What a Real Paid Media Audit Looks Like
How we uncovered critical tracking failures, wasted ad spend, and hidden opportunities across Google Ads and Meta for a luxury yacht brand. All before managing a single campaign.
The Challenge: When "Running Ads" Isn't Enough
A renowned global yacht manufacturer came to us with a common frustration: they were spending significant budget on digital advertising across Google and Meta, but something felt off. Leads were inconsistent. Cost per acquisition seemed high. And nobody could definitively say which campaigns were actually working.
They didn't need someone to "run their ads." They needed someone to figure out what was actually happening inside their accounts and why their investment wasn't translating into predictable, qualified leads.
Before we would agree to manage a single campaign, we conducted comprehensive audits of both their Google Ads and Meta advertising accounts. What we found was eye-opening. Not because the previous management was negligent, but because the issues we uncovered are shockingly common across paid media accounts of all sizes.
This case study reveals what a real paid media audit looks like: the methodology, the depth of analysis, and the types of issues that silently drain advertising budgets. If you've ever wondered whether your ad accounts have hidden problems, this will show you exactly what to look for.
Our Audit Methodology
A proper paid media audit isn't a quick glance at top-level metrics. It's a systematic investigation across every layer of the advertising stack, from conversion tracking infrastructure to individual ad creative performance.
Conversion Tracking Infrastructure
We audit every conversion action, tag implementation, and tracking pixel to verify data accuracy before trusting any performance metrics.
Campaign Architecture Analysis
We examine campaign structure, budget allocation, and how campaigns work together (or against each other) across the customer journey.
Audience & Targeting Review
We evaluate geographic targeting, demographic filters, audience segments, and exclusion logic for gaps and inefficiencies.
Performance Deep-Dive
We analyze performance at every level, including campaign, ad group, ad, keyword, placement, and device, to identify winners, losers, and optimization opportunities.
Strategic Recommendations
We synthesize findings into a prioritized action plan with clear implementation phases and projected impact.
Google Ads Audit: Critical Findings
The Google Ads account contained seven active campaigns spanning Search, Display, and YouTube. On the surface, the account looked reasonably structured. Beneath the surface, we found systemic issues that were undermining performance across the board.
Broken Conversion Tracking
The account had 29 conversion actions configured, but several primary lead conversion events were showing "Needs Attention" status or zero recent conversions. The main sales enquiry form (the most valuable conversion action) wasn't firing at all.
This wasn't a minor data discrepancy. It meant the entire optimization engine was flying blind. Google's algorithms were optimizing toward incomplete data, and every performance metric in the account was suspect.
We traced the issue to the Google Tag Manager container, which hadn't been updated in nearly three years. Form tracking tags had broken silently, and nobody noticed because surface-level metrics looked "normal."
Zero-Conversion Ad Groups Still Spending
We identified multiple ad groups that had accumulated significant spend with zero conversions. One Display prospecting ad group had spent thousands with nothing to show for it. Two Search ad groups targeting specific yacht categories had also produced zero results.
These weren't new ad groups still in learning phase. They had been running for months. Without regular performance audits, budget continued flowing to placements that would never convert.
YouTube Spending 24% of Budget on TV Screens
The YouTube campaign was directing nearly a quarter of its budget to TV screen placements. Our device-level analysis revealed these placements had produced zero percent of conversions: a complete mismatch between spend allocation and results.
Meanwhile, mobile placements were generating 100% of the campaign's conversions but receiving a fraction of the budget. A simple bid adjustment would recapture this wasted spend immediately.
Remarketing Campaign Excluding High-Intent Users
This one was particularly painful. The Display remarketing campaign, designed to re-engage website visitors, was configured to exclude users who had triggered engagement events. Form starters, brochure viewers, and other high-intent visitors were being explicitly blocked from remarketing.
The audience exclusion logic was inverted. The campaign was reaching casual browsers while excluding the exact users most likely to convert. A single settings change would flip this entirely.
Geographic Targeting Limitations
All campaigns were restricted to just 24 specific locations across the US and Canada. While targeted advertising has merit, this approach assumed the brand knew exactly where buyers were locatedand the data told a different story.
Major boating markets were completely excluded. Entire states with significant coastal activity had zero coverage. The addressable market was artificially constrained by geographic assumptions rather than demographic qualification.
Competitor Campaigns Outperforming
Not everything was broken. Competitor conquest campaigns were delivering the account's strongest cost-per-lead metrics, significantly outperforming generic search terms. This campaign was underfunded relative to its efficiency.
AI-Powered Matching Winning
Google's AI Max expanded matches were dramatically outperforming manually selected keywords, generating leads at a fraction of the cost. The account had the feature enabled but wasn't leveraging its full potential.
Meta Advertising Audit: Critical Findings
The Meta account presented a different set of challenges. Where Google had tracking infrastructure problems, Meta suffered from audience decay, optimization roadblocks, and underutilized platform capabilities.
All Lead Generation Stuck in "Learning Limited"
Every lead generation ad set in the account was stuck in Meta's "Learning Limited" status. This occurs when ad sets don't generate enough conversions for Meta's algorithm to optimize delivery effectively, typically requiring around 50 conversions per week.
The account structure fragmented budget across multiple ad sets, ensuring none could reach the conversion volume needed to exit learning phase. The algorithm was essentially guessing rather than optimizing.
The solution wasn't more budget. It was consolidation. Combining prospecting efforts into fewer, better-funded ad sets would allow the algorithm to actually learn and optimize.
Audiences 18+ Months Outdated
The account's audience strategy was built on segments created over a year and a half ago. Many of these audiences had been marked "Unavailable" due to Meta's targeting policy changes, but were still attached to active ad sets.
Even worse, several valuable lookalike audiences were days away from automatic deletion. Custom audiences expire if not refreshed, and these seeds for prospecting were about to disappear entirely.
We documented which audiences needed immediate recreation, which required terms acceptance to unlock, and which should be retired and replaced with fresh segments.
No Conversions API Implementation
The account was relying entirely on browser-based pixel tracking, a method increasingly degraded by iOS privacy changes and browser restrictions. Meta's Conversions API (CAPI) wasn't implemented.
Industry benchmarks suggest CAPI implementation typically improves attribution accuracy by 20% or more. Without it, the account was likely missing significant conversion data, leading to suboptimal optimization and inflated cost-per-lead metrics.
Suspicious Pixel Activity
During the pixel diagnostic review, we identified several unauthorized domains sending data to the account's pixel, including domains that appeared suspicious and unrelated to the brand's legitimate web properties.
This required immediate investigation. Unauthorized pixel firing can pollute audience data, skew optimization, and potentially indicate pixel code theft or implementation errors across third-party sites.
Creative Performance Gaps
Ad-level analysis revealed stark performance differences across creative formats. Carousel ads were delivering landing page views at significantly lower cost than video content, yet lead generation campaigns weren't utilizing the carousel format at all.
Multiple ads had accumulated spend with zero results. Rather than automatic pausing, these underperformers continued draining budget alongside high performers.
Traffic Campaigns Performing Well
Traffic-focused campaigns were delivering strong efficiency metrics with cost per click and cost per landing page view both well within or below industry benchmarks. The brand awareness foundation was solid; it was the conversion layer that needed restructuring.
From Audit to Strategy: The 23-Page Roadmap
Identifying problems is only half the value of an audit. The other half is translating findings into a clear, prioritized action plan. We synthesized our Google and Meta audit findings into a comprehensive digital advertising strategy document spanning 23 pages.
Priority 1: Fix the Foundation
Before any campaign optimization could occur, conversion tracking had to be rebuilt. We defined exactly which conversion actions to track, how to implement them properly through Google Tag Manager, and how to deploy Meta's Conversions API for accurate attribution.
We also specified primary vs. secondary conversion actions, ensuring algorithms optimize toward high-value leads rather than micro-conversions that don't indicate purchase intent.
Priority 2: Expand Addressable Market
We recommended shifting from restrictive geographic targeting to demographic-qualified broader reach. Instead of assuming buyer locations, let qualified audiences find the brand, then use income targeting and interest signals to maintain lead quality.
The strategy included specific market expansion recommendations based on third-party boating interest data, prioritizing regions with demonstrated demand that were previously excluded entirely.
Priority 3: Full-Funnel Architecture
Luxury purchases have extended consideration cycles, often 12 to 24 months from awareness to purchase. We designed campaign structures that support every stage of this journey with appropriate messaging, offers, and conversion actions.
The strategy detailed specific campaigns for awareness (video views, reach), consideration (traffic, engagement), and conversion (lead generation), with audience flow between stages and budget allocation rationale.
Budget Reallocation Strategy
Based on performance analysis, we recommended shifting platform allocation to capitalize on efficiency differences. Campaigns with strong cost-per-lead metrics received increased budget recommendations; severely underperforming campaigns were marked for reduction or restructuring.
The goal wasn't to spend more. It was to spend smarter. Projected outcomes included significant improvements in cost-per-conversion and monthly lead volume without increasing total investment.
Phased Implementation Timeline
We broke execution into four phases over eight weeks:
- Phase 1 (Weeks 1-2): Conversion tracking rebuild, immediate campaign fixes, and critical issue resolution
- Phase 2 (Weeks 3-4): Lead generation restructuring and audience rebuilding
- Phase 3 (Weeks 5-6): Geographic expansion with demographic qualification
- Phase 4 (Weeks 7-8): Full-funnel campaign launch and optimization cadence establishment
What This Audit Reveals About Most Ad Accounts
The issues we uncovered in this audit aren't unique to this client. In our experience, they're representative of problems lurking in the majority of paid media accounts, including accounts managed by agencies and internal teams alike.
Paid media accounts don't fail dramatically. They fail silently, through tracking gaps, audience decay, and optimization logic that nobody questions.
Tracking Breaks Without Warning
Conversion tracking is fragile. Platform updates, website changes, and tag manager modifications can break tracking silently. Without regular audits, broken tracking goes unnoticed, and every optimization decision becomes suspect.
Audiences Expire and Decay
Custom audiences have shelf lives. Lookalikes expire. Targeting options get deprecated. An audience strategy that worked a year ago may be running on fumes today, or relying on excluded segments that no longer exist.
Settings Have Compounding Effects
A single inverted exclusion, an unnoticed device bid adjustment, or a placement setting left at default can quietly drain budget for months. These aren't dramatic failures. They're death by a thousand cuts.
Top-Line Metrics Lie
Accounts can show "good" performance at the campaign level while hiding severe inefficiencies at the ad group, placement, or device level. Real optimization requires drilling down, every time.
Is Your Ad Account Hiding Similar Issues?
Most advertisers don't know what they don't know. Budget bleeds silently through broken tracking, outdated audiences, and optimization logic that nobody questions.
Our paid media audits examine every layer of your advertising stack (Google Ads, Meta, or both) and deliver a clear picture of what's working, what's broken, and exactly how to fix it.