The Google Ads audit process built for PLG SaaS

I've audited over 30 SaaS Google Ads accounts in the past 12 months, some spending millions of dollars a year. Across those audits, we found hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted spend. The same problems show up almost every time.

Here's exactly what we look for, and the order we look for it in. Every step builds on the one before it. We don't touch bids before we understand traffic quality. We do not review keywords before we check whether the algorithm is learning from the right signal.

If your tracking is broken, nothing else in this audit matters. You can fix keywords, bids, and landing pages and still wonder why nothing improves. That's why it's first.

What is a Google Ads audit?

A Google Ads audit is a full review of your account: tracking, traffic quality, bidding, keywords, ad copy, and landing pages. The goal is to find what's wasting spend and what's holding back conversions, then fix it in the right order.

Most people search "google ads audit," "adwords audit," or "google ads account audit" and expect the same thing: a clear list of what's broken and what to do about it. The name changes. The process should not.

A good audit isn't a scorecard. It's a diagnosis. It tells you which specific setting, keyword, or page is costing you money, and what to change first.

Step 1: Conversion tracking audit

This is always first. If tracking is wrong, every other finding in the audit is built on bad data.

What we check:

1. Are conversion events firing correctly and set as primary?
2. Is the account optimizing for purchases or just signups and page views?
3. Are there duplicate conversions firing? For example, the same event tracked by both GA4 and a Google Ads tag counts twice and corrupts Smart Bidding.
4. Is conversion value set up? Without it, Google has no idea which users are worth more. A $40 LTV trial signup and a $400 LTV annual plan look identical to the algorithm.
5. Does the conversion volume in Google Ads match your CRM or product database?

The most common problems we find:

• Optimizing for low-quality events like "homepage view" or "CTA click." These are not business events.

• Optimizing for signups instead of credit card adds or purchases. That teaches Google to find more signups, not more buyers.

• No conversion value assigned. Google optimizes for volume, not quality.

This is the step most accounts fail. Fix it before anything else.

Find out how conversion tracking connects to your full Google Ads for SaaS setup in our dedicated guide.

Step 2: Traffic quality audit

Second because spam traffic corrupts conversion data and distorts every metric downstream.

What we check:

1. Search partner network. Is it on? The search partner network contains parked domains, bot traffic, and low-quality inventory. Google defaults to spending here because there is more volume. Check whether a large share of signups came from search partners. In most accounts we audit, it is almost all spam.
2. Display expansion. Is it off? Display expansion places ads on games sites, dating sites, cartoon websites, and foreign forums. No intent. No relevance.
3. Location targeting. Is it set to "Presence" or "Presence or interest"? The default setting means someone in India searching something about the US will see your ads. Change it to "Presence" only.

Step 3: Device and mobile audit

Third because mobile traffic in a desktop-first product destroys CPA before you can see why.

If it is hard to use your product on mobile, people will not use it. And people do not buy products they do not use.

What we check:

1. How much of the campaign spend went to mobile?
2. What is mobile's trial-to-paid rate compared to desktop?
3. If the product is desktop-first, is there a -100% bid adjustment on mobile devices?

For time tracking tools, design software, and project management platforms, excluding mobile is one of the fastest CPA improvements available. Check the data first. If mobile is spending but not converting to paid users, cut it or split it into its own campaign so you can track it separately.

Step 4: Bidding strategy audit

Fourth because bid strategy depends on clean tracking and clean traffic. We check those first.

Bid strategies tell Google what to work for. If you optimize for clicks, you get clicks. If you optimize for conversions, you get more conversions. The question is whether you are optimizing for the right thing.

What we check:

1. Is the account optimizing for conversions or clicks? Maximize Clicks brings more clicks, not paying users.
2. Is manual CPC blocking Smart Bidding entirely? Manual CPC is rarely right for PLG SaaS.
3. Is the account on tCPA without enough conversion volume? tCPA needs 15-30 conversions per month per campaign. Below that, it produces erratic results.
4. Is the bid sequence right? Start with Max Conversions. Move to tCPA only when volume is there. Then lower the tCPA target incrementally each month.
5. Is conversion value assigned to each plan tier? Without it, Google cannot distinguish between a $40 LTV trial and a $400 LTV annual subscriber.

Step 5: Ad relevance and account structure audit

Fifth because structure problems cause low Quality Score, wasted spend, and poor conversion rates across every keyword.

Poor keyword and ad group structure causes three things that kill conversions immediately:

1. Ads are not relevant to the search query. This happens when you put two different topics into one ad group. For example, project management and helpdesk in the same ad group means someone searching for helpdesk software sees a project management ad and landing page.
2. Users do not get answers to what they are searching for.
3. Landing pages do not answer user questions.

What we check:

1. Does every keyword have a matching ad and a matching landing page?
2. Are campaigns organized by intent, product area, or funnel stage?
3. Are branded keywords in a separate campaign from non-branded? Mixing them inflates ROAS and hides the real cost of acquiring a new customer.
4. Are keywords organized by similar topics into ad groups, or dumped all into one ad group? The rule: one theme per ad group.
5. Does the landing page match the search theme and intent?

Good PPC for SaaS account structure is what makes every other optimization possible.

Step 6: Keyword and match type audit

Sixth because keyword choices train the algorithm on who to find. Wrong keywords mean wrong users.

What we check:

1. Are keywords specific enough to signal the right intent? "Helpdesk software for healthcare" is right. "Helpdesk software" is too broad if you serve a specific vertical.
2. Are you bidding on competitor login terms? Users searching "Salesforce login" are existing customers trying to log in. They will never convert.
3. What percentage of keywords are broad match? In PLG SaaS, broad match almost always generates irrelevant traffic with performance that changes month to month.
4. Are the actual search queries matching what was intended? Pull the search terms report.

Camel Digital's match type standards:

• Exact + phrase match: always the starting point

• Broad match in RLSA retargeting: sometimes

• Broad match in prospecting: almost never right for PLG SaaS

Step 7: Quality Score audit

Seventh because Quality Score reflects the combined output of steps 5 and 6. Fix structure and keywords first, then read the scores.

What we check:

1. Are keywords below average on expected CTR? The ad copy is not matching the query or not speaking to what the ICP cares about.
2. Are keywords below average on ad relevance? Usually a structure problem: too many unrelated keywords in one ad group.
3. Are keywords below average on landing page experience? Does the page contain the main keyword? Does it load in under 3 seconds? Does it have trust signals?
4. Are there low Quality Score keywords that are converting? Do not delete them. A QS 4 keyword producing paying customers is more valuable than a QS 9 keyword producing nothing.

Step 8: Search terms audit

Eighth. By this point we know the keyword structure. Now we check what queries are actually triggering the ads.

What we check:

1. Are irrelevant search terms showing up from broad match keywords? This is the most common source of wasted spend.
2. Are informational queries ("what is time tracking") showing up instead of commercial ones ("time tracking software for construction")?
3. Are competitor login searches eating budget? Users searching for a competitor's login page are not buyers.
4. Are third-party tool brand name searches showing up that are close but not what the product does?
5. Is there a strong negative keyword list? Are negatives managed as phrase and exact, or only exact? Exact-only negatives let the same intent come back in new keyword combinations.

Step 9: Ad copy and extensions audit

Ninth because ad copy quality depends on keyword structure being right first.

RSA assets

1. Is there at least one RSA per ad group? Are there 3 active ads per campaign?
2. How many headlines and descriptions does each RSA have? Minimum 8-10 assets.
3. Are any assets rated "Low"? Rewrite them.
4. Are there at least 2-3 headlines that include the keyword?

Ad copy quality

1. Does the ad answer the search query? If someone searches "restaurant inspection software" and the ad says "Quality Management Platform," relevance fails.
2. Does the ad speak to the ICP's pain points and benefits? What outcomes can users get?
3. Does it address an objection? Price, ease of setup, time to value.
4. Does it include a proof element? A number, a client name, a specific result.
5. Does it have a clear CTA? Free trial, free audit, book a demo.

Extensions

1. Sitelinks: minimum 4. Should link to relevant product pages, pricing, case studies, comparison pages. Not auto-created by Google.
2. Callouts: specific value propositions. What is better about you? Not "industry-leading."
3. Structured snippets: features, integrations, use cases.
4. Image extensions: add them. They take more space in the results and increase CTR.
5. CTR benchmark: Camel Digital targets 7-8% CTR on high-intent exact match keywords. If your core terms are under 2-3%, check your account structure first, because most of the time it’s not the copy that’s causing the problem.

Step 10: Landing page audit

Tenth because landing page problems are often the highest-impact fix and the last thing most teams look at.

Landing page conversion rate directly affects CAC. A page that converts at 4% instead of 2% cuts the cost per trial in half, without touching bids.

What we check:

1. Message match. Does the landing page headline match the search intent? "Time tracking for construction teams" needs a page that says exactly that.
2. Above the fold. Is there a clear outcome headline? Does it say who the product is for? Is there social proof visible above the fold? Logos, G2 and Capterra ratings. Is there a CTA button that says what happens after signup?
3. Body. Does it speak to ICP benefits and pain points? Does it have product screenshots? Is there social proof in the body?
4. Homepage as destination. Is the homepage being used for ad traffic? This is almost always a problem. A homepage has no conversion focus and no message match.
5. Load time. Under 3 seconds. Check with Google PageSpeed Insights.
6. Navigation. Removed for PPC landing pages. High CPCs mean no distractions.

Step 11: Audience and customer list audit

Eleventh. Most accounts skip this step entirely. It is one of the highest-impact settings available and takes almost no time to fix.

What we check:

1. Is the existing customer list uploaded and marked correctly? Paying customers should be marked as "customers" or "high-value customers" to signal Google who you want more of.
2. Are existing customers excluded from acquisition campaigns? Without this, you are paying to show ads to people who already bought.
3. Are audiences set to observation? Add as many relevant audiences as possible. This builds data for future bid adjustments.
4. Are 18-24 year old students eating budget in a B2B software account? If yes, add a demographic bid adjustment.
5. Are trial starters who did not convert being retargeted with a specific message?

The most common findings across every PLG SaaS account we audit

These are the issues Camel Digital finds most often. Every account is different, but these problems show up at a rate that makes them predictable. Use this as your google ads audit template and work through each finding in the order listed above.

Tools to help perform your Google Ads account audit

You don't need a stack of software to run this audit. Most of what matters lives inside Google Ads itself. Here's what to open at each step.

Google Ads search terms report

Shows the exact queries triggering your ads. This is where wasted spend hides. Pull it before touching bids or keywords.

Google Ads Quality Score columns

Not shown by default. Add Quality Score, Landing Page Exp., Exp. CTR, and Ad Relevance under column settings. These tell you which component is dragging a keyword down, not just the number.

Auction Insights report

Shows impression share, overlap rate, and position relative to competitors on the same keywords. Useful for step 4 and step 5, once tracking and traffic are already clean.

Device performance report

Segment conversions by device to see mobile's real trial-to-paid rate against desktop. For desktop-first PLG products, this report alone often justifies a mobile exclusion.

Google Tag Assistant

Verifies conversion tags are firing once, not twice, and firing on the right event. Duplicate tracking is one of the most common problems we find in step 1.

Google PageSpeed Insights

Checks landing page load time. Under 3 seconds is the target for step 10. A slow page loses trials before the headline even loads.

Google Keyword Planner

Confirms real search volume and CPC ranges before you commit budget to a keyword theme, and useful for checking negative keyword candidates too.

Third-party tools like Opteo or SEMrush can add automation on top of this, mainly for alerts and reporting. They don't replace reading the account directly. The native reports above are where every finding in this audit actually comes from.

What a Google Ads account audit tells you that a dashboard doesn't

The metrics in Google Ads show you what happened. An audit tells you why and what to fix first. Every step above produces a specific action, not just an observation.

If you want Camel Digital to run this audit on your account, we offer it free. You share your screen, we share what we find. Read-only access. No strings attached.