I tried to make a quality check sheet. With maximum coverage of possible problems. 

Account access settings

Let’s start with account security. In the account access settings in the Users and Managers tabs, we check the email list to make sure all the emails are familiar and needed. If necessary, close/add access.

Linking your Google Account Advertising & Google Analytics

In general account settings we check the connection between Google Advertising account and Google Analytics. If there is a connection – fine, if not – we add the connection.

Import targets from Google Analytics

In the general settings of the account we check if there is a connection between Google Analytics targets and Google Advertising account. In the future it will be useful to track conversions, use conversion strategies and audit advertising campaigns. If the targets are linked – fine, if not – we import targets from Google Analytics.

Checking settings at campaign level

Here you should check the following points:

• Location. Check if the region of the show is specified correctly. Such regions as Moscow and St. Petersburg should be singled out in separate advertising campaigns, as the price per click there is much higher than in the regions and the auction is more “heated”. This division will make it easier to manage and analyse advertising campaigns and apply various strategies.
• Languages. For advertising on the Russian market you can leave the default “All languages”, or select Russian and English. For users who speak other languages, select the appropriate one.
• Budget. Check if the amount of expense per day is specified, if not – specify/adjust.
• Bets. View the selected strategy, change it to a more appropriate one if necessary.

Checking additional settings at campaign level

In the additional settings you should pay attention to:

• Conversions. Leave “Conversion settings at account level” as default, or select a specific conversion action at campaign level. 

• Rotation of ads. Leave “Optimization: showing the most effective ads” as default. This helps Google to optimize your ads. 

• Campaign URL parameters. In these parameters it is important to specify “Tracking pattern”. Using this template, data on all transitions from the advertising campaign (including transitions to Additional Links) will be displayed in the report on UTM tags in Yandex Metrics and other analytics systems besides Google Analytics. A tracking template may look like this:

{lpurl}?utm_source=google_search&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=gsmt_poisk&utm_content={creative}&utm_term={keyword}, where:

• {lpurl} is a parameter that adds to the destination URL anything we write after it;
• ? – a sign indicating that the URL parameters start after it;
• utm_source — It is a source of traffic;
• utm_medium — Traffic type;
• utm_campaign — It is the name of the campaign;
• utm_content — The number of the ad;
• utm_term — The key word.

Relevance and type of keyword matching

The “Keywords” tab contains all key phrases that are used in the advertising campaign. First, we visually assess the relevance of keywords, i.e. their correspondence to the advertised services/goods. Unsuitable words are deleted. For example, we advertise responsible storage services, and in the keywords we notice the word “cargo transportation”. Obviously, this word does not suit us. We exclude it.

Secondly, you should pay attention to the type of keyword matching. As a rule, it is chosen based on the objectives of the advertising campaign – to show advertising to the widest possible audience, or to focus on a narrow group of users. According to our experience, the most popular option is the use of “Modifier of broad compliance”. But everything is individual, so set the type of matching that suits you best.

Keyword status check

It is very important to pay attention to the status of keywords. If a keyword is in “Allowed” status, it means that it is active and ads are shown for that keyword. There is no need to take any actions. If the keyword has the status of “Small requests”, it does not start displaying ads. It means that the keyword has too low frequency for Google and it does not bring any efficiency for advertising. We disable such words, instead of them we add words with higher frequency.

You can also find the status “Below the bet for the first page” in the keyword:
This means that at the moment by this keyword the ad will not be shown on the first page, which means that the probability that the user will see the ad, let alone click, is extremely low. That is why we increase the rates for such keywords.

The presence of minus words

In the same “Keywords” tab on the “Minus-words” column we will see a list of minus-words used in the campaign. The presence of minus-words is mandatory! They help to cut off unnecessary “trash” requests and not to waste the budget. We check for minus-words.

The minus-word list is not a static list, it should be regularly updated. We replenish the list of minus-words from the query report. If a similar advertising campaign is available in Yandex Directory, just copy the minus-words from Yandex Directory to Google Advertising (provided that the list of minus-words in Yandex is worked out).

And the most important thing is, perhaps, to check if the keywords are not found in minus-words. In Google Advertising, unlike Yandex, the presence of keywords in minus-words blocks the display of ads on these words. Therefore, if we see keywords in minus-words, we remove them from the list.

Schedule of ads displays

In the “Schedule of ads displays” tab, check the displayed schedule and adjust it if necessary. Not all areas need to show ads 24/7.

Optimal ad group structure

In each group of ads there should be collected keywords on one narrow subject. For example, we advertise children’s toys – dolls and cars. All keywords related to dolls must be grouped into one ad group, and for cars – into another. This is necessary in order to form the most relevant headlines and texts of ads. Thanks to this, the quality of ads is improved, they win auctions more often and eventually bring more conversions.

If when checking an advertising campaign you can see that all the keywords are piled into one pile, you need to regroup them correctly so that everything is spread “by shelves” – in one group of ads use keywords for one product/service.

In the group of announcements there should be at least 2 text announcements and 1 adaptive one. This structure is recommended by Google Advertising itself, so that the system could optimize the display of ads, providing users with the most relevant ads. If during the check it is found that something is missing, we add.

Optimal structure of ads themselves

The structure of text and adaptive announcements is slightly different. Let’s start with text messages. A text declaration consists of a list of elements:

• End URL
• Title 1
• Title 2
• Title 3
• Displayed path
• Description 1
• Description 2

All these elements must be added to the ad. The more information we give to Google, the higher the quality of our ads. If there are no fields, we fill them in. 

There are the following elements in the structure of adaptive announcements:

• End URL
• Titles
• Descriptions

You can specify from 3 to 15 Headings and from 2 to 4 Descriptions in the adaptive declaration. Similarly to text announcements, we check that all fields are filled in, if there is no field, we fill it in.

P.S. It is not necessary to add all 15 headings, but at least 5 should be added so that the system has a variety of choices and does not lose the sense of creating adaptive ads. Google will tell you if the descriptions and headings are not diverse enough to be effective. We don’t ignore this hint, but fix and correct the announcement to improve its quality.

Checking the status of ads of an advertising campaign

It is important to pay attention to the status of ads. If the ad has the status “Approved”, everything is fine. But sometimes you can find the following status “Approved”: (Restricted for all locations).

In this case, the display of the ad actually does not happen! To solve the situation you need:

1. Check whether the Legal Requirements are really violated, as in most cases nothing was violated and Google sets this status incorrectly. If there is no error, appeal the status of the ad using the feedback form.
2. Fix the ad if you really found an error.

Match the landing page to the ad

A simple rule – ads on pencils lead to the page with pencils, ads on pens – lead to the page with pens. If somewhere in the end URL found an inappropriate/invalid link – replace it with the correct one.

Announcement extensions

Ads in Google Advertising have a large number of extensions:

• Additional links
• Specifications
• Structured descriptions
• Phone Numbers
• Messages
• Addresses:
• Prices
• Links to applications
• Promotions

We check the presence of extensions and their relevance, add the missing ones. The additional information from extensions will be substituted in announcements. The more extensions are added, the easier it is to attract the user’s attention, thus increasing CTR.

Exclusion of audiences

When setting up advertising, the desired target audience is always highlighted (with keywords) and the unnecessary one is cut off. It is possible to cut off unnecessary users not only with the help of minus-words, but also in the “Audiences” tab by the “Exceptions” column. For example, you can add “refusers” to exceptions – a group of people who have already been on your site during the last 30 days but have spent less than 5 seconds on it. Obviously, you should not show advertising to such users. Audiences are created in the Google Analytics counter, which once again emphasizes the importance of linking the counter to the Google Advertising account.

Campaign optimization indicator

In the process of independent analysis of the advertising campaign, we can miss something, not notice, not pay attention to the nuances. Therefore, when all the previous items from the checklist are completed, you can take a look at the “Recommendations” tab.

On this tab, the Google Advertising system provides recommendations for improving the work of the advertising campaign based on its own analysis and displays “Campaign optimization index”. The recommendations can vary from keywords to betting strategy and the creation of new ads. These recommendations can be either applied or rejected. They are non-binding and recommendatory in nature. But it is certainly not worth ignoring them at all.