other failed check
Give each one what it spent in the last 30 days, from the report its line names, and fix the largest first.
Run it again next month
A new campaign, an auto-applied recommendation or a change to the site can undo a check that passed.
How a connected agent reads an account for an audit has its own guide. Read the connected audit guide
Why goals and measurement come first
Every other check is read against the conversion count. When the count is wrong, a campaign can look like the cheapest source of leads and bring none.
Linwood’s audit shows it. Booked hearing test credited the Display Network in Search | Hearing tests with 96 conversions in September, and Booking confirmed gave it none, so the $1,260 it spent became the plan’s second line.
When an audit finds more than a few settings to change, the account may need its campaigns rebuilt from the searches up. See how Parallel AI plans a rebuild
Account auditIllustrative account
Parallel AI runs the audit on the account and writes the plan
Account audit
For a book of client accounts, Parallel AI runs this audit on each connected account in one request. See the account audit tool
Questions and answers
What should a Google Ads audit checklist cover?
Six parts, in order. Goals and measurement, then structure, traffic, budgets, ads and destinations. This checklist has 25 checks across them, each with where in Google Ads to look, and you can print it or download it as a .docx.
Which audit findings should be fixed first?
Anything that breaks what the account counts as a conversion comes first, because every cost after it is measured against that count. Then give each other failed check what it cost in the last 30 days and fix the largest first.
Can Parallel AI run this audit on an account?
Yes, once you connect Google Ads and start the 5-day free trial. It reads the account’s conversions, campaign settings, network report, search terms, auto-apply settings, budgets, ads and landing pages, marks each check passed or failed with its evidence, names the checks that need something outside Google Ads and writes the plan as a Doc. It changes nothing until you ask it to.
Does the checklist work for a new client audit?
Yes. Run it before the first call with a prospect or on the first day with a new client. Goals and measurement come first because they decide what the rest of the account is judged against.
Is there a free trial?
Eligible new individual, Team and Agency customers can start a five-day free trial. Select your plan, connect Google Ads and complete checkout with a payment card. The trial includes 25% of that plan’s monthly usage and the same model, Google Ads account and workspace limits. Team and Agency trials share 25% of the selected two-seat plan’s monthly allowance across two people. Unless you cancel in Settings → Billing before the trial ends, your selected subscription starts automatically at the monthly, quarterly or annual price shown at checkout.
Run this audit on an account of your own
Most accounts are paying for settings nobody chose.
The 25 checks in six parts are free to print or download, and on Linwood’s account they found the conversion fix that comes before every cost. Connect a Google Ads account and Parallel AI runs the same checks and writes the plan. It suits a freelancer preparing a prospect audit, an agency taking on a client and an owner who inherited an account.
Starter $20, Pro $60 and Max $200 a month
You connect Google Ads first, then add a card to start the trial.