By James Clemens, lead strategist & founder
Most Google Ads accounts don’t fail all at once. They leak: a little budget on the wrong searches, a little on clicks that never get measured, a little on settings nobody remembers turning on. Here are the five checks I run first.
1. Is conversion tracking actually working?
If Google can’t see your calls, form fills and sales, it can’t optimize for them, and neither can you. Verify every conversion action fires once, counts correctly and reflects something you’d actually pay for.
2. What are people really searching?
Open the search terms report. Every irrelevant search you find there is money spent. Add negatives, tighten match types and make sure your best searches have their own ads.
3. Where are your ads showing?
Check locations, schedules and networks. “People interested in your location” and default display placements can spend budget far from the customers you want.
4. Do the ad and the landing page agree?
The ad makes a promise; the page should keep it within seconds. Matching headlines, a clear offer and a visible phone number lift conversion rates and Quality Score together.
5. Is automation working for your margins?
Smart bidding and Performance Max are powerful when they’re fed clean data and sensible targets. Without those guardrails they optimize for the wrong goal very efficiently.
Want a second set of eyes on your account? Request a Google Ads audit, or go deeper at PPCvisor.
Mica Specialties is a badged Google Partner agency, certified in Google Ads. Request a Google Ads audit.