By the Code of School Digital Marketing Team · Updated Oct 16, 2026 · 5 min read
A Google Ads account wastes money when many small leaks add up: broad keywords matching irrelevant searches, old campaigns left running, and conversion tracking that counts clicks which were never real leads. Each leak looks minor, but together they can consume a quarter or more of the monthly spend.
An audit finds those leaks in a repeatable way, instead of guessing which campaign to touch first. If you are still learning how the platform works, our Digital Marketing course covers Google Ads and PPC from account setup to optimisation.
A Google Ads audit covers five areas: conversion tracking, search terms, account structure, ads with their landing pages, and reporting. Reviewing all five in that order shows where money is lost, not just where performance looks weak.
The audit has five steps: check tracking, clean up search terms, fix structure and bids, improve ads and landing pages, then set up reporting with weekly monitoring. Tracking comes first because every later decision depends on the data being correct.
A structured audit starts with tracking and ranks fixes by wasted spend, while ad hoc checking starts with whichever campaign looks worst. The structured way is repeatable, so results can be compared from one quarter to the next.
| Area | Ad hoc checking | Structured audit |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Whichever campaign looks worst | Tracking first, then ranked by wasted spend |
| Search terms | Checked when someone remembers | Reviewed on a fixed weekly routine |
| Budget moves | Based on gut feeling | Based on cost per lead by campaign |
| Output | A list of random tweaks | A ranked fix list with owner and date |
| Repeatability | Hard to repeat or compare | Same checklist every quarter |
In the sample account, cost per lead falls from ₹640 to ₹350 after all five steps, and the largest single drop comes from the search terms cleanup. These figures are illustrative, based on a sample account spending ₹1,00,000 a month, and are not a guarantee of results.
Bar length is relative to the starting cost of ₹640. Step 1 fixes tracking, so it changes measurement rather than cost. Sample data for explanation only; real results depend on industry, competition, budget and landing page quality.
After the audit, track five numbers: wasted spend share, click-through rate, landing page conversion rate, leads per month and cost per lead. In the sample, wasted spend falls from 28% to 9% and leads rise from 156 to 286 on the same budget.
| Metric | Before (sample) | After (sample) | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wasted spend share | 28% | 9% | Money spent on irrelevant searches |
| Click-through rate | 2.1% | 3.4% | Shows if ads match what people search |
| Landing page conversion rate | 3.8% | 5.6% | Shows if the page keeps the ad’s promise |
| Leads per month | 156 | 286 | Same ₹1,00,000 spend, more leads |
| Cost per lead | ₹640 | ₹350 | The single number that sums up efficiency |
Leads are spend divided by cost per lead, so the table and the graph stay consistent.
You can learn a Google Ads audit by practising on real campaigns, such as in the Digital Marketing Diploma at Code of School in Indore, which covers Google Ads, SEO, social media and analytics with live campaign work.
See the full list on the courses page, read about student placements, or download the Digital Marketing course brochure for the full curriculum. You can also book a free demo class and meet the trainers first.
Explore the Digital Marketing course at Code of School and try a free demo class before you decide.