Sample deliverable, not a client
Sample PPC audit, with every finding redacted
This is the shape of the £150 written PPC audit: eight areas, and under each one the finding, why it matters, the change and its expected effect, followed by the one-page change list in order. Every figure and every finding on this page is a placeholder in square brackets. No account was audited to make it, and no number here belongs to a client. It is published so that you can see what £150 buys before you spend it.
Written by Daniel Stoychev, Webso Digital. Format current as of 5 September 2026.
Cover
Google Ads audit for [client]
Account [customer ID] · period read: [date] to [date], 90 days · spend in the period [£] · read by Daniel Stoychev on [dates] · delivered [date]
In one paragraph. [The account is / is not] working. [n%] of spend in the period went on searches that could not have bought. The conversion actions [do / do not] count the right thing. The three changes that matter most are [change], [change] and [change], and together they are expected to [effect]. The rest of this document is the evidence.
Area 1 of 8
Search Terms, last 90 days
- Finding
- [n] of [n] searches that spent money could not have bought; they cost [£], which is [n%] of spend. The largest by cost: [search term], [search term], [search term].
- Why it matters
- Every one of those clicks cost the same as a buyer's, and Smart Bidding learned from them.
- Change
- Add [n] negatives at [match type] to a shared list applied to every campaign; move [keyword] to [match type].
- Expected effect
- Spend falls by roughly [£] a month at the same number of leads, or the same spend buys [n] more.
Area 2 of 8
Keywords and match types
- Finding
- [n] broad match keywords, [n] added by a recommendation on [date]; [keyword] matched [n] distinct intents; [ad group] and [ad group] both bid on [search].
- Why it matters
- Broad match without a negative list and conversion data buys whatever Google thinks is close; duplicate keywords bid against each other.
- Change
- [keyword] to phrase; [keyword] to exact; [ad group] paused and its search terms folded into [ad group].
- Expected effect
- Search Terms report becomes readable; cost per lead on [campaign] expected to fall from [£] towards [£].
Area 3 of 8
Negative lists
- Finding
- [n] shared lists, applied to [n] of [n] campaigns; [negative] at phrase match is blocking [wanted search]; no list contains [category of waste].
- Why it matters
- A negative in the wrong place costs leads; a missing one costs money every day.
- Change
- Rebuild as [n] shared lists ([sector waste], [job seekers], [locations]); remove [negative]; apply to all campaigns.
- Expected effect
- [wanted search] resumes serving; [category] stops spending [£] a month.
Area 4 of 8
Conversion actions
- Finding
- [n] actions; [action] counts [page view / engaged session]; [form action] fires [n] times per submission; calls [are / are not] counted; [n] actions have no value.
- Why it matters
- The bidding optimises towards whatever is primary. If that is a page view, the account is buying visits.
- Change
- Set [action] to secondary; fix [form action] counting to one per conversion; add call reporting at [n] seconds; set values of [£] on [action].
- Expected effect
- Reported conversions fall from [n] to [n] (the true number); bidding relearns over [n] weeks; cost per real lead becomes measurable.
Area 5 of 8
Bidding and budget
- Finding
- [campaign] on [strategy] with target [£], never achieved; [campaign] losing [n%] of impression share to budget, [n%] to rank; spend concentrated between [hours]; Enhanced CPC on [n] campaigns.
- Why it matters
- A target below anything achieved stops serving; a budget-capped campaign runs out before the searches do.
- Change
- Target to [£] for [n] weeks then step down; move [£] of budget from [campaign] to [campaign]; schedule to [hours].
- Expected effect
- Impression share on [campaign] from [n%] towards [n%]; cost per lead expected within [range].
Area 6 of 8
Ads and assets
- Finding
- [n] of [n] ad groups have one responsive search ad with [n] headlines; ad strength [rating]; no call asset on [campaign]; sitelinks point to [page]; [n] assets labelled low.
- Why it matters
- Assets are free space in the auction; unused slots lower click-through rate, which lowers Quality Score, which raises CPC.
- Change
- Rewrite [ad group] with [n] headlines pinned only for [regulated claim]; add call, sitelink and callout assets at campaign level; replace [asset].
- Expected effect
- Click-through rate on [campaign] from [n%] towards [n%]; CPC expected to fall by [range] at the same position.
Area 7 of 8
Landing pages
- Finding
- [campaign] lands on [page]: [seconds] to usable on a phone; form has [n] fields; number [is / is not] in the first screen; first line [does / does not] match the search.
- Why it matters
- Landing page experience is a third of Quality Score, and the page decides the conversion rate more than the ad does.
- Change
- [page] rebuilt or fixed: [image / script / font] changes to reach [seconds]; form to [n] fields; number to the top; first line to [search].
- Expected effect
- Conversion rate from [n%] towards [n%]; same leads at [£] less spend, or [n] more leads at the same spend.
Area 8 of 8
Settings
- Finding
- Location set to [presence or interest]; search partners [on / off]; display expansion [on / off], spending [£]; auto-apply [on / off] with [n] applied since [date]; languages [setting]; time zone [setting].
- Why it matters
- Each is a default that widens spend without asking, and each is reversible in a minute.
- Change
- Presence; partners off; expansion off; auto-apply off; [language / time zone] corrected.
- Expected effect
- [£] a month stops leaving the country or the network; recommendations stop applying themselves.
Last page · the change list
Changes in the order we would make them
Numbered, one line each, written so that you or your current agency can apply them without reading the rest. Tracking first, because nothing else can be judged until it counts the right thing; settings second, because they are a minute each; then negatives, structure, bids, ads, pages.
- [Conversion action change], expected effect: [the true conversion count appears].
- [Settings change], expected effect: [£ a month stops leaving the target area].
- [Negative list change], expected effect: [£ a month stops going to non-buyers].
- [Match type change], expected effect: [Search Terms become readable; cost per lead on campaign moves].
- [Budget or target change], expected effect: [impression share on campaign moves from n% towards n%].
- [Ad and asset change], expected effect: [click-through rate and CPC move].
- [Landing page change], expected effect: [conversion rate moves].
- [The one thing not to touch], because [it is working, and here is the number that says so].
Every bracket in this sample is a placeholder. In a real audit each one is a figure read from the account, and the £150 is credited against the £199 setup fee if you go on to a monthly plan.
Why it is shaped like this
Finding, reason, change, effect, in that order, every time
A finding without a reason is a warning from a tool. A reason without a change is a lecture. A change without an expected effect cannot be judged afterwards. So every area carries all four, and the last page is the changes alone, ordered, so the document is useful to someone who never reads the middle. The eighth item on the change list is always something not to touch, because protecting what works is half the job and it is the half most audits skip.
Before you pay for one
The free versions of this document
Six of the eight areas can be read in one page, free, within 72 hours, through the free Google Ads check. All eight can be done yourself in an afternoon with the eight-step checklist. The paid audit adds the change list in order, the expected effect of each item, and a reader with no stake in the account.
Send the customer ID. The real version of this document is back within five working days.
£150, read by Daniel Stoychev, credited against setup if you go on to a monthly plan. You keep the change list whatever you decide.