In order to improve the performance of paid ads, PPC audits are used as they are the fastest and easiest way to do this. The PPC or pay per click model is an advertising model in which advertisers have to pay each time a user clicks on their online ad.
A PPC account can never be perfect, and even the most watchful eye tends to miss something or the other. This is why a PPC audit is necessary. Conducting periodic PPC audits will also help as it will help catch the small issues before they become huge issues.
A PPC audit dwells deeper into a PPC account to evaluate the ad campaign performance and do the needful improvement if needed. There is never a fixed time to audit an account, it can be done at any time because usually there would be some of the other areas that call for improvement. Although, audits should not be done after a recent outline or strategy change, as this could lead to auditing based on skewed information.
It is extremely important to audit an account when there are performance issues. It is also a good idea to audit the account if the same team or a manager has been managing the account for a long period of time. PPC campaigns need regular reviews and checks, so it is a good idea to have an audit in place. If a business invests in the PPC model, they must also invest in an audit to get the best results.
Here are some basics of a PPC audit checklist:
- Time range: PPC audit is best if done after 3 months of running any ad campaign. It is a time taking process since it involves fetching relevant data and doing the analysis.
- KPIs (key performance indicators): For this, one would have to figure out what metrics are the most important ones for the client. If the account is being managed by you, you would need to make sure that the KPIs are picked out. You may also need to make a quick check with the client to make sure you are going in the right direction. And if the account is completely new to you, it would be a good idea to have a quick check to determine what the key metrics are.
- Settings: Some specific settings are added to a PPC campaign when it begins, and then never changed again, which is why the settings are the first area that a PPC audit checks at first. From here, the bid can be modified, and the search can be optimized as it gives you an idea of what the traffic generated looks like.
- Review keywords: A good ad campaign account includes keywords set to different match types. Each type serves a unique purpose. For example, an exact match would help you ensure that you are connecting with the most qualified searchers, while a broad match would help a lot with keyword research. The biggest mistake you could make would be to run all keywords against the same match type. This is mostly seen with the broad match type. Broad match types do yield a lot of traffic, most of this is based on people searching for terms that are loosely connected to the business. In such cases, the conversion rates are not accurate. Even if the account has a mix of types, it would take some time to understand the account strategy.
- Quality Analysis for negative keywords: Negative keywords are the best defense against clicks and impressions from unqualified searchers. If negative keywords were not in use earlier, you would need to do some guesswork and add your own. With an active account, it can be a bit more tricky. You would have to check the reports to see which terms have been triggering the ads.