SEM Audit
Illuminating the Dark Corners of Your SEM Accounts
Hidden errors and inefficient campaigns can significantly impair your SEM results. A SEM audit scrutinises your Google Ads and Bing Ads accounts to ensure they are correctly set up and managed optimally. I identify weaknesses and provide concrete recommendations to refine your strategy.
The Advantages of a Comprehensive SEM Audit
A SEM audit lets you assess how well your campaigns are structured in line with your objectives and how efficiently your budget is being utilised. Is your account truly being managed actively and professionally?
These benefits are only a small sample of the valuable insights that a SEM audit can reveal.
Budget Optimisation
The audit reveals where funds are being wasted on unnecessary clicks, helping you save costs and allocate your budget more effectively towards your goals.
Optimised Bidding Strategies
The audit exposes inefficient bidding decisions, enabling you to adjust your strategies for a superior cost-performance ratio.
Increased Conversion Rate
Analyses identify which keywords and ads deliver poor quality, allowing you to optimise both click-through and conversion rates.
Reliable Tracking
The audit verifies that all conversion paths are accurately captured, enabling data-driven decisions and precise success measurement.
Improved Quality Score
The analysis of ads and landing pages helps boost your quality score, resulting in lower cost-per-click and enhanced ad performance.
Structure and Ads
Is your account professionally structured, and are your ads, assets, and keywords chosen appropriately?
Account Management & Quality
The audit determines whether all best practices (such as negative keyword lists) are being implemented in your account.
Benefit Now from a Professional SEM Audit
Take advantage of the opportunity to have your campaigns analysed in detail. Start now and sustainably boost your advertising success.
How You Can Conduct a Minimalist SEM Audit Yourself
Would you like to take a quick look at your account and see if it’s been well managed so far? Here are a few tips on what to watch out for:
- Review your account’s change history to see how frequently modifications have been made and what exactly was altered.
- If you’re bidding in the search network, check whether shared negative keyword lists have been established in the shared library (Tools/Library). If not, verify whether negative keywords were added directly in your campaigns or ad groups. Nowadays, keyword exclusions are usually more important than the keywords you bid on.
- Examine the optimisation factor of your account and campaigns, available under “Recommendations”. If it is below 70 percent, it’s likely that no adjustments have been made for a considerable time.
- Check the quality score of your keywords. In a well-managed account, you shouldn’t see many search terms with a low quality score. Add the ‘Quality Score’ column to your keywords view and pay attention to those scoring below 7.
- Review your campaign structure. Ensure that your ad groups are logically segmented and that there are no redundant or overlapping keywords. A clear structure simplifies management and optimisation.
- Examine the campaign settings. A common error is activating the display network when you intend to bid in the search network, which complicates control and often leads to cheaper, yet inefficient clicks.
- If your goal is to generate conversions (leads or sales) rather than just clicks, verify that the conversion tracking is correctly set up and that the desired conversions are indeed being recorded.
With these seven tips, you should be able to gauge the current state of your account on your own.
Finally, I recommend comparing your current performance data with historical, seasonally adjusted figures. This will give you an even better understanding of your account’s development.
Click, Click, Hooray! I’m Certified
As a certified Google Ads Partner, I have a proven track record in online advertising. This seal is awarded exclusively to agencies and experts who consistently demonstrate their technical expertise through exams, manage successful campaigns, and implement Google’s Best Practices.
But it doesn’t stop at Google Ads. Competent support is also available for Microsoft Advertising (Bing) campaigns.
The Process of a SEM Audit
Each SEM audit is tailored to your defined goals and your website. During the audit, I strive to uncover optimisation opportunities, identify weaknesses, and ensure adherence to best practices. Typically, a SEM audit takes no longer than a week, after which the identified measures can be implemented directly. Below is an exemplary process for a SEM audit.
Step 1
Account Overview and Structure
In this step, a preliminary overall view of the account is obtained in relation to your goals.
- Review change history
- Check campaign types
- Evaluate ad groups
- Examine keyword segmentation and negatives
- Briefly review account history
- Assess the previously employed strategy
Step 2
Tracking and Conversion Setup
The foundation of every audit is to verify that conversions are being correctly recorded.
- Verify tracking implementation
- Confirm goal definitions
- Ensure data consistency (attribution)
- Check pixels and tags
Step 3
Keyword and Campaign Analysis
Assess the structure and content of your campaigns. Are all best practices being applied?
- Review campaign settings
- Segment campaigns and ad groups
- Examine keyword clusters
- Analyse keyword performance
- Validate negative keywords
- Review target audience definitions
- Evaluate additional campaign types such as Shopping and Performance Max
Step 4
Ad Copy and Extensions
How is the structure and quality of your ads? Are all assets being utilised effectively?
- Evaluate ad copy
- Assess the relevance of ad extensions
- Check call-to-action elements
- Review formatting and display (for display ads)
- Compare A/B test results
- Ensure consistency with landing pages
Step 5
Budget and Bidding Strategies
It is verified whether your budget is being used efficiently and if your bidding strategies are optimally aligned with your campaign goals.
- Review budget allocation
- Compare cost-per-click
- Evaluate bidding strategies
- Analyse cost performance
- Review automations
Step 6
Reporting and Optimisation Opportunities
Performance data is systematically analysed to identify weaknesses and derive targeted optimisation measures. The results are consolidated by capturing data, comparing seasonal trends, identifying shortcomings, prioritising actions, and planning the next steps.
How Efficient Is Your Google Ads or Bing Account Really?
Simply fill out the form. I’ll respond within 24 hours, usually on the same day.
If it’s more urgent, you can also call me or send a WhatsApp message.