Google Ads 20-Minute Weekly Optimization Checklist

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PRIORITY 1: Critical Health Checks

Do these EVERY week. Skip these and you'll waste money. (5 min)

Budget & Tracking

Budget pacing on track? (Current spend ÷ days elapsed) × days in month = projected spend

⚠️ If >10% off target, adjust daily budget today

Conversions tracking correctly? Check last 7 days vs. previous week

⚠️ If conversions dropped >30%, check tracking immediately

Any disapproved ads? (Notifications → Policy issues)

Fix immediately or pause campaign

Performance Red Flags

Search Impression Share dropped >10%? → Budget or rank issue

Average CPC increased >20%? → Auction competition or Quality Score drop

CTR below 5%? → Ad copy or targeting issue

CVR below 5%? → Landing page or lead quality issue

🎯 If all green, move to Priority 2. If red flags, stop and fix before optimizing.

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PRIORITY 2: Search Terms Cleanup

This single task prevents the most wasted spend. (10 min)

Step 1: Find the Waste (3 min)

Go to: Search Terms Report → Sort by Cost (high to low)

Scan top 20-30 search terms

Mark any that are:

❌ Completely irrelevant to your service
❌ Job seekers (e.g., "marketing jobs," "how to become")
❌ Informational only (e.g., "what is," "how to," "free")
❌ Wrong geography (if local business)
❌ Competitors (if not intentional)

Step 2: Add Negatives (5 min)

Add marked terms as negative keywords

Add at Campaign level if irrelevant to entire account

Add at Ad Group level if only irrelevant to specific ad group

Step 3: Find Winners (2 min)

Identify any search terms with:

✅ 3+ conversions
✅ Below-average CPA
✅ Not already a keyword in account

Add as exact match keywords with manual bids

💰 This 10 minutes typically saves $500-2,000/month in wasted clicks.

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PRIORITY 3: Performance Monitoring

Quick metric checks to spot trends early. (5 min)

Campaign-Level Check

Sort campaigns by Cost (high to low)

Check top 3 campaigns:

CPA within target? (If not, note for deeper dive)
Conversion volume stable? (>30% drop = investigate)
Wasted spend >20%? (Clicks with no conversions = optimize targeting)

Ad Group Health

Find ad groups with CTR <3% → Flag for new ad copy

Find ad groups with CVR <3% → Flag for landing page review

Find ad groups with CPC 50% higher than average → Quality Score issue

Quality Score Spot Check

Columns → Modify → Add "Quality Score"

Sort keywords by Cost (high to low)

Flag any top-spending keywords with QS <6 for improvement

📝

DOCUMENT & TRACK

After Each Session

Log what you changed (even if it's "no changes needed")

Note any issues to investigate deeper next week

Track weekly metrics in simple spreadsheet: Date, Spend, Conversions, CPA, Top Issue, Action Taken

🎯

BENCHMARKS: What's "Good"?

Metric	Good	Great	Poor
CTR	5-8%	>10%	<3%
CVR	5-10%	>10%	<3%
Quality Score	7-8	9-10	<6
Search IS	>60%	>80%	<50%
Wasted Spend	<20%	<10%	>30%

⚠️ WHEN TO GO DEEPER

If you see these patterns, schedule a 1-hour deep dive:

Conversion volume dropped >50% (tracking issue or market change)
CPA increased >50% (auction dynamics changed)
CTR below 3% across account (targeting or ad copy problem)
Search IS below 50% (budget or Quality Score crisis)

✅ WEEKLY CHECKLIST SUMMARY

Every Week (20 min):

✅ Health checks (5 min)
✅ Search terms cleanup (10 min)
✅ Performance monitoring (5 min)

Monthly (30-45 min additional):

Extensions check
Ad copy refresh
Bid strategy review

Quarterly:

Full account restructure audit
Competitor analysis (Auction Insights)
Landing page overhaul

🚀 PRO TIP

Set a recurring calendar event every Monday at 9 AM. Do this BEFORE checking email. Consistent optimization beats sporadic "big fixes."

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