The Audit Checklist We Run On Every New Client Before Touching Spend

When a business hires BRIW to take over their Google Ads, the first thing we do is stop the bleeding. Most accounts are losing money long before they realize it, usually from structural issues, poor targeting, or mismatched intent. Before we ever touch your spend or launch a single new campaign, we run every client through a rigorous audit designed to uncover every leak, inefficiency, and missed opportunity.

This isn’t a surface-level glance. It’s a full-stack diagnostic that looks at how your account is built, how your budget is being used, how your landing pages convert, and how your brand shows up across the entire search experience. The goal is simple: get your ad dollars performing like an investment, not an expense.

Below is the full breakdown of the exact audit checklist we run on day one.

1. Campaign Structure and Intent Alignment

Your campaign structure is the backbone of performance. If it doesn’t map to user intent, nothing else matters.

Here’s what we audit:
• Search intent buckets and whether campaigns match buyer mindset
• Segmentation between high intent, mid intent, and low intent searches
• Whether branded, competitor, and generic terms are separated
• How keywords, ads, and landing pages pair together
• Whether the account is using proper naming conventions for clarity

Most accounts lump dozens of unrelated keywords into one campaign, forcing Google to guess who to serve your ads to. Our audit immediately identifies where intent is fractured and where restructuring will increase relevance, lower CPCs, and lift lead quality.

2. Keyword Targeting and Negative Keyword Hygiene

This is where we usually find the biggest leaks. Broad match abuse, irrelevant search queries, and missing negatives cost businesses thousands each month.

Our audit covers:
• Search terms report analysis from the past 90 days
• Broad, phrase, and exact match distribution
• Irrelevant job seekers, DIY searchers, and informational queries
• Industry-specific negatives that should have been added years ago
• Opportunities for expansion into higher-value keyword themes

The goal is to remove spend on anyone who will never buy, while doubling down on the people who actually want your service.

3. Ad Copy, Messaging, and Competitive Positioning

Your ad copy does two things: qualify the right people and repel the wrong ones.

We evaluate:
• Message differentiation vs competitors
• Ad strength, structure, and keyword coverage
• Use of pain points, value props, and proof signals
• Mobile-first formatting
• Whether RSAs have enough pinned structure for consistent messaging

We make sure your ads speak directly to the customer’s problem and show why choosing you is the obvious decision.

4. Conversion Tracking, Data Accuracy, and Attribution

If your data is wrong, your optimization is wrong.

Our audit confirms:
• All conversion actions are firing correctly
• No duplicated or inflated conversion events
• Proper value revenue tracking (where applicable)
• GA4 and Google Ads syncing properly
• Call tracking, form tracking, and offline conversions are clean
• Attribution model chosen for your business type

Most accounts either track far too much or almost nothing at all. BRIW fixes this before anything else.

5. Landing Page Experience and CRO Foundations

Your ads can be perfect, but if your landing page is broken, slow, or confusing, your account will fail.

We audit:
• Page speed and mobile responsiveness
• Scroll depth and heatmap behavior
• Message match from keyword to ad to headline
• Form placement and friction points
• Trust signals, social proof, and clarity of offer
• Whether the page is optimized for high intent searchers

This is where we often find the difference between a $60 CPL and a $14 CPL.

6. Budget Pacing, Bidding Strategy, and Efficiency

The smartest strategy in the world fails if the budget is mismanaged.

We audit:
• Daily pacing vs total monthly projections
• Smart bidding strategies like TCPA or TROAS
• Whether the account has enough conversion volume for automation
• Spend distribution across campaigns and funnels
• Wasted spend pockets that can be reallocated to higher intent areas

We realign spend to maximize ROI, not just clicks.

7. Competitor Intelligence and Market Visibility

Before we optimize you, we need to understand who you’re competing against.

We research:
• Competitor ads, landing pages, and keyword share
• Their offers, CTAs, and positioning angles
• Opportunities where no competitor is addressing customer pain
• Search trends and seasonal fluctuations that impact performance

This helps us build campaigns that outperform—not mimic—your competitors.

Why We Audit Before Spending a Penny

Most agencies skip this step and jump straight into “optimizing.” That’s how budgets get wasted.

BRIW treats your ad account like a surgeon treats a patient. Diagnose first. Operate second.

This audit gives us:
• A clean foundation for scaling
• Clarity on what’s working and what’s not
• A roadmap for restructuring and improving efficiency
• Predictable control over your CPL, lead quality, and ROI

By the time we touch your spend, we know exactly how to win.

Ready for an audit of your own?

If you want BRIW to run this end-to-end audit on your account, just let us know. We’ll uncover every leak, identify the biggest revenue opportunities, and give you the exact game plan to grow your leads profitably.