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What a campaign audit is
A campaign audit is a structured review of an existing Google Ads, Meta or LinkedIn account, or all of them. We look at how the account is built, what it is optimising toward, where money goes and whether the data can be trusted. The output is not a vague score but a prioritised list of specific fixes, with the likely impact and effort of each.
Frequently the biggest win is a tracking fix rather than a bidding change. If conversions are counted wrongly, every automated decision in the account is built on bad data, and no amount of tweaking bids will fix it.
When an audit makes sense
- Costs have risen and results have fallen without an obvious reason.
- Your platform reports and your CRM or sales figures do not agree.
- You are taking over an account from another agency or an in-house marketer who has left.
- You want a second opinion before increasing budget.
- You have been running ads for a while and are not sure which campaigns are profitable.
What we review
| Area | What we check |
|---|---|
| Tracking | Conversion actions, duplicates, primary versus secondary goals, Pixel and Conversions API, GA4 links |
| Structure | Campaign and ad group organisation, overlap, budget fragmentation, naming |
| Targeting | Audiences, locations, exclusions, keyword match types and negative lists |
| Search terms | Irrelevant queries consuming spend and missed opportunities |
| Creative | Variety, freshness, relevance to audience, policy issues |
| Bidding and budget | Strategy versus data volume, pacing, learning-phase disruption |
| Landing pages | Relevance, speed, form experience and tracking |
What the report looks like
Each finding in the report states what we saw, why it matters, what we recommend and roughly how much effort it takes. Findings are grouped into quick fixes, structural changes and longer-term improvements. Where it helps, we include screenshots or exported data as evidence, so your team can verify the issue themselves rather than taking our word for it.
How the audit works
- Access. You grant read-only or standard access to the ad accounts and analytics. No changes are made during the audit.
- Context. A short call to understand your goals, margins, sales process and what has already been tried.
- Review. We work through each area, comparing platform data with what your business actually records.
- Prioritise. Issues are ranked by likely impact and effort, so the most valuable fixes come first.
- Report. You receive a written audit with findings, evidence and recommended actions.
- Walkthrough. We explain the findings on a call and answer questions.
Who it’s for
Audits suit any business with an active account: a real estate agency getting leads that never pick up, a D2C brand whose Shopping costs have crept up, a coaching institute preparing for its next admission season, or a B2B manufacturer that has run Search for years without reviewing search terms. The audit is designed to be useful whether you fix things in-house, keep your current agency or work with us.
Audits are also useful at planned moments: before a big season, before raising budget significantly, after a website rebuild that may have broken tracking, or when changing agencies. In each case, a clear picture of the account’s current state prevents expensive surprises later.
Timeline and cost
Most audits take around one to two weeks, depending on the number of platforms, account size and history. Cost depends on scope: a single Search account is quicker to review than several platforms with years of data. We quote a fixed scope before starting, and we do not attach promised savings or results to the audit.
If you decide to work with us afterwards, the audit becomes the starting plan. If you do not, you keep the report and can hand it to whoever manages the account. Either way, the findings are yours.
Issues we commonly find
- Conversion actions counting duplicates or low-value actions as primary goals.
- Search terms far from the business still receiving clicks.
- Budgets spread across too many small campaigns to learn.
- The same creative running for months with rising frequency.
- Landing pages that load slowly on mobile or have broken forms.
None of these are unusual, and most are straightforward to correct once they are clearly identified and prioritised.
Frequently asked questions
Will you make changes to my account during the audit?
No. The audit is a review only. Any changes are made afterwards, by you, your current team or us, based on the recommendations.
Is the audit useful if I don’t hire you afterwards?
Yes. The report is written so that any competent team can act on it, with clear evidence and priorities.
Which platforms can you audit?
Google Ads (Search, Display, Shopping, Performance Max, YouTube), Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and the supporting GA4 and Tag Manager setup.
What access do you need?
Access to the ad accounts, GA4 and ideally Tag Manager. Read-only access is enough for most of the review.
Do you compare against my sales data?
Where you can share it, yes. Comparing platform-reported conversions with your CRM or sales records is often where the most important findings come from.
Talk to us about campaign audit
A review of an existing account: what's wasting money and what to fix first.