SEA Audit: Evaluate and optimize your Google Ads campaigns

Search Engine Advertising (SEA) is no longer just another lever for companies; it's now a real catalyst for growth.

A SEA audit is essential for analyze your Google Ads strategy Google Ads strategy and identify optimization levers. This is the key to maximize your ROI in an increasingly competitive digital environment.

All about SEA audits

What is a SEA Audit?

A SEA audit is an in-depth evaluation of your paid search campaigns, essential to any marketing performance strategy.

It's a thorough examination of your online advertising strategy, particularly on platforms like Google Ads. The SEA audit is aimed at executives, marketing or webmarketing managers looking to optimize the effectiveness of their web advertising investments .

We recommend that companies carry out a full audit every 6 to 12 months. Allow 3 weeks to thoroughly analyze your SEA strategy and identify areas for improvement. 

SEA audit: what are your objectives?

The main aim of an SEA audit is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your current campaigns, in order to improve their performance. It enables you to :

1. Analyze campaign tracking : Evaluate the accuracy of your tracking to know the real ROI of your ads. This includes checking conversions, micro-conversions and remarketing tags.
2. Review ad account structure : Check the organization of your campaigns, ad groups and keywords to ensure they are aligned with your marketing objectives.
3. Evaluate ad settings : Analyze the relevance and quality of your ads, including ad extensions and ad texts.
4. Identify new opportunities : Discover untapped ways to generate targeted traffic, leads or sales through new keywords or ad formats.
5. Optimize your bidding strategy : Evaluate the effectiveness of your current bidding strategies and recommend adjustments to maximize your ROI.
6. Analyze landing page performance : Examine the relevance and effectiveness of landing pages linked to your ads.

The SEA audit: the starting point for your digital strategy

In a constantly changing advertising environment, a regular SEA audit is crucial for several reasons:

• Adapting to algorithm changes : Google frequently modifies its algorithms, and an audit ensures that your campaigns are consistent with these changes.
• Budget optimization : Identify areas of waste and reallocate the marketing budget to the most effective campaigns.
• Continuous improvement : Establish a continuous improvement cycle based on hard data rather than guesswork.
• Competitive edge : Stay ahead of the competition by identifying and exploiting new opportunities quickly.

The key components of a SEA audit

Tracking and attribution analysis

Tracking and attribution are the 2 pillars of the SEA audit. They enable you to map out your strategy and quickly identify its strengths and weaknesses.

The importance of precise tracking

Tracking and data analysis are essential to initiate a good SEA audit. In particular, they enable you to :

• Accurately measure the return on investment of each marketing action
• Identify the most profitable traffic sources
• Understanding the customer journey and critical contact points
• Adjust strategies in real time based on reliable data

Choice of attribution model

Choosing the right attribution model is fundamental to understanding the true value of each touchpoint in the customer journey. Common models include :

• Last click : assigns full value to the last interaction before conversion.
• First click : gives full credit to the first point of contact.
• Linear : distributes the value equally between all contact points.
• Data-driven : uses machine learning to assign value based on the actual impact of each interaction.

Evaluation of campaign structure

The audit examines in detail the structure of your campaigns, a crucial element in the effectiveness of your SEA efforts. 4 elements are analyzed: ad groups, ad quality, use of extensions and choice of keywords.

1. Organization of ad groups

A clear, logical structure for ad groups allows :

• Better campaign management and optimization.
• More precise targeting of keywords and audiences.
• Improved Quality Score thanks to greater relevance.

2. Ad quality

Relevant and attractive ads are essential to improve your key metrics, and in particular :

• Increase click-through rate (CTR).
• Improve quality score.
• Reduce cost-per-click (CPC).
• Increase conversion rates.

3. Using ad extensions

Well-used ad extensions can :

• Increase the visibility of your ads.
• Provide additional information to users.
• Improve click-through rates and ad relevance.

4. Choice and relevance of keywords

A judicious selection of keywords is essential for :

• Reaching your target audience effectively
• Optimize your budget by targeting the most relevant terms
• Improve traffic quality and conversion rates

Focus on ad quality and quality score

Quality Score is a crucial element analyzed during the audit. Ad's Up Consulting, for example, has 95 control points, including the quality score, which has a direct impact on the cost and visibility of your ads.

Quality Score is influenced by :

• Relevance of keywords to ads.
• The quality and relevance of landing pages.
• Historical click-through rates for keywords and ads.
• Overall performance of the Google Ads account.

The 4 stages of a SEA audit

1. Onboarding

This initial phase is crucial to understanding the company's specific context and objectives . It involves :

• In-depth interviews with key stakeholders.
• Analysis of sales and marketing objectives.
• A study of the brand's positioning and value proposition.
• Understanding specific challenges and performance expectations.

2. Technical audit & strategy

This phase consists of an in-depth analysis of existing campaigns. It includes :

• Detailed examination of account structure and campaigns.
• Analysis of historical and current performance.
• Evaluation of bidding and targeting strategies.
• Examining the quality and relevance of ads and landing pages.
• Competitive analysis and market positioning.

3. Recommendations & roadmap

Based on the results of the audit, you will identify various areas for optimization:

• Detailed recommendations for improving your campaigns.
• A prioritized action plan with short-, medium- and long-term objectives.
• Suggestions for improving the account structure.
• Strategies for optimizing budgets and improving ROI.
• Proposals for testing new approaches or technologies.

4. Follow-up

This final phase ensures that the recommendations are effectively implemented :

• Regular monitoring of implementation of recommendations.
• Analysis of post-implementation results.
• Adjustments based on observed performance.
• Ongoing training and support for in-house team or agency.

SEA audit: what tools are used?

Tools commonly used for SEA auditing include :

• Google Ads :some text
  • Detailed analysis of campaign performance
  • Review of quality scores and lost prints
  • Evaluation of bidding strategies and budget
• Google Analytics :some text
  • Conversion and user behavior tracking
  • Customer journey and traffic source analysis
  • Evaluating landing page performance
• SEMrush:some text
  • In-depth competitive analysis
  • Keyword research and opportunity identification
  • Evaluating market share of voice
• Proprietary tools :

 Developed by specialized agencies for more in-depth analyses, often including :

• Bidding optimization algorithms
• Forecasting and modeling tools
• AI-based predictive analytics systems

These tools, combined with human expertise, enable a complete and in-depth analysis of your SEA campaigns. They provide the insights needed for effective optimization and continuous performance improvement.

Example: the Empowill case

To illustrate the impact of a SEA audit, let's take a look atEmpowill, a company specializing in the creation of online wills. Empowill called on Bulldozer Collective to optimize its Google Ads campaigns and improve its marketing performance.

What approach for what challenges?

Empowill has surrounded itself with experts to meet a number of challenges, in particular :

• High customer acquisition cost (CAC), around €200
• A poorly optimized Google Ads account structure
• Lack of visibility on actual campaign performance

The Bulldozer Collective team carried out an in-depth SEA audit that revealed several areas for improvement:

1. Account structure : Need to reorganize campaigns and ad groups for greater consistency

2. Keyword targeting : Identification of more relevant keywords with higher conversion potential
3. Ad optimization : Need to improve ad copy to increase click-through rate (CTR)
4. Bidding strategy : Switch to conversion-based automated bidding strategies
5. Conversion tracking : More precise tracking to better measure ROI

Implementation of optimization solutions

Following the audit, several actions were taken:

• Complete restructuring of the Google Ads account with campaigns targeted by product type and search intent.
• Optimized ad texts highlighting Empowill's unique advantages.
• Implementation of automated bidding strategies to maximize conversions.
• Implementation of advanced conversion tracking, including telephone calls.
• Creation of remarketing campaigns to target visitors who have not converted.

What are the results of the SEA audit?

The results of this SEA audit and the optimizations that followed were spectacular:

• CAC reduced by 50% : Customer acquisition cost reduced from €200 to €100
• 30% increase in conversion rate : thanks to better targeting and more relevant ads
• 100% ROI improvement : Campaigns became twice as profitable
• 40% growth in conversions : More clients complete their wills online

A well-executed SEA audit can have a rapid impact on a company's performance. By identifying weak points and implementing targeted optimizations, Empowill has improved the profitability of its ads investments.

The future of SEA auditing: trends and developments

SEA auditing is evolving rapidly with the increasing integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Future trends include:

• Predictive analytics : Using AI to predict future campaign performance.
• Advanced automation : real-time optimization of bids and ads based on complex algorithms.
• Advanced personalization : Creation of ultra-targeted advertising experiences thanks to behavioral data analysis.
• Multi-channel integration : Holistic analysis of performance across all digital channels.

A SEA audit is a strategic investment for any company wishing to maximize the effectiveness of its online advertising campaigns. A comprehensive SEA audit can significantly improve your marketing performance and ROI.

Call on the experts at Bulldozer Collective for an in-depth SEA audit. Contact us free of charge to find out more about our services.