What the Scorecard Actually Checks
Most PPC audits fail for one of two reasons: they check vanity settings that barely move cost per lead, or they produce a 40-page document nobody acts on. This scorecard does neither. Every check is pass or fail, every category is weighted by how hard it hits your budget, and the output is one number you can defend to a CFO. It condenses what we have learned running international PPC accounts since 2008.
The 6 categories, with 2 sample checks from each so you can see the altitude the full 60 operate at:
1. Account Structure
- Brand and non-brand traffic run in separate campaigns with separate budgets, so brand clicks never subsidize a weak non-brand number.
- Campaigns mirror your markets and languages one to one; no ad group mixes languages or serves two countries with one budget.
2. Match Types and Search Terms
- Search terms are reviewed on a fixed cadence with documented actions, not opened when someone remembers.
- Broad match only runs where reliable conversion data feeds smart bidding; broad plus thin conversion data is how budgets disappear.
3. Negative Keywords
- A shared account-level negative list exists and is applied across campaigns, so an exclusion learned once protects everything.
- Job seekers, students and free-tool hunters are excluded by theme, the 3 audiences that click B2B ads and never buy.
4. Conversion Tracking and Consent
- The primary conversion is a lead your sales team would accept, not a pageview, scroll or button click dressed up as one.
- Consent Mode is configured end to end, so a visitor who accepts cookies is actually measured; a broken consent bridge silently deletes the conversions your bidding depends on.
5. Budget Pacing and Bidding
- Budget concentrates on the campaigns producing accepted leads, and the split is revisited against CRM data, not last year's plan.
- Target CPA and ROAS values come from your economics, not from whatever the platform suggested at setup.
6. Ads and Asset Hygiene
- Responsive search ads carry genuinely distinct headlines that cover the query theme, not 15 restatements of the same sentence.
- Ad copy in every market is written natively, not machine-translated; buyers notice, and Quality Score notices with them.
How to Read Your Score
The PDF weights each category and produces a score out of 100. The bands below are calibrated against the accounts we have audited and rebuilt, and they map directly to what you should do next:
| Score | Verdict | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 90+ | Well run | The fundamentals hold. Gains now come from testing, localization depth and offer work, not from fixing the account. |
| 75 to 89 | Solid foundation | A handful of focused fixes, usually tracking precision and negatives, will lower cost per lead without new budget. |
| 60 to 74 | Leaking budget | Structural issues are quietly taxing every click. Prioritize conversion tracking and the negative list before touching bids. |
| Below 60 | Rebuild territory | Optimizing this account is polishing the wrong structure. It needs a rebuild against your markets, languages and sales data. |
Two honest caveats. First, a self-audit is only as good as your access: if you cannot see the search terms report or the conversion settings, whoever manages the account should explain why. Second, a high score proves discipline, not strategy; an immaculately run account can still target the wrong intent. That second layer, keyword strategy against your pipeline, is what our Google Ads management engagements and B2B PPC programs cover, and it is where the compounding gains live.
The Self-Audit, Answered
Who is this scorecard for?
Demand gen managers and marketing leaders who run Google Ads in-house, and anyone evaluating whether their current agency's work holds up. Every check is written to be verifiable from inside the account interface, no exports or scripts required.
How long does the audit take?
Plan for one afternoon. The 60 checks are pass or fail and most take under 3 minutes each once you are in the account. Conversion tracking checks take the longest, and they are also the ones most worth the time.
Does it work for Microsoft Ads accounts too?
Largely yes. The structure, negatives, budget and ad hygiene categories transfer directly. The consent and conversion checks are written for Google's stack, so score Microsoft accounts on the remaining categories and read the result with that discount.
Can I use it to evaluate my agency?
Yes, and that is one of its most common uses. Ask your agency for read access, run the checks yourself, and pay attention to any category you are not permitted to see. Good agencies welcome the exercise; the reaction to the request is itself a data point.
What should I do if I score below 75?
Fix conversion tracking first, because every other decision in the account is only as good as the data feeding it. Then build the shared negative list. If the score sits below 60, resist the urge to tweak: rebuilds outperform repairs at that level.
Scored Below 75? We Will Audit One Campaign Free
Grant us read-only access and a senior specialist runs the full 60-check audit on one campaign of your choice, then walks you through the findings on a 30-minute call. Read-only means exactly that: we cannot touch a setting.
Request the Free Audit