Has your performance stagnated? Are you looking for assurance you’re getting the maximum out of your PPC campaigns? If your answer is yes, you should consider a PPC audit.
Even the most well-structured campaigns can fall victim to inefficiencies and missed opportunities over time and as objectives change. This is where the power of a comprehensive PPC audit comes into play. While the benefits of regular PPC audits are well-documented, many brands do not perform them on a regular basis.
At its core, a PPC audit involves a meticulous review of all aspects of a PPC campaign, from its account structure and targeting to ad copy, data feeds, usage of first party data and landing pages.
Why Conduct A PPC Audit?
PPC audits are a chance to step back and assess your overall Google Ads health.
You might find that one campaign is underperforming, or that a specific platform isn’t worth your investment — and before you know, a lot of small issues together can lead to chaos.
Here are five reasons you need a PPC audit:
- Identify areas for improvement: A PPC audit can help point out performance issues where your campaigns need improvement, such as keywords, bids, ad copy, and landing pages.
- Maximise your budget’s potential: Identify areas of wasted ad spend by looking at your campaigns from a fresh perspective. A PPC audit can help you find and fix areas of inefficiency, so you can get more out of your budget.
- Align your campaigns with your goals: A PPC audit can help make sure that your campaigns are aligned with your business goals. Use data-driven insights to create ads that are more likely to be clicked on and converted.
- Stay ahead of the competition: The PPC landscape is constantly changing. Outsmart your competition by keeping track of their targeting strategies and keywords they’re bidding on. This will give you a fresh insight to improve your current campaigns.
- See the big picture: A holistic PPC audit can help you take a step back and see the big picture of your account. By escaping the small nuances of your account, you can see larger trends and patterns in your data.
How A PPC Audit Can Boost Performance
A PPC audit looks at the short-term and long-term performance of your campaigns, including the cost, returns, and effectiveness of your ad groups, keywords, and ads. The report will include the following findings:
- A comprehensive analysis of your PPC account, including your account structure, bidding strategy, keyword targeting, ad copy, and landing pages.
- An overview of your ad campaigns, including their performance metrics, such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS).
- An overview of your ad keywords, including their search volume, competition, and cost per click (CPC).
- Budget allocation, including how your budget is being spent and how it could be better allocated to improve your results.
Never done a PPC audit before? A comprehensive review of your existing campaign will help you identify your top-performing ads as well as weed out poor-performers.
This detailed examination serves as a diagnostic tool that highlights where your campaign is succeeding, where it’s faltering, and where it has untapped potential.
Account Structure Analysis: A thorough audit dissects the arrangement of ad groups, keywords, and targeting settings while helping you fix poorly targeted keywords or ad placements. Once these are corrected, your ads show up for the right searches and improve your click-through rates.
Keyword Relevance and Performance: A critical facet of a PPC audit involves assessing the relevancy of keywords to ad content and landing pages. Are your keywords aligning with user intent? Are there negative keywords that need to be added to avoid irrelevant clicks? By fine-tuning your keyword strategy, you can reduce wasted spend and enhance overall campaign performance.
Ad Copy Effectiveness: Crafting compelling ad copy is an art. A PPC audit evaluates its clarity, relevance, and call-to-action. Adjusting ads based on performance analysis can lead to higher click-through rates, better Quality Scores, and improved ad placements.
Quality Score Evaluation: Google’s Quality Score remains a crucial factor in determining ad position and cost-per-click. A PPC audit scrutinises the factors that contribute to your Quality Score, such as ad relevance, landing page experience, and expected click-through rate.
Landing Page Assessment: PPC audit examines landing page relevance, load times, mobile-friendliness, and conversion elements. A seamless user experience on the landing page can significantly impact conversion rates and overall campaign success.
Budget Optimisation: Insights gained in an audit can help you areas where your budget is underperforming and allocate resources that produce the most value. Moving resources can lead to efficient spending, lower CPC, CPA and a higher ROI.
Keyword Growth Opportunities: An audit can unveil valuable keyword variations and long-tail keywords that were previously overlooked. Incorporating these terms into your campaign can increase your reach and target a wider range of potential customers.
Ad Extension Utilisation: Ad extensions provide additional real estate for your ads, allowing you to connect with users more effectively. A PPC audit can highlight opportunities to leverage ad extensions such as site link, callout, and structured snippet extensions for greater impact.
Geographical Targeting Refinement: Is your campaign effectively targeting the right geographical locations? An audit can reveal areas where your campaign is underperforming due to improper targeting or areas where there's untapped potential.
Audience Segmentation: With the growing emphasis on audience targeting, an audit can help you identify audience segments that are converting well and those that need improvement. This insight can guide you in refining your audience strategy and creating more personalised campaigns.
A PPC audit should be conducted on a regular basis, especially if your campaigns are not performing as well as you would like. The frequency of your audits will depend on the size and complexity of your campaigns.
You can conduct a PPC audit yourself or hire a professional to do it for you. If you are not sure whether or not a PPC audit is right for you, then talk to an experienced PPC professional.
At 360 OM, we specialise in taking established PPC campaigns to the next level. Our team stays on top of industry trends, uses data-informed optimizations to maximise your ROI, and provides full transparency through regular, comprehensive reports.
Ready to explore what your PPC strategy can truly accomplish? Reach out to us today, and let’s unleash the full potential of your brand.
