The Audit Checklist We Run On Every New Client Before Touching Spend
The Google Ads Audit BRIW Runs Before Spending a Dollar
When a business hires BRIW to take over their Google Ads, the first priority is stopping wasted spend.
Most accounts lose money long before it becomes obvious. The root causes are usually structural issues, poor targeting, or mismatched intent between what people search and what the account delivers.
Before making any changes to budget or launching new campaigns, BRIW runs every account through a comprehensive audit designed to uncover inefficiencies, leaks, and missed growth opportunities.
This is not a surface level review. It is a full diagnostic across campaign structure, keyword targeting, landing pages, tracking, and competitive positioning.
The objective is simple.
Turn your advertising from an expense into a system that produces measurable returns.
Campaign Structure and Intent Alignment
Why Structure Determines Performance
Campaign structure is the foundation of a high performing account.
If campaigns do not align with user intent, Google struggles to match ads with the right searches.
This leads to lower relevance, higher costs, and weaker lead quality.
What BRIW Audits
Search intent categories and campaign alignment
Segmentation between high, mid, and low intent searches
Separation of branded, competitor, and generic terms
Alignment between keywords, ads, and landing pages
Clarity and consistency of naming conventions
Many accounts group unrelated keywords into a single campaign, forcing the algorithm to guess.
BRIW identifies where intent is fragmented and restructures campaigns to improve targeting precision and performance.
Keyword Targeting and Negative Keyword Strategy
Where Most Budgets Are Lost
Keyword targeting is one of the most common sources of wasted spend.
Overuse of broad match, irrelevant search queries, and missing negative keywords can quietly drain thousands of dollars.
What BRIW Audits
Search term data from the past 90 days
Distribution of match types across campaigns
Irrelevant traffic such as job seekers, DIY searches, and informational queries
Industry specific negative keyword gaps
Opportunities to expand into higher value keyword themes
The goal is to eliminate spend on users who will never convert while increasing exposure to high intent searches.
Ad Copy, Messaging, and Positioning
How Ads Influence Lead Quality
Ad copy plays a critical role in both attracting the right audience and filtering out the wrong one.
Strong messaging improves click through rate while also increasing conversion quality.
What BRIW Audits
Differentiation compared to competitor messaging
Ad structure, strength, and keyword coverage
Use of pain points, value propositions, and proof elements
Mobile optimized formatting
Consistency and control within responsive search ads
BRIW ensures ads communicate clearly, align with user intent, and position your business as the most relevant option.
Conversion Tracking and Data Accuracy
Why Accurate Data Is Critical
Campaign optimization depends entirely on accurate data.
If conversion tracking is incomplete or incorrect, Google will optimize toward the wrong outcomes.
What BRIW Audits
Accuracy of all conversion tracking events
Duplicate or inflated conversion signals
Revenue or value tracking where applicable
Integration between analytics platforms and Google Ads
Call tracking, form tracking, and offline conversion tracking
Appropriate attribution model for the business
Most accounts either track too many low value actions or miss critical conversion events entirely.
BRIW corrects tracking to ensure optimization is based on real performance signals.
Landing Page Experience and Conversion Optimization
Why Landing Pages Impact Performance
Even well targeted campaigns fail if the landing page does not convert visitors into leads.
Poor page experience leads to higher cost per lead and lost opportunities.
What BRIW Audits
Page load speed and mobile responsiveness
Alignment between search query, ad, and page content
Clarity of messaging and calls to action
Form placement and user friction
Trust signals and social proof
Overall optimization for high intent visitors
Small improvements in landing page performance often produce significant gains in conversion rates.
Budget Allocation and Bidding Efficiency
Why Budget Strategy Matters
Campaign performance is directly affected by how budget is distributed and how bids are managed.
Inefficient allocation can limit growth even when campaigns are well structured.
What BRIW Audits
Daily spend pacing compared to monthly targets
Use of automated bidding strategies such as target CPA or target ROAS
Conversion volume available to support automation
Distribution of budget across campaigns and intent levels
Areas of wasted spend that can be reallocated
BRIW aligns budget with performance to maximize efficiency and return on investment.
Competitor Analysis and Market Visibility
Understanding the Competitive Landscape
To outperform competitors, it is necessary to understand how they position themselves and where opportunities exist.
What BRIW Audits
Competitor ad messaging and positioning
Landing page structure and offers
Keyword coverage and visibility share
Gaps where competitors are not addressing customer needs
Search trends and seasonal shifts
This insight allows BRIW to build campaigns that differentiate rather than replicate.
Why BRIW Audits Before Making Changes
Many agencies begin making adjustments immediately without fully understanding the account.
This often leads to continued inefficiency and wasted spend.
BRIW approaches every account with a structured diagnostic process.
Diagnose first. Optimize second.
This audit provides:
A clear foundation for scaling
Visibility into what is working and what is not
A roadmap for restructuring and improvement
Greater control over cost per lead, lead quality, and return on investment
By the time changes are implemented, the strategy is already defined.
Ready to See What Is Holding Your Account Back?
Most businesses are unaware of how much inefficiency exists inside their current campaigns.
A structured audit can reveal where budget is being lost and where growth opportunities exist.
If you want BRIW to run a full audit on your account, we can identify the key areas for improvement and provide a clear plan to increase performance and generate more leads.