If your business pays for Google Ads every month but you’re not sure the money is being spent wisely, this article is for you.
Reports show clicks, impressions and “conversions”, but real business needs enquiries and purchases. And often there’s a gap between the good-looking report and the real result – a gap no one has checked.
This isn’t a theoretical article about what a Google Ads audit is. These are 5 concrete tests you can run yourself in about 10 minutes, to understand whether your account spends its budget wisely – or whether part of the money leaks away every month.
No deep technical knowledge is needed. Most of it you can check by going into the account or simply asking your team the right question.
Test 1: What are you really paying for?
The problem. By default, Google encourages the use of broad keywords, promising that the algorithm will find the best customers on its own. In practice, this often means the account pays for clicks from people searching for something else entirely. For example, a car workshop in Riga might pay for clicks from people searching for “how to change oil yourself” or a workshop in a different city.
How to check it yourself. Open one of your search campaigns and find the search terms report (Search terms). It shows what people actually typed into Google before clicking your ad. Sort the list by cost and read through the top queries. If you see irrelevant searches – other cities, “free”, job seekers, or topics that aren’t your business – budget is leaking there.
What it means. If there are many irrelevant queries at the top, the account most likely lacks a negative keyword list – and part of the money is spent every month on people who will never become customers.
Test 2: Are your “conversions” real customers?
The problem. It often happens that the report shows impressive “conversions”, while the company’s sales team hasn’t felt any increase in new enquiries. This happens because the action set as a conversion in the account isn’t actually an enquiry or a purchase – for example, a page view, a button click or opening a map. The numbers grow, but there are no real customers behind them.
How to check it yourself. Open the account’s conversion settings (Conversions) and look at which actions are counted as primary. Make sure only real, business-relevant actions are there – a completed enquiry form, a successful purchase or a phone call. If you see page views or simple clicks among the primary conversions, the numbers in the report are artificially inflated.
What it means. If Google counts the wrong actions, it’s not just a question of how pretty the report looks. Google’s algorithm learns from this data and optimises campaigns to find more people who take exactly that action – so more page viewers, not more buyers. Incorrect measurement steers the budget in the wrong direction every day.
Test 3: Do the numbers in the account match reality?
The problem. This is the simplest but often most revealing check, and it needs no technical skill at all. The account might show “50 conversions a month”, but when you ask your sales team, it turns out there were considerably fewer real new enquiries or calls. If the numbers in the account and the numbers in the real business don’t match, there’s a problem somewhere.
How to check it yourself. Take the account’s conversion count for the last month and compare it with what your business sees – in the CRM, in enquiry emails, in the call log, or simply by asking the people who handle enquiries. The question is simple: how many real new customers or enquiries actually came from the advertising, and is that close to the number the account shows?
What it means. If the account’s numbers are considerably higher than the real ones, the account is most likely counting something other than real customers – and every decision based on those reports is misleading. This gap can be spotted by any business owner, even one who has never opened Google Ads.
Test 4: Are you paying for your existing customers?
The problem. Performance Max is Google’s automated campaign type, which can be useful, but without the right restrictions it tends to show ads to people who are already searching for your exact company name. As a result, it looks like a good conversion in the report, but in reality you’re paying for a customer who already knew you and would have found you anyway – through organic search.
How to check it yourself. If a Performance Max campaign is running in the account, check whether it has a brand exclusion list set up (Brand exclusions). If it doesn’t, the campaign is most likely spending part of the budget on searches for your own brand. In addition, you can compare how many “conversions” come from people who searched for your exact name versus those who didn’t yet know you.
What it means. Advertising on your own brand is sometimes justified, but if it happens unintentionally and without control, you’re paying Google for customers who are already yours. The reports look good, but there’s no real new business behind it.
Test 5: Where does the mobile budget go?
The problem. Ads can work perfectly on desktop, but on a mobile phone the enquiry form might be awkward, slow or broken. As a result, mobile devices consume a large share of the budget, but there are almost no real enquiries from them. Money is spent, people click, but they don’t reach the point of enquiring.
How to check it yourself. Open the device breakdown (Devices) and compare desktop and mobile side by side: cost, clicks and conversions. If mobile consumes a significant share of the budget but has few or no conversions, it’s a signal that either the mobile page isn’t working as it should, or the budget is being spent on the wrong device.
What it means. If mobile spends money without results, the problem usually isn’t the ad itself, but what happens after the click – the page people land on. This is worth checking straight away, as it’s often one of the quicker budget leaks to fix.
What to do if the tests reveal something
These 5 tests show the first signs. They can indicate that something isn’t right, but they don’t tell you how much money is being lost, which problems matter most, or in what order to fix them.
A real account usually isn’t “good” or “bad” – it has several interconnected things that need to be assessed together. For example, incorrect measurement affects bidding, bidding affects budget allocation, and all of it together determines whether the advertising brings in enquiries.
If you want the full picture – not just isolated signs, but a systematic check with a concrete action plan – that’s exactly what a Google Ads audit does. A specialist goes through the whole account, assesses each area, and prepares a documented report with a prioritised plan: what to fix first, for the greatest gain.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I check my Google Ads account?
It’s worth running these quick tests once every month or two – especially after larger changes to campaigns or budget. A full audit is usually enough once a year, or when results suddenly decline.
Can I run these tests myself, without a specialist?
Yes. All five tests are designed so that a business owner can run them independently, by going into the account or asking their team. They don’t replace a full audit, but they give a quick sense of whether it’s worth looking deeper.
How do these tests differ from a full Google Ads audit?
The tests show individual signs – whether there’s a problem somewhere. A full audit systematically checks the whole account, assesses how much budget is being lost, and provides a prioritised action plan with concrete steps.
Should I turn off my advertising if the tests reveal problems?
No. Turning off advertising doesn’t solve the cause – it just stops the results. The right step is to find out exactly where the problem is and fix it, while keeping what works.
