What should a Google Ads audit check, and in what order?

By Tom Claydon, Co-founder, Nudge · Updated 21 Oct 2026

Check a Google Ads account in five stages, in this order: tracking, wasted spend, structure, relevance, then bids and budgets. Order matters because every later check relies on the earlier ones. A bid change on an account with broken tracking is a guess. Below are 25 checks, each written as a question you can ask Claude once Google Ads is connected.

This is the order Nudge uses on our own client accounts. Google's own rules behind each check are linked under Sources.

Why does the order matter?

Google's bidding learns from your conversions. If conversions are wrong, every number after them is wrong too: cost per lead, return on ad spend, which keywords look good. So you fix what is measured before you judge what it measures.

The rule: a fix in a later stage waits while an earlier one is open.

Stage 1: Is tracking right?

  1. Is every conversion action recording? Google shows a "Misconfigured" status when conversions "have stopped recording entirely due to a setup error or a broken tag".Ask Claude: "List every conversion action and its status."
  2. Are the right actions set as primary? Primary actions are used for bidding. Secondary actions are "for observation only", unless they sit in a custom goal.Ask: "Which conversion actions are primary, and which are secondary?"
  3. Does every campaign bid to a goal that contains a primary action? Outside custom goals, an action only drives bidding when it is primary and the campaign uses the goal that contains it.Ask: "Which campaigns bid to a goal with no primary conversion action?"
  4. Are you counting the same lead twice? Two primary actions for one sale (a form and its thank-you page) inflate results.Ask: "Are any primary actions likely to fire for the same conversion?"
  5. Do Google's conversions match real sales? Compare Google's count with the CRM or till for the same period.Ask: "How do last month's Google conversions compare with real orders?"
  6. Are enhanced conversions and consent mode set up where needed? Check the Diagnostics tab under Goals, then Summary.

Stage 2: Where is money wasted?

  1. Which search terms spent money with no conversions?Ask: "Show search terms with spend and zero conversions in the last 30 days."
  2. Are obvious negatives missing? Jobs, free, DIY, and competitor names you don't want. Negative keywords "won't match to close variants".Ask: "Suggest negative keywords from last month's search terms, with the spend each would have saved."
  3. Are you showing in the right places? "Presence or interest" is Google's default location setting and can show ads to people outside your area.Ask: "Which campaigns use Presence or interest, and how much spend came from outside the target area?"
  4. Are any devices, hours or days losing money?Ask: "Break down cost per conversion by device and by hour."
  5. Is auto-apply changing things without you? Check the Recommendations page, then Auto-apply.Ask: "Has anything been auto-applied in the last 90 days?"

Stage 3: Is the structure sound?

  1. Do campaigns compete for the same searches? Two campaigns bidding on the same terms split data and raise costs.Ask: "Which search terms triggered ads in more than one campaign?"
  2. Is brand separate from non-brand? Mixed, brand clicks make weak keywords look strong.
  3. Are locations or audiences overlapping across campaigns?
  4. Is each campaign's budget matched to its job? A test campaign should not starve the one that brings sales.

Stage 4: Is it relevant?

  1. Do keywords match what the business sells?Ask: "Which keywords have spend and a low conversion rate compared with the account average?"
  2. Do ads match the searches they show for?
  3. Does each ad go to the right page? Check final URLs work and match the keyword.Ask: "List final URLs by spend and flag any that look off-topic."
  4. What is ad strength telling you? Google says ad strength "isn't used to calculate Ad Rank, Quality Score, or auction wins". Treat it as a hint about variety, not a score to chase.
  5. Where is Quality Score low on high-spend keywords?

Stage 5: Are bids and budgets right?

  1. Is budget or rank holding each campaign back? Lost impression share to budget means the budget runs out. Lost to rank means bids or quality are too low.Ask: "Show impression share lost to budget and to rank for each campaign."
  2. Does each bid strategy fit how much data the campaign has? Smart Bidding needs enough conversions to learn.
  3. Has anything changed in the last two weeks? Google says a new bid strategy "typically converges to your new goal within 1 to 2 conversion cycles". Judge changes after that, not before.Ask: "What changed in this account in the last 30 days?"
  4. Where would more budget go furthest?Ask: "Which campaigns are profitable and limited by budget?"
  5. What does the change history say? Google keeps change history for the past two years. Every result should be read against what changed.

Do you still need an audit template?

Not if Google Ads is connected to Claude. Each check above is a question you can ask in the chat. You can ask again tomorrow, or about one campaign, instead of waiting for a monthly review.

To connect: how to connect Google Ads to Claude.

What does an audit miss if it only reads Google's numbers?

Two things matter most:

  1. Whether Google's conversions match real sales (check 5). Google cannot see your CRM.
  2. Whether a campaign's bidding has a real target (check 3). A campaign can spend steadily while its goal has no primary action.

Where does Nudge fit?

When you ask in Claude, Nudge works through these stages on any connected client account and ranks what it finds by money at stake, tracking first. Fixes are proposals: you approve, Nudge checks the live account, applies the change, and you can undo it in one step.

Watch out for: Nudge covers Google Ads only, works inside Claude only, and is in private access.

Questions

How often should you audit a Google Ads account?

Whenever something changes or a number looks off. With Google Ads connected to Claude, an audit is a question, so there is no reason to wait for a monthly slot.

What is the first thing to check in a Google Ads audit?

Conversion tracking. If conversions are wrong, every other number is wrong too.

Is optimization score a good audit?

Google calls it an "estimate of how well your Google Ads account is set to perform". It is worked out from Google's own recommendations, and applying or dismissing them changes the score. Use it as a list of ideas, not a verdict.

How long should you wait after a change before judging it?

Google says Smart Bidding usually settles within one to two conversion cycles. Once it has, judge results over at least two conversion cycles or two weeks, whichever is longer.

Can Claude audit Google Ads?

Yes, once Google Ads is connected through an MCP server. Google's free server can read data. Servers like Nudge also rank fixes and make approved changes.

Sources

All read on 21 October 2026, Google Ads Help:

  • Conversion action statuses: support.google.com/google-ads/troubleshooter/13455130
  • Primary and secondary actions: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/11461796
  • About conversion goals: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10995103
  • Diagnostics: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/11956168
  • Negative keywords: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2453972
  • Location options: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1722038
  • Auto-apply recommendations: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10279006
  • Ad strength: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9921843
  • Lost impression share: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7103314
  • Smart Bidding learning: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13020501
  • Change history: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/19888
  • Optimization score: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9061546

Related: Connect Google Ads to Claude · Conversion action "Misconfigured": what it means · Nudge FAQ