Save the baseline before editing
Choose a defined date range and note the account time zone, major changes, service availability, and any incomplete records. Include a comparable earlier period when useful, while acknowledging seasonal or operating differences. A screenshot of one good day is not a baseline.
Start with read-only access if you are evaluating the work. Record spend, campaign structure, conversion actions, landing pages, schedule, and location settings. If a vendor controls an asset you need, document the ownership and export issue rather than deleting the current system.
- Keep observation, supporting record, interpretation, and proposed action in separate fields.
- Use the same period and denominator when comparing campaigns.
- Write down unknowns instead of filling them with assumptions.
Inspect the account in this order
The search terms report is useful but does not expose every query. Absence from that report does not prove a particular search never occurred. Use the available data alongside ads, settings, and actual inquiry records.
| Check | Evidence | Question |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion actions | Action source, definition, settings, and test record. | Are we counting number clicks, measured calls, assessed leads, or confirmed outcomes? |
| Service intent | Available search terms, ads, and operator-approved services. | Does the campaign attract work the company can take? |
| Locations and hours | Configured settings, reported locations, call times, and actual availability. | Do the signals match practical coverage and answering? |
| Contact path | Phone and form checks on the campaign destination. | Can a suitable customer reach the correct team? |
| Downstream outcome | Matched inquiry, job, completion, and payment records. | Where does the evidence stop? |
Turn an observation into a testable action
Do not label all twelve calls wasted because the schedule looks wrong. Similarly, a long call can be a wrong-number conversation and a short call can confirm a scheduled job. Duration can flag a record for review; it cannot establish collection.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Observation | Eight of twelve reviewed inquiries arrived after the listed answering hours. |
| What is known | Call times and the current schedule are recorded; four outcomes remain unresolved. |
| What is not known | Whether every after-hours request was unsuitable or unbooked. |
| Next check | Ask the responsible operator to confirm availability and outcomes for those requests. |
| Potential action | Align schedule or answering coverage if the evidence supports it; document the change. |
| Review | Compare subsequent eligible inquiries under the same definitions, allowing for a small sample. |
Choose the repair by consequence
A low click-through rate alone is not enough to justify a complete rebuild. A low reported cost per lead can hide repeat calls or weak fit. Conversely, a campaign with fewer inquiries may produce better work. Keep the business question attached to the metric.
End the audit with a short list: what to fix now, what to test, what needs records, and what to leave alone. Assign a responsible person and review date. If several changes are necessary at once, avoid claiming that one isolated change caused the result.
- Fix a broken destination or contact route before buying more traffic.
- Correct claims about unavailable services or hours with the operator's approval.
- Resolve misleading conversion definitions before making cost-per-conversion decisions.
- Review unsuitable search intent and exclusions carefully.
- Reconcile a bounded set of suitable inquiries before concluding that the acquisition channel is the main problem.
Use this at your next review
Towing Google Ads audit worksheet
A simple editable text worksheet. Keep completed copies and private customer information in your own approved systems.
- Account, period, time zone, and current operating constraints
- Conversion definition and supporting test
- Observed search/service mismatch and protected service terms
- Location, schedule, and contact-path evidence
- Matched inquiries, outcomes, and unresolved records
- Observation / evidence / interpretation / proposed action
- Priority, responsible person, approval, and review date