Google Ads Deep Analysis

Process

1. Collect Google Ads account data (export, Change History, Search Terms Report)
2. Validate: confirm data covers ≥30 days and includes Search Terms Report before proceeding
3. Read ads/references/google-audit.md for full 80-check audit
4. Read ads/references/benchmarks.md for Google-specific benchmarks
5. Read ads/references/scoring-system.md for weighted scoring
6. Evaluate all applicable checks as PASS, WARNING, or FAIL
7. Validate: confirm all 80 checks evaluated before calculating score
8. Calculate Google Ads Health Score (0-100)
9. Generate findings report with action plan

What to Analyze

Conversion Tracking (25% weight)

• Google tag (gtag.js) installed and firing on all pages
• Enhanced Conversions active (hashed first-party data)
• Consent Mode v2 implemented (required for EU/EEA)
• Conversion actions mapped correctly (primary vs secondary)
• Offline conversion import configured (for lead gen)
• Server-side tagging via GTM (recommended for accuracy)
• Attribution model: data-driven preferred (last-click as fallback only)
• Conversion lag analysis (are conversions still trickling in?)

Wasted Spend (20% weight)

• Search Terms Report reviewed (last 30 days minimum)
• Negative keyword coverage adequate (shared lists + campaign-level)
• Display placement audit (exclude low-quality sites)
• Invalid click rate within norms (<10%)
• Broad Match only used with Smart Bidding (NEVER without it)
• Brand/non-brand campaigns separated
• Geographic targeting precise (no wasted international spend)

Negative Keyword Rules (critical: bad negatives kill campaigns):

• NEVER suggest Broad Match negatives unless explicitly justified; they block too broadly
• Default to Exact Match [keyword] for specific irrelevant queries
• Use Phrase Match "keyword" for irrelevant intent patterns
• Source negatives from actual Search Terms Report irrelevant queries, NOT guesses
• Group into themed lists: Informational (how-to, DIY, what is), Job-seeker (jobs, careers, salary), Competitor (only if intentionally excluded), Free-intent (free, crack, torrent)
• Recommend Shared Negative Lists at the account level, not just campaign-level
• Review existing negatives for over-blocking (are any negatives accidentally blocking converting queries?)

Account Structure (15% weight)

• Campaign-level organization follows business logic
• Ad groups themed tightly (15-20 keywords max per group)
• RSA ad groups have ≥3 active ads
• PMax campaigns structured correctly (asset groups, signals)
• SKAGs evaluated (migrate to themed groups if present)
• Campaign labels/naming conventions consistent

Keywords (15% weight)

• Match type strategy appropriate (Exact → Phrase → Broad progression)
• Quality Score distribution (aim ≥7 average)
• Low QS keywords flagged (<5 = FAIL, 5-6 = WARNING)
• Keyword cannibalization check (same keywords in multiple campaigns)
• Impression share tracked for top keywords
• Keyword bid adjustments set for devices/locations/audiences

Ads (15% weight)

• RSA: ≥8 unique headlines, ≥3 descriptions per ad group
• RSA: ad strength "Good" or "Excellent" (not "Poor" or "Average")
• Pin usage minimal and strategic (over-pinning reduces RSA flexibility)
• Ad extensions: sitelinks (≥4), callouts (≥4), structured snippets, image
• Dynamic keyword insertion used appropriately
• Ad copy includes CTA, value proposition, differentiators

Settings (10% weight)

• ECPC (Enhanced CPC) flagged as deprecated. Migrate to full Smart Bidding (tCPA/tROAS/Maximize)
• Bid strategy appropriate for campaign maturity and goals
• Budget pacing: no campaigns limited by budget (unless intentional)
• Ad schedule aligned with business hours/conversion patterns
• Device bid adjustments set based on performance data
• Location targeting: "Presence" not "Presence or Interest"
• Network settings: Search Partners reviewed, Display opt-out for Search

GAQL & Data Accuracy

Before analyzing data, read ads/references/gaql-notes.md for known GAQL field incompatibilities, deduplication patterns, and filter scope best practices. Key rules:

• Deduplicate keywords by (ad_group_id + keyword_text + match_type) before any analysis
• Only analyze ENABLED campaigns and ad groups (exclude paused/removed)
• Filter to keywords with impressions > 0 for theme coherence checks (G03)
• Apply legacy BMM heuristic: BROAD + Manual CPC = legacy BMM, not intentional broad (G17)
• Only flag wasted spend on terms with >$10 spend AND 0 conversions (G16)
• Count shared negative keyword lists alongside campaign-level negatives (G14/G15)

Google Ads MCP Integration (Optional)

For automated data collection, connect the Google Ads MCP server:

• Tools available: search (GAQL queries), list_accessible_customers
• Setup: Configure in .mcp.json or Claude Code MCP settings
• Customer ID: Extract from CLAUDE.md under Accounts > Google Ads, or ask the user
• Fallback: If MCP is not configured, fall back to manual data export (the default workflow)

When MCP is available, use it to pull Search Terms Reports, keyword data, conversion actions, and campaign structure automatically instead of requiring manual exports.

PMax Deep Dive

If Performance Max campaigns exist, additionally evaluate:

• Asset group diversity (text, images, video, feeds)
• Audience signals configured (custom segments, lists, demographics)
• URL expansion settings reviewed (opt-out of irrelevant pages)
• Brand exclusions applied (prevent cannibalizing brand search), available for all advertisers
• Campaign-level negative keywords now available for ALL advertisers
• Search themes utilized (2024 feature)
• Final URL expansion: enabled or disabled with justification
• Insights tab reviewed (search categories, audience segments)

AI Max for Search (2026)

AI Max layers broad match + keywordless targeting on existing Search campaigns. 14% avg conversion lift for non-retail brands at similar CPA/ROAS (Google Ads blog, May 2025). DSA, ACA, and campaign-level broad match auto-migrate into AI Max by end of September 2026; new DSA campaign creation via the Google Ads API ends Sept 2026. Strong negative keyword lists are a hard prerequisite. Independent data across 250+ campaigns shows more conservative real-world results (+13% median revenue, +16% median CPA) — set expectations accordingly.

Detection & API field

AI Max is enabled per-campaign via ai_max_setting.enable_ai_max (Google Ads API v21+). Check the campaign's ai_max_setting resource for current state.

Audit checklist

If AI Max for Search is available or active:

• Field check: campaign.ai_max_setting.enable_ai_max = true for eligible Search campaigns (or documented opt-out reason)
• Broad Match + Smart Bidding combo verified — AI Max effectively forces broad match expansion; without Smart Bidding (tCPA/tROAS/Maximize Conv) it bleeds spend
• Search Term Matching — review the search_term_matching_type distribution in the Search Terms Report (close variants vs broader matches); FAIL if the broader-match share exceeds 60% on a non-Smart-Bidding campaign
• AI Brief configured — Google's new structured brand context input. Audit for: business name, value prop (≤200 chars), target audience descriptor, forbidden topics / off-brand language list, regional / legal disclaimers
• Text customization rules — AI Max generates headline + description variants from the brief. Audit for: locked legal phrases, banned competitor names, approved disclaimer text, pin discipline on must-include claims
• Final URL Expansion (FUE) controls — confirm URL include/exclude lists prevent AI Max routing traffic to checkout-skip pages, password-gated pages, or 404s. Audit url_expansion_opt_out if you've explicitly disabled FUE
• Brand exclusions applied — campaign-level brand exclusion list to prevent cannibalizing brand search; same mechanism as PMax brand exclusions
• Text disclaimers (rolling out May 2026+) — if your vertical requires disclaimers (health, finance, legal, crypto), confirm Google's new structured text disclaimer field is populated
• Budget impact — AI Max can shift spend ±30% in the first 7 days. Confirm budget pacing rules and shared budgets won't starve adjacent campaigns
• Negative keyword coverage — AI Max broadens reach 3-5x; existing negative lists must scale. Reuse the negative keyword rules from the Wasted Spend section but apply at 3x the historical volume

DSA Migration Pre-Flight Checklist

The Sept 2026 auto-migration moves Dynamic Search Ads, Automatically Created Assets (ACA), and campaign-level broad-match Search campaigns into AI Max whether or not the advertiser is ready. Run this pre-flight before the migration deadline:

• Inventory DSA campaigns — query campaign.advertising_channel_sub_type IN (SEARCH_DYNAMIC, ...). List campaign IDs, monthly spend, conversion volume so the migration can be staged by risk
• Inventory ACA-enabled campaigns — campaign.ad_strength_settings with auto-generated headlines enabled
• Inventory campaign-level broad-match Search campaigns without AI Max yet enabled — these will migrate by default
• Tracking template audit — DSAs often use {lpurl} ValueTrack parameters. Confirm tracking templates resolve correctly when AI Max generates a different final URL via FUE. Re-test parameter substitution with a synthetic AI Max landing URL
• Negative keyword pre-staging — pull the last 90 days of DSA search terms; pre-stage the irrelevant ones as Exact/Phrase negatives on a Shared Negative List before migration
• AI Brief drafted — write a draft Brief for each migrating campaign so Google has structured brand context at migration time, not generic crawled content
• URL controls staged — Final URL Expansion include/exclude lists prepared per campaign (especially for /careers, /admin, /thank-you, /404 paths that DSAs typically excluded by URL pattern rules)
• Brand exclusion lists prepared — campaign-level brand exclusion file (same format as PMax)
• Bidding strategy migration — Manual CPC and ECPC DSA campaigns MUST move to Smart Bidding before AI Max migration. Pre-stage tCPA or tROAS targets per migrating campaign
• Conversion tracking pre-flight — AI Max attribution relies heavily on Enhanced Conversions + Consent Mode V2; confirm both are active and verified per the Conversion Tracking section before migration
• Reporting baseline — capture 28-day pre-migration metrics (CTR, CVR, CPA, ROAS, Search Lost IS by rank/budget) so post-migration impact can be measured cleanly

Document the migration risk per campaign as LOW (Smart Bidding + strong negatives + good AI Brief), MEDIUM (Smart Bidding but weak negatives or no Brief), or HIGH (Manual CPC, weak negatives, generic Brief). Stage migrations starting LOW → HIGH and pause MEDIUM/HIGH if conversion volume drops >25% in the first 7 days.

Demand Gen Campaigns

Replaced Video Action Campaigns (auto-upgrade began July 2025). Adding image assets to a video-only campaign drives 20% more conversions at the same CPA (Google Ads blog). Frequency capping NOT supported.

If Demand Gen campaigns exist, evaluate:

• Video + image asset mix present (combined format drives 20% more conversions vs video-only at same CPA)
• Audience signals configured (custom segments, lookalikes)
• Conversion tracking aligned with upper/mid-funnel goals
• Note: frequency capping is not available. Monitor reach vs frequency manually

Key Thresholds

Output

Google Ads Health Score

Google Ads Health Score: XX/100 (Grade: X)

Conversion Tracking: XX/100  ████████░░  (25%)
Wasted Spend:        XX/100  ██████████  (20%)
Account Structure:   XX/100  ███████░░░  (15%)
Keywords:            XX/100  █████░░░░░  (15%)
Ads:                 XX/100  ████████░░  (15%)
Settings:            XX/100  ██████████  (10%)

Deliverables

• GOOGLE-ADS-REPORT.md: Full 80-check findings with pass/warning/fail
• Wasted spend estimate (monthly $ value)
• Quick Wins sorted by impact
• PMax-specific recommendations (if applicable)
• Keyword health matrix with QS, CTR, CVR per keyword group