What’s the Value of Regular PPC Audits & How to Do Them Well
Regular PPC audits strengthen paid media performance by uncovering issues, identifying growth opportunities, and efficient campaign management.
What’s the Value of Regular PPC Audits & How to Do Them Well
Regular audits refer to the foundational workflows in any paid media strategy.
Whether investigating account anomalies, evaluating growth opportunities, or preparing to transition strategies or vendors, audits are an essential pillar of PPC success.
For a business owner, a finance professional, auditing plays a vital role in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of financial information, identifying potential risks and inefficiencies, and maintaining compliance with laws and regulations.
Exploring the purpose of auditing, delving into its importance in various domains, and discussing compelling results, why conducting regular audits should be an essential part of organizational strategy. Evaluating and optimizing PPC campaigns to ensure that they are performing effectively and delivering the best possible ROI. PPC audit helps in identifying room for improvement and growth opportunities, ensuring your campaigns are aligned with business objectives.
Some of the specific goals of conducting a PPC audit include-
- Enhancing campaign performance
- Reducing wasted spend
- Improving quality scores
- Optimizing budget allocation
- Ensuring strategic alignment
- Adapting to market changes
Conducting a PPC audit offers businesses several advantages, including increased efficiency, cost savings, and improved competitive positioning. By analyzing PPC campaigns, businesses can identify and rectify inefficiencies, reduce unnecessary expenses, and maintain a competitive edge.
At its core, auditing involves an independent examination of financial records, systems, processes, and controls to determine their accuracy and reliability. This meticulous scrutiny aids in identifying any discrepancies or errors that may exist within an organizations’ financial statements.
Auditing is not limited to just financial matters; it extends its reach into various domains like operational procedures, compliance with laws and regulations, risk management practices, and even environmental sustainability efforts. By conducting audits regularly, businesses can gain valuable insights into their overall performance and make informed decisions based on objective assessments.
Some key instances when conducting an audit are especially beneficial:
- Taking on a new client
- Before building a new campaign
- Starting a new role
- New leadership takes over
- Before peak season
- At regularly scheduled intervals
Conducting an audit enables new clients to show potential clients the value you bring and check if there’s room for improvement in their accounts.
Starting a new role often involves getting a thorough understanding of the client’s current marketing efforts. This is a great time to conduct an audit as it provides you with a detailed overview of your client’s account, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses, and empowering you to make informed decisions moving forward.
Beyond performance monitoring, audits unlock three critical value areas:
- Budget Access for Net-New Entities
- Active Vs. Passive Management Ratios
- Testing Your Own Strategic Biases
How to Perform Audits that Actually Drive Value
- Put audits on the calendar
- Audit against the Right Benchmarks
- Audit Creatives for performance and Compliance
How to Perform a PPC Audit
Conducting a thorough PPC audit, follow these steps :-
- Defining goals and KPIs
- Setting a date range for data analysis.
- Reviewing your campaign structure.
- Analyzing targeting settings.
- Verifying conversion tracking setup.
- Reviewing and updating your ad copy.
- Reviewing keyword performance.
- Optimizing ad spend based on keyword performance.
- Identifying and adding negative keywords.
- Checking and analyzing your Quality Score.
- Analyzing your KPIs.
- Checking, analyzing, and testing ad extensions.
- Conducting competitor analysis.
- Checking for outdated scripts or rules.
- Evaluating bids and tracking ROI
Semrush, Optmyzr, and SpyFu are the best PPC audit tools, offering unique features for conducting a thorough and effective PPC audit, depending on specific requirements, budget, and level of detail you need.
1.Semrush
Semrush is one of the best PPC audit tools owing to its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface, offering in-depth keyword research, ad copy analysis, and competitor insights. This enables marketers to optimize their campaigns effectively. Semrush’s extensive database and advanced analytics provide a competitive edge, making it an invaluable tool for thorough and effective PPC audits. Further, its versatility across different digital marketing aspects ensures that users have all the necessary resources to enhance their PPC strategies.
2.Optmyzr
Optmyzr is another great PPC audit tool for its advanced features and automation capabilities, offering custom PPC reports, automated scripts, and powerful optimization tools that simplify complex tasks. Optmyzr aids in identifying underperforming keywords, ads, and landing pages, providing actionable recommendations to boost performance. Further, its intuitive interface and robust data analysis make it ideal for detailed PPC audits.
3.SpyFu
SpyFu is a popular PPC audit tool appreciated for its unique competitive analysis capabilities, allowing users to uncover competitors’ ad strategies, keywords, and ad spend, offering deep insights that drive campaign improvements. It provides detailed reports on keyword performance, ad history, and competitor tactics, enabling users to refine their PPC strategies effectively. Its user-friendly interface and rich data make it excellent for spotting new opportunities and optimizing marketing campaigns. By highlighting rival strengths and weakness, SpyFu helps users to make data-driven decisions and achieve higher PPC results.
Analyzing PPC Campaign Performance Metrics in an Audit
To analyze PPC campaign performance metrics in an audit, focus on conversion data and evaluate CTR, then analyze cost metrics, assess Quality Scores, segment performance data, and finally, assess ad copy and keywords.
Regular audit by using the steps which include reviewing conversion data, evaluating CTR, analyze cost metrics, inspecting quality scores, segmenting performance data, and assessing ad copy & keywords, enables continuous optimization and better campaign results.
Audits as a Strategy Enablers
Audits are strategic resets that help in validating current direction, challenging stale assumptions, and carving out space to innovate.
By integrating regular, structured audits into your workflows, you create a feedback loop that protects budget, sharpens strategy, and ultimately drives better results
