PPC Review: Find What Is Holding Your Google Ads Back
A review is useful when sales or enquiries have slowed, acquisition costs are rising, or the numbers in your advertising reports do not match what you see in the business.
It can also help before increasing spend, taking over an inherited account, changing agencies or preparing for a busy trading period.
Look more closely if:
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- Revenue is increasing but contribution after advertising costs is falling.
- Lead volumes look healthy, but few enquiries become customers.
- Performance Max reports strong returns without a clear picture of brand and new customer activity.
- Campaigns still promote products with limited stock or services you no longer prioritise.
- A website migration, checkout change or consent update has affected measurement.
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1. Start with measurement
Before judging performance, we check what the account counts as success. A purchase, a qualified enquiry and a newsletter signup have different commercial values.
We examine the conversion actions selected by each campaign, the values attached to them and possible duplication between tracking sources. We also look at how Google Ads, GA4 and your ecommerce or lead records compare. Differences need explanation: attribution, consent, time zones and conversion delays can all affect reporting.
Where a technical implementation needs deeper testing, we identify the additional access and work required. An account review alone cannot prove that every tag works in every customer journey.
2. Review search intent and targeting
We review the searches available in the account alongside the keywords you intended to target. The question is whether the person searching is likely to need, afford and buy what you offer.
For example, a paid service may attract searches for free or charitable alternatives. Those searches deserve a different decision from a relevant commercial search that has only received a handful of clicks.
We look for missing negatives, unsuitable locations and targeting that no longer matches the business. We distinguish clear mismatches from uncertain performance: a small sample without a conversion is not enough to declare a search term wasted spend.
3. Assess budgets and bidding against your goals
Budget allocation should reflect commercial priorities, stock, capacity and the evidence available. We examine whether bidding targets are realistic and whether changes have been assessed over an appropriate period, allowing for delayed conversions.
We also separate brand and non-brand activity where the available reporting allows. A strong blended return can conceal weak customer acquisition. Brand advertising can still have a role; its value needs to be considered in the context of competitors, organic visibility and testing.
What you receive from your PPC review
Our review gives you a clear explanation of the findings and practical priorities. The agreed scope determines the depth of investigation and delivery format.
The recommendations should make clear:
- What we found and the evidence behind it.
- Why it matters to your objectives.
- What to fix first and what needs further investigation.
- Which changes are suitable for a controlled test.
- How progress should be measured.
Here is an illustrative priority list, rather than findings from a client account:
4 Review Performance Max and Google Shopping:
For ecommerce accounts, we examine feed quality, product eligibility, listing groups, product performance, stock and the relationship between spend and margin. Product titles and attributes should describe what you sell accurately and match the landing page.
For Performance Max, we also assess asset groups, search themes, available search insights, creative and landing page controls. We consider whether the account gives enough visibility to make useful decisions.
Final URL expansion needs particular attention. With expansion enabled, supplying a page feed does not restrict ads only to those URLs. We review the current settings and exclusions against the pages you want to promote. Any proposed test should have a clear scope and success measure..
5. Search Review:
We assess whether ad messages match the search, the offer and the destination. Strong creative can still need refreshing as offers, seasons and audience responses change.
On the website, we look for practical obstacles: unclear delivery costs, unavailable stock, weak mobile layouts, long forms or a mismatch between the ad and the page. Recommendations distinguish advertising changes from website work so responsibilities are clear.
6.Illustrative example:
Return on ad spend measures attributed revenue divided by advertising spend. It does not, by itself, account for product costs, fulfilment, returns, payment fees or management costs.
Illustrative example: £3,000 in revenue from £1,000 of advertising spend is a 300% ROAS. If the contribution margin before advertising is 30%, that revenue contributes £900. After the £1,000 advertising cost, the result is minus £100, before management costs and overheads.
Under these simplified assumptions, advertising break-even ROAS is 1 ÷ contribution margin: a 30% margin requires approximately 3.33 times return, or 333%. Your actual target should reflect the costs, repeat purchases and cash flow relevant to your business, using a consistent treatment of VAT.
For lead generation, the equivalent question is what you can afford to pay for a qualified enquiry given your close rate and contribution per sale. A lower cost per form submission is only useful if the enquiries have value.
PPC review FAQs
A PPC review assesses your account at a particular point in time, identifying issues, opportunities and recommended actions. Ongoing PPC management puts agreed changes into practice and continually monitors, tests and adjusts campaigns as performance, demand and business priorities change.
The terms often describe the same type of assessment. Some providers use review for an initial assessment and audit for a deeper investigation. Ask what is included, what access is required and what you will receive.
etric Hub offers a free initial PPC review. We agree what this covers before starting. If your account needs a separate technical investigation or more extensive consultancy, we explain the scope and any fees before that work begins.
Review frequency should reflect spend, risk, seasonality and conversion volume. Our recommended starting point is ongoing monitoring, a structured monthly performance review and deeper reassessment after significant business, tracking or website changes. Busy seasonal periods may need closer attention.
Yes, account access is needed for a meaningful account review. View access is enough for many checks. We explain the minimum access required for the agreed scope; hands-on tracking tests or implementation may require separate permissions.
A review identifies findings and recommendations. Implementation should be agreed separately, with clear responsibility for any changes. Tell us about planned promotions, account tests or website updates so we can consider them in context.
Yes. A second opinion can help you understand performance and discuss priorities with your current provider. Recommendations should be supported by evidence and account for the strategy already in place.
The score reflects Google’s recommendations and changes when recommendations are applied or dismissed. It is not proof that an account meets your profit or lead quality targets. We evaluate recommendations individually alongside actual business results.
No. A review can identify issues, opportunities and tests, but results also depend on demand, competition, pricing, your website and implementation. Recommendations should explain the evidence and the uncertainty.
