Google Ads Audit
A comprehensive review of an ad account to identify waste, opportunities, and optimization priorities.
Definition
A Google Ads Audit is a systematic analysis of an advertising account's structure, settings, keywords, ad copy, landing pages, bidding strategies, and performance data to identify inefficiencies, wasted spend, missed opportunities, and optimization priorities. For healthcare practices, a quality audit typically reveals 20–40% of budget being wasted on irrelevant traffic or poor-performing configurations.
The Practitioner's Perspective
A comprehensive healthcare Google Ads audit examines 8 key areas: account structure (campaign and ad group organization), keyword strategy (match types, negative keywords, search term analysis), ad copy quality (RSA asset variety, message relevance, CTR performance), landing page analysis (relevance, speed, conversion optimization), bidding strategy alignment (Smart Bidding vs. manual, target appropriateness), conversion tracking accuracy (what's being counted, how, and whether it's correct), audience targeting (remarketing lists, demographic adjustments), and budget allocation (is spend concentrated on highest-ROI campaigns).
The most common findings in healthcare Google Ads audits: 1) Missing or broken conversion tracking (paying for clicks with no measurable outcome), 2) Sending all traffic to the homepage instead of procedure-specific pages, 3) No negative keyword list or a severely incomplete one, 4) Ad groups that are too broad (10+ different procedures in one group), 5) All campaigns on Smart Bidding with insufficient conversion data, and 6) Zero remarketing audiences or campaigns.
After an audit, prioritize fixes by impact and effort. Quick wins (negative keyword additions, ad scheduling, mobile bid adjustments) can be implemented in days. Medium-term improvements (landing page development, conversion tracking fixes) take weeks. Structural changes (complete campaign rebuild, new bidding strategies) take months to fully optimize. A good audit roadmap sequences improvements to generate ROI improvements as quickly as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should a healthcare practice get a Google Ads audit?
A formal audit at account takeover or quarterly for established accounts. Monthly performance reviews are standard ongoing practice. If you notice sudden performance drops (CPL spikes, conversion drops), trigger an immediate audit rather than waiting for the scheduled one.
What's the fastest win in a Google Ads audit?
Fixing conversion tracking is the highest-impact fix if it's broken. After that, adding missing negative keywords immediately stops budget waste. Third, creating procedure-specific landing pages to replace homepage sends improves conversion rate quickly.
Can I do a Google Ads audit myself?
Yes, using Google's built-in Recommendations and the audit checklist approach. But internal audits often miss structural problems that practitioners are too close to see. A fresh outside perspective from an experienced healthcare Google Ads specialist typically finds opportunities the account manager missed.
Related Terms
Put the theory into practice
VortiHQ manages Google Ads for healthcare and aesthetics practices on a performance-based model — you pay us when you close patients, not just when they click.