Mastering PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising requires a meticulous approach – it requires a keen eye for detail, a deep understanding of audience behavior, and the ability to adapt to rapidly changing dynamics. With numerous components to manage and optimize, it can be challenging to ensure that no crucial aspect is overlooked.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) typically allocate seven times the budget for PPC compared to SEO, as evidenced in the Social Shepherd statistics – it underscores PPC advertising potential in digital marketing strategies. Yet, it’s essential to carefully track campaigns’ efficiency, monitor ad-related landing pages, and implement data-based optimization to achieve the best results and prevent wasted spend.
This comprehensive guide outlines 33 essential steps, grouped in daily, weekly, and monthly checklists to guide you through the intricacies of PPC management. From campaign setup and keyword research to bid optimization and performance analysis, this guide will empower you to create and execute highly effective PPC campaigns that drive tangible results.
Whether you’re a seasoned PPC expert or a newcomer to the world of paid advertising, this checklist will be a valuable resource for maximizing your return on investment (ROI) and achieving your marketing goals.
What Is a PPC Checklist?
A PPC checklist is a structured guide that outlines essential tasks and steps for managing and optimizing Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising campaigns. It helps ensure that all crucial elements are considered and executed effectively, leading to improved campaign performance and a higher return on investment (ROI).
The checklist typically includes tasks related to keyword research, ad copy creation, and bid management. It ensures that ads are targeted correctly, budgets are managed efficiently, and performance is tracked accurately. Additionally, a PPC checklist often includes steps for setting up conversion tracking, optimizing landing pages, and conducting A/B testing to refine ad performance over time.
Using a PPC checklist helps maintain consistency and quality in campaign management. It provides a systematic approach to running PPC campaigns, makes it easier to identify areas for improvement, and ensures that best practices are followed. This tool is valuable for both novice and experienced marketers, helping them achieve better results and higher returns on their advertising investments.
What Is the Purpose of a PPC Checklist?
The main purpose of a PPC checklist is to provide a structured framework for managing pay-per-click advertising campaigns effectively. By following a checklist, marketers can ensure that all critical tasks are completed systematically, reducing the risk of errors and omissions that could negatively impact campaign performance. It covers the following areas:
- Ensuring comprehensive coverage – guarantees that all crucial aspects of a PPC campaign are considered and addressed.
- Improving campaign performance – helps identify areas for improvement and optimization, leading to better results.
- Saving time and resources – streamlines the campaign management process by providing a structured approach.
- Reducing errors – minimizes the risk of overlooking critical tasks or steps.
- Enhancing decision–making – provides a framework for data-driven decisions and adjustments.
- Increasing ROI – ultimately leads to a higher return on investment by maximizing the effectiveness of PPC spending.
By following a PPC checklist, advertisers can increase the likelihood of achieving their campaign goals and maximize the potential of their PPC efforts.
Daily 8-Step PPC Checklist
A daily PPC checklist includes routine tasks, such as checking campaign performance, analyzing search queries, checking ad positions, monitoring competitor activity, and checking for errors or disapprovals. All these steps are crucial to ensure that your pay-per-click campaigns run smoothly and effectively.
Discover the essential steps you should follow each day and use a daily PPC checklist to keep your campaign performance at the highest level:
- Check campaign performance
- Monitor budget and spend
- Analyze search queries
- Check ad positions
- Review ad copy performance
- Monitor conversion tracking
- Check for errors and disapprovals
- Monitor competitor activity
1. Check Campaign Performance
The first step in the daily PPC checklist is to check campaign performance. Analysis of KPIs is essential for evaluating campaign efficacy and identifying areas necessitating optimization. Review key metrics like clicks, impressions, CTR (click-through rate), CPC (cost per click), and conversion rates to understand how your campaigns are performing. Use PPC tools, such as AgencyAnalytics, that provide professional, transparent dashboards to evaluate your campaign efficiency effortlessly each day.
These core metrics provide invaluable insights into campaign health. By analyzing these indicators, one can see patterns, trends, and anomalies that inform strategic decision-making. This initial assessment serves as a diagnostic tool, enabling you to pinpoint underperforming components of the campaign and to allocate resources effectively for improvement.
2. Monitor Budget and Spend
The second step of the daily PPC checklist is to monitor the budget and spend. Ensure you’re staying within your daily budget limits and check for any unexpected spikes in spending. Adhering to predefined daily budget limitations is the basis for optimizing return on investment (ROI).
A proactive approach to expenditure analysis is essential to identify and rectify any anomalous spending patterns. By closely observing budgetary allocations, you can prevent overspending and ensure that advertising funds are distributed efficiently across campaigns and ad groups. Regular analysis of spending data enables you to make informed adjustments to bidding strategies and budget distribution, thus maximizing the impact of advertising investments.
3. Analyze Search Queries
The third step in the daily PPC checklist is to analyze search queries. Review search query reports to identify new negative keywords to add and potential new positive keywords to target. Identifying underperforming keywords and incorporating negative keywords is important to prevent irrelevant clicks and optimize ad spend. Conversely, discovering high-performing search terms presents an opportunity to expand keyword targeting and capture additional qualified traffic. Through this iterative process of analysis and optimization, you can enhance campaign relevance and drive improved performance.
4. Check Ad Positions
The fourth phase in the daily PPC checklist is to check ad positions. Review ad positions to ensure your ads are showing in the desired positions. Adjust bids or ad quality to maintain optimal placement. Ensuring that advertisements occupy prominent positions within search engine results pages (SERPs) is important to maximizing visibility and driving user engagement.
By regularly monitoring ad positions, you can identify instances where adjustments are necessary to maintain optimal placement. Strategic bid modifications or enhancements to ad quality can significantly influence ad rank and visibility. Through diligent oversight of this metric, you can optimize your campaigns for maximum exposure and click-through rates.
5. Review Ad Copy Performance
The sixth step in the daily PPC checklist is to review ad copy and performance. Identify top-performing ads and consider pausing or revising ads with low performance. By meticulously analyzing ad metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per click (CPC), you can identify high-performing ad variants that resonate with the target audience. Conversely, underperforming ad copy should be subject to rigorous analysis and optimization. Pausing or revising ineffective ads is essential to allocate the budget towards more promising creative elements.
6. Monitor Conversion Tracking
The seventh phase in the daily PPC checklist is to monitor conversion tracking. Check if conversion tracking is working correctly and if there are no discrepancies in the data. Ensuring the accurate and consistent recording of conversions is imperative for measuring campaign ROI and optimizing performance.
7. Check for Errors and Disapprovals
The eighth step in the daily PPC checklist is to check for errors and disapproval. Regularly analyzing the campaign for irregularities such as ad disapprovals, landing page issues, or technical glitches is essential to maintaining optimal performance. Addressing these issues quickly is critical to preventing campaign disruptions and preserving ad spending. By implementing a robust error mitigation process, you can ensure uninterrupted traffic flow and maximize campaign effectiveness.
8. Monitor competitor activity
The ninth step in the daily PPC checklist is to monitor competitor activity and adjust bids accordingly. By analyzing competitor bidding strategies, ad copy, and landing page experiences, you can gain valuable insights into market dynamics and identify opportunities for competitive advantage.
Adjusting bids in response to competitor actions is essential for maintaining optimal ad positions and driving desired click-through rates. Through vigilant competitive intelligence gathering and responsive bid management, you can enhance your market share and improve overall campaign performance.
Weekly 12-Step PPC Checklist
A weekly PPC checklist involves more in–depth tasks compared to daily checks, focusing on broader performance trends, strategy adjustments, and optimizations. Use the following 12-step checklist to optimize your campaigns each week:
- Conduct a comprehensive performance review
- Evaluate campaign and ad group metrics
- Update and refine keywords
- Optimize ad copy
- Monitor Quality Scores
- Adjust bidding strategies
- Evaluate landing page performance
- Perform competitor analysis
- Check conversion tracking and attribution
- Review audience targeting
- Optimize remarketing campaigns
- Prepare reports
1. Conduct a Comprehensive Performance Review
The first phase in a weekly PPC checklist is to conduct a comprehensive performance review. Analyze key metrics, including conversion rates and ROI (return on investment), to understand weekly trends and performance. Additionally, examining metrics like average position, quality score, and bounce rate provides valuable insights into campaign health. By comparing current performance to historical data and established benchmarks, you can identify areas of strength and weakness, informing subsequent optimization efforts.
2. Evaluate campaign and ad group metrics
The second step in a weekly PPC checklist is to evaluate campaign and ad group metrics. Assess the performance of each campaign and ad group to identify those that are underperforming and those that are exceeding expectations. By identifying top-performing and underperforming campaigns and ad groups, you can allocate budget effectively, optimize bidding strategies, and make data-driven decisions to improve overall campaign efficiency.
3. Update and Refine Keywords
The third step in a weekly PPC checklist is to update and refine keywords. Conduct keyword research to find new opportunities and review the performance of existing keywords. Add new high-performing keywords and remove or adjust bids on underperforming ones. Evaluate the match types you are using for your keywords. Depending on your goals, you may want to adjust between broad match, phrase match, and exact match to control how closely related the search queries must be to trigger your ads. Use broad match modifiers if needed to strike a balance between reach and relevance.
4. Optimize Ad Copy
The fourth step in a weekly PPC checklist is to optimize ad copy. Review and test new ad variations, yet remember that ad copy should be compelling and clear. Identify top-performing ad copies and replace or tweak those with low performance to improve overall ad effectiveness. Ensure your ad copy is highly relevant to your keywords and landing pages. Relevance is crucial for maintaining high Quality Scores, which can lower your CPC and improve your ad position. Use dynamic keyword insertion where appropriate to make your ads more relevant to search queries.
Additionally, keep an eye on your competitors’ ads. Understanding what your competitors are doing can provide valuable insights and inspiration for your own ad copy. Identify what strategies they are using, what messages they are conveying, and how you can differentiate your ads to stand out in the market.
5. Monitor Quality Scores
The fifth phase in a weekly PPC checklist is to monitor Quality Scores for your ads. Start by understanding the components of Quality Scores. Google Ads calculates Quality Scores based on three primary factors:
- expected click-through rate (CTR),
- ad relevance,
- landing page experience.
Each of these components is rated as below average, average, or above average. By reviewing these scores, you can find specific areas needing improvement. Identify factors contributing to low scores and take steps to improve them, such as enhancing ad relevance.
Additionally, you should monitor competitor Quality Scores. While you can’t see their exact scores, tools like Semrush and SpyFu can provide insights into competitors’ ad strategies and keyword performance. Use this information to identify opportunities for improving your own Quality Scores by adopting successful strategies or avoiding pitfalls.
6. Adjust Bidding Strategies
The sixth step in a weekly PPC checklist is to adjust bidding strategies. This step is crucial for optimizing your budget, improving ad performance, and ensuring that your campaigns are cost-effective. Review and modify bidding strategies based on performance data.
Increase bids on high-performing keywords. By raising your bids, you can improve the ad position and potentially increase traffic and conversions. Ensure that the increase aligns with your budget and expected ROI. Then, reduce bids on low–performing keywords. Lowering bids can help control costs while still maintaining some level of visibility. If certain keywords are not converting well despite high traffic, consider pausing them altogether.
Modify bids based on device, location, and time of day. Analyze performance data to identify trends and adjust bids accordingly, for example:
- Device – if mobile devices generate more conversions, consider increasing mobile bids.
- Location – increase bids in locations where your ads perform well and decrease in underperforming regions.
- Time of day – adjust bids to allocate more budget during peak performance hours and reduce spend during low-activity periods.
You can conduct A/B tests to evaluate the impact of bid modifications. Change bids for a subset of your keywords or ad groups and compare the performance against a control group. This will help you understand the effects of your bid adjustments without risking your entire budget.
7. Evaluate Landing Page Performance
The seventh step in a weekly PPC checklist is to evaluate landing page performance. This involves analyzing key metrics such as bounce rate, conversion rate, time on page, and scroll depth to evaluate the effectiveness of landing pages in driving desired user actions. To assess your ad-related landing page, use Landingi – a powerful digital marketing platform that supports paid campaign optimization, and leverage its built-in EventTracker tool. This tool allows you to track events and user behavior, collect all data in a transparent dashboard, and thoroughly analyze it to incorporate data-based optimizations. You can also use the A/B testing tool to experiment with different landing page elements, such as headlines, images, CTAs, forms, and layout structures, to see which combinations yield the best results.
Ensure consistency and relevance between your ads and landing pages. The message and offer presented in your ads should match what visitors see on the landing page. This consistency helps build trust and encourages users to complete the desired action. Misleading or inconsistent messaging can lead to high bounce rates and low conversion rates.
Remember to evaluate the load speed of your landing pages. A slow-loading page can deter visitors and increase bounce rates. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to measure load times and get recommendations for improving page speed. Aim for a load time of under three seconds to ensure a smooth user experience. Then, ensure that your landing pages are mobile–responsive. With an increasing number of users accessing the internet via mobile devices, it’s crucial that your landing pages are optimized for mobile. Test your pages on various devices and screen sizes to ensure a seamless experience.
8. Perform Competitor Analysis
The eighth step in a weekly PPC checklist is to perform competitor analysis. Review competitor activities and strategies. Identify any new trends or tactics they are using and consider how you can adapt your own strategy to stay competitive. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors’ PPC campaigns. Determine what they are doing well and where they might be falling short. Use this analysis to capitalize on their weaknesses and differentiate your campaigns by emphasizing your strengths.
Use keyword research tools, like Semrush or Ahrefs, to identify the keywords your competitors are bidding on. Look for high-performing keywords that you might be missing and consider adding them to your campaigns. Also, identify keywords where your competitors are ranking higher and evaluate whether you can improve your bidding strategy or ad relevance for those terms.
Leverage competitor analysis tools and reports. Platforms like Google Ads Auction Insights can provide detailed reports on competitor performance. These tools can help you understand your market position relative to your competitors and identify opportunities for improvement. Benchmark your performance against your competitors. Compare key metrics such as CTR, CPC, conversion rates, and Quality Scores. Then, use this benchmarking to set realistic goals and measure your progress over time.
9. Check Conversion Tracking and Attribution
The ninth phase in a weekly PPC checklist is to check conversion tracking and attribution. Ensure all conversion tracking mechanisms are working correctly and verify the accuracy of attribution models. Adjust as needed to ensure you are capturing the full picture of your campaign’s effectiveness.
Start by ensuring that all conversion tracking mechanisms are functioning correctly. This involves verifying that the tracking codes or pixels on your website and landing pages are properly installed and functioning as expected. Use tools like Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, or platform-specific tools like Facebook Pixel Helper to test and confirm that your conversion tracking is operational. This verification process helps to ensure that all user actions, such as purchases, sign-ups, or form submissions, are correctly recorded and attributed to your PPC efforts.
However, if you use the Landingi platform to craft your PPC landing pages and leverage its EventTracker tool to monitor them, you can be sure everything works well. EventTracker is a built–in tool that does not require a setup process, ensuring that analytics are properly configured for accurate results.
Next, verify the accuracy of your attribution models. Attribution models determine how credit for conversions is assigned to different touchpoints in the customer journey. Common models include:
- last-click attribution,
- first-click attribution,
- linear attribution,
- time decay attribution,
- data-driven attribution.
It is essential to review the attribution model you are using to ensure it aligns with your campaign goals and provides a realistic picture of how your marketing efforts are contributing to conversions.
For example, if you are using a last-click attribution model, consider whether it might be more beneficial to use a model that credits multiple touchpoints, especially if your customer journey involves multiple interactions across various channels.
10. Review Audience Targeting
The tenth phase of a weekly PPC checklist is to review audience targeting. Analyze the performance of different audience segments – it will help you identify which segments are performing well and which ones may need adjustment. Delve into the demographic, geographic, and behavioral characteristics of your audience. To ensure that your targeting criteria align with your campaign goals, review factors such as:
- age,
- gender,
- location,
- interests,
- online behaviors.
For example, if a particular age group or geographic area performs exceptionally well, consider increasing your focus on these segments. Conversely, if certain demographics are not yielding the desired results, you might need to adjust your targeting parameters or messaging to better appeal to those groups.
In addition to demographic and geographic analysis, evaluate the performance of custom and lookalike audiences. Custom audiences, based on your existing customer data, can help you reach people who have already shown interest in your products or services. Lookalike audiences, created from your best-performing customer segments, can help you find new potential customers who share similar characteristics. Assessing the effectiveness of these audience types can provide valuable insights into which strategies are working and where there might be opportunities for improvement.
11. Optimize Remarketing Campaigns
The eleventh step in a weekly PPC checklist is to optimize remarketing campaigns. This process is essential for effectively re-engaging users who have previously interacted with your brand but did not convert. By refining your remarketing efforts, you can enhance the chances of converting these potential customers, improve ROI, and strengthen brand recall.
Start by analyzing the performance of your existing remarketing campaigns. Pay particular attention to the segments of your audience that engage most frequently with your remarketing ads and those converting at the highest rates. Next, review and refine your remarketing audience lists. Ensure that these lists are updated regularly to include the most recent visitors to your website. Consider segmenting your audiences based on specific behaviors or interactions, such as pages visited, time spent on site, or actions taken (e.g., adding items to a cart but not completing the purchase), and personalize your remarketing ads to address the specific needs and preferences of your segmented audiences.
Another critical aspect of optimizing remarketing campaigns is to set appropriate frequency caps. Frequency caps limit the number of times your ads are shown to the same user within a specific period. This prevents ad fatigue, where users become annoyed by seeing the same ads too often, which can lead to a negative perception of your brand.
12. Prepare Reports
The last step in a weekly PPC checklist is to prepare reports. Summarize key insights on evaluated PPC ads, actions taken, and plans for the upcoming week to maintain transparency and inform future strategies.
To create an effective report, start by presenting an overview of the PPC ad campaign’s performance. Highlight key metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on investment. Analyze the data to identify trends and patterns that could inform future strategies. Next, document the actions you took during the week. This could include adjusting bidding strategies, optimizing ad copy, or refining audience targeting. Explain the rationale behind each action and its expected impact on the campaign. Finally, outline your plans for the upcoming week. This could involve testing new ad variations, exploring different audience segments, or implementing new targeting strategies. Remember to keep the report concise and focused, and use visuals like charts and graphs to present data clearly.
Monthly 13-Step PPC Checklist
A monthly PPC checklist involves a comprehensive review and strategic adjustments to ensure long–term campaign success. It requires more than a basic daily PPC checklist and includes a full PPC campaign performance audit, but also helps prepare a long-term strategy for best results. Check out what steps you should take in the monthly optimization of your PPC ad campaigns:
- Analyze overall performance metrics
- Evaluate campaign and ad group effectiveness
- Conduct in-depth keyword analysis
- Optimize ad creative
- Review Quality Scores
- Adjust bidding strategies and budgets
- Assess landing page performance
- Evaluate competitor strategies and tactics
- Evaluate audience segmentation and targeting
- Improve retargeting efforts
- Audit conversion tracking and attribution models
- Generate detailed reports
- Set a plan for the upcoming month
1. Analyze Overall Performance Metrics
The first step in the monthly PPC checklist is to analyze overall performance metrics. This comprehensive review, unlike daily performance checking, involves evaluating key indicators to understand how your campaigns have performed over the past month, identifying areas for improvement, and strategizing for the upcoming period.
Traditionally, start by examining high-level metrics, including the following:
- total impressions,
- clicks,
- click-through rates (CTR),
- cost-per-click (CPC).
These metrics provide a snapshot of your campaign’s reach and engagement. Compare these figures to previous months to identify trends and anomalies. A significant increase or decrease in any of these metrics could indicate changes in user behavior, market conditions, or the effectiveness of your ads.
Next, focus on conversion metrics. Assess the total number of conversions, conversion rate, and cost per conversion. These metrics are crucial for understanding how well your campaigns are driving desired actions, such as purchases, sign-ups, or lead generation. Analyzing conversion data helps you determine the return on investment (ROI) and the overall efficiency of your campaigns. Look for patterns that suggest which ads, keywords, or audience segments are most effective at converting users.
While daily performance reviews are about maintaining the campaign’s operational health and making quick, tactical adjustments, monthly performance reviews focus on strategic assessment and long-term optimization, providing a deeper understanding of overall campaign effectiveness and guiding broader strategic decisions.
2. Evaluate Campaign and Ad Group Effectiveness
The second phase of a monthly PPC checklist is to evaluate campaign and ad group effectiveness. Dive deeper into the performance of individual campaigns and ad groups. Evaluate the specific metrics for each to identify high-performing and underperforming areas. For instance, if certain campaigns or ad groups have high CTRs but low conversion rates, this could indicate issues with the landing page or the relevance of the ad copy to the user’s intent. Conversely, high conversion rates in specific areas might highlight successful strategies worth expanding.
Based on the insights gathered, decide whether to scale or pause campaigns and ad groups. For better-performing ads, consider increasing the budget to further enhance their reach and effectiveness. Implement similar strategies across other campaigns to replicate success. For underperforming campaigns, you might decide to pause them temporarily while you diagnose and fix the issues. This could involve revising ad copy, improving landing pages, or adjusting targeting parameters.
Additionally, use this phase to experiment with new strategies and refine existing ones. If certain ad groups within a campaign are performing exceptionally well, test new variations to see if you can further optimize performance. Similarly, for underperforming areas, implement changes and monitor their impact over the next month to determine if the adjustments are effective.
Finally, document your findings and the actions taken during this evaluation. Summarize the performance of each campaign and ad group, highlighting key insights and justification for any strategic adjustments. This documentation will serve as a valuable reference for future optimization efforts and ensure continuity in your PPC strategy.
3. Conduct In-Depth Keyword Analysis
The third step in a monthly PPC checklist is to conduct an in-depth keyword analysis. This comprehensive review goes beyond the surface-level adjustments made during daily keyword management, focusing on long-term trends and strategic improvements to enhance overall campaign performance.
In a daily keyword analysis, you focus on your keywords’ day-to-day performance, making minor tweaks to ensure your campaign stays on track. However, a monthly keyword analysis involves a thorough review of each keyword’s performance over the entire month. This means looking at aggregated data to identify patterns and trends that might not be visible in daily snapshots. You’ll assess metrics such as total impressions, clicks, CTR, average CPC, conversion rates, and cost per conversion for each keyword.
Monthly keyword analysis allows you to spot long-term trends that could inform your strategy. For instance, you might notice that certain keywords perform better during specific times of the month or that seasonal trends affect keyword performance. Identifying these patterns can help you anticipate changes in performance and adjust your strategy accordingly, something that’s harder to achieve with daily analysis alone. You might also find that some high-cost keywords are not delivering the expected ROI, prompting you to reallocate your budget to more cost-effective options. Conversely, you might discover that certain keywords outperform others and deserve a higher bid or more budget allocation.
While adding negative keywords is a common daily task, the monthly review allows you to refine your negative keyword list more thoroughly. By analyzing a search query report over a longer period, you can identify patterns of irrelevant traffic and add broader negative keywords to prevent wastage. This helps to ensure that your ads are shown only to the most relevant audience, improving overall campaign efficiency.
4. Optimize Ad Creative
The fourth phase of a monthly PPC checklist is to optimize ad creative. While daily tweaks might involve minor adjustments to headlines or CTAs, the monthly review is a more comprehensive process that evaluates the overall performance of your ad creatives and implements strategic changes to improve them.
Begin by conducting a comprehensive review of your ad creatives’ performance over the past month, including checking the results of your previously implemented A/B tests. Look for trends and patterns that can provide insights into what aspects of your ad creatives resonate most with your audience. Delve deeper into the individual elements of your ad creatives, such as headlines, descriptions, images, and CTAs. Assess which components are driving engagement and which are falling flat. For instance, you might find that ads with certain headlines consistently achieve higher CTRs, suggesting that this style is particularly effective.
A monthly PPC management checklist on ad optimization is an opportunity to refresh your ad copy. Ads can become stale if they remain unchanged for too long, leading to ad fatigue and ignoring them. Based on your analysis, create new ad copy incorporating successful elements from your best-performing ads while introducing fresh ideas and angles. Ensure that your new ads are aligned with current marketing campaigns, promotions, or seasonal trends to maintain relevance and engagement.
Optimize your use of ad extensions to improve the effectiveness of your ad creatives. Ad extensions can enhance ad visibility – sitelink extensions, callout extensions, and structured snippets provide additional information and increase the exposure of your ads. Review the performance of your current ad extensions and test new ones to see which combinations yield the best results. Effective use of ad extensions can improve your CTR and provide a more comprehensive message to potential customers.
Finally, document your findings and the changes you plan to implement based on your ad creative optimization. Summarize the performance of different ad elements, highlight successful strategies, and outline the new ad variations and experiments you will conduct.
5. Review Quality Scores
The fifth step of a monthly PPC audit checklist is to review quality scores. This in-depth review differs significantly from weekly checks in its comprehensive nature. While weekly reviews focus on immediate adjustments to maintain ad performance, the monthly review delves into broader trends and strategic insights.
During the monthly audit, you analyze the quality scores of all your keywords and identify long–term patterns and areas needing improvement. This involves evaluating the three main components, the same as in the weekly PPC optimization:
- expected click-through rate (CTR),
- ad relevance,
- landing page experience.
However, by comparing these components over a month, you can pinpoint persistent issues and implement strategic changes, such as enhancing ad copy, improving landing pages, or refining keyword targeting. The goal is to boost overall ad quality and performance, leading to lower costs per click and higher ad placements. This comprehensive approach ensures that your campaigns are not only optimized for the short term but are also set up for sustained success.
6. Adjust Bidding Strategies and Budgets
The sixth step in a monthly PPC checklist is to adjust bidding strategies and budgets. This phase is more comprehensive and strategic than daily and weekly adjustments. While the daily PPC checklist focuses on monitoring the budget to ensure you don’t overspend and the weekly optimization includes minor adjustments based on immediate performance metrics, the monthly review takes a broader and more in-depth approach.
During the monthly audit, you analyze overall campaign performance to identify trends and make substantial adjustments. This involves looking at long-term data to understand which campaigns, ad groups, and keywords deliver the best ROI. By evaluating metrics like cost-per-click (CPC), conversion rates, cost-per-conversion, and overall return on ad spend (ROAS), you can determine where to allocate more budget and where to reduce spending.
As the bid strategy should align with campaign goals, the monthly adjustment also includes re-evaluating your bidding strategies. This might involve shifting from manual to automated bidding strategies, such as target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) or target ROAS, based on the accumulated data. You might decide to increase bids on high-performing keywords to maximize visibility and traffic or decrease bids on underperforming keywords to manage costs more effectively.
Furthermore, monthly budget adjustments consider seasonal trends, promotional periods, and business objectives. For instance, if a particular product or service is expected to have higher demand in the upcoming month, you can allocate more budget to campaigns promoting those items. This strategic reallocation ensures that your budget is used most effectively to achieve your business goals.
7. Assess Landing Page Performance
The seventh step in a monthly PPC checklist is to assess landing page performance. This evaluation is crucial because even the most effective PPC ads can fail to convert if the landing page doesn’t meet user expectations. The landing page needs consistent messaging with ads. Ensuring consistent messaging between your ads and landing pages is vital for maintaining user trust and driving conversions.
Ensure that the content and offers on your landing page match the promises made in your ad campaign. If an ad promotes a specific discount or product feature, the landing page should prominently display that same discount or feature. Inconsistencies between the ad and the landing page can lead to user frustration and abandonment, negatively impacting your conversion rates.
Start by analyzing key metrics such as:
- bounce rate,
- average session duration,
- conversion rates,
- form submissions,
- scroll depth,
for each landing page. A high bounce rate or low session duration might indicate that visitors are not finding what they expected based on the ad they clicked. Similarly, low conversion rates can signal that while users engage with the landing page, they are not compelled to complete the desired action.
Evaluate the overall user experience (UX) of your landing pages. This includes assessing the page’s load time, mobile responsiveness, and ease of navigation. A slow-loading page can deter visitors, while a mobile-friendly design is essential, given the increasing number of users accessing websites via mobile devices. Ensure that call-to-action (CTA) buttons are visible and easy to interact with. Leverage the data gathered from previously conducted A/B tests and choose well-performing elements to refine your ad-related landing page.
Assess the relevance and quality of the content on your landing pages. The information should be clear, concise, and directly related to the ad’s message. High-quality, persuasive content can significantly enhance user engagement and drive conversions. To optimize your ad-related landing page, leverage AI landing page features in Landingi and generate high-quality, ad-relevant content for the entire landing page.
8. Evaluate Competitor Strategies and Tactics
The eight point in a monthly PPC checklist is to evaluate competitor strategies and tactics. This step involves a comprehensive review of competitor activities, which differs significantly from the more immediate and surface-level analysis typically conducted on a weekly basis.
Weekly competitor analysis focuses on quick, actionable insights to respond to immediate changes in the competitive landscape. This might include monitoring competitor ad copy, bid adjustments, and keyword usage. The goal is to identify any sudden shifts or tactics competitors are employing and make rapid adjustments to your own campaigns to maintain performance. In contrast, a monthly competitor evaluation is more strategic, providing a broader understanding of how competitors position themselves over time. You can analyze your competitors’ strategies in the following areas:
#1 Check their keyword strategies
Gather data on competitor campaigns using tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, or SpyFu. These tools can provide insights into competitors’ keyword strategies, ad copy performance, and budget allocation over the past month. Analyze the collected data to identify trends and patterns. Look for new keywords that competitors are targeting, changes in their ad copy, and any shifts in their bidding strategies. For instance, if a competitor is consistently increasing their spend on certain keywords, it could indicate a strategic focus on those areas that you might also want to consider.
#2 Analyze ad creatives and landing pages
Evaluate the creative aspects of competitor ads as well. Examine their headlines, descriptions, CTAs, and the overall tone and messaging of their ads. Identify any new angles or unique selling propositions (USPs) they highlight. This can inspire your own ad copy and help you differentiate your messaging to stand out in the market. Additionally, review the landing pages competitors are using. Assess their design, content, and user experience. This can offer valuable insights into how competitors are converting traffic and give you ideas for optimizing your own landing pages.
#3 Examine audience targeting strategies
Another critical aspect of monthly competitor analysis is examining their audience targeting strategies. Use tools to understand the demographics, interests, and behaviors of the audiences competitors are targeting. This can help you identify new segments to target or refine your existing audience strategies.
Identify any emerging trends or new strategies that competitors are adopting. This could include the use of new ad formats, innovative targeting methods, or fresh promotional tactics. Staying aware of these trends allows you to adapt your campaigns accordingly and ensure that you remain competitive. Then, document your findings and develop a strategic plan to adapt to these insights. This might involve reallocating the budget to more competitive keywords, adjusting your ad copy to differentiate your offerings better, or experimenting with new landing page designs inspired by competitor successes.
9. Evaluate Audience Segmentation and Targeting
The ninth step in a monthly PPC checklist is to evaluate audience segmentation and targeting. While daily or weekly reviews might involve quick adjustments based on immediate performance, the monthly evaluation provides a strategic analysis of how effectively your audience segments perform and how you can optimize them for better results.
Begin by analyzing the performance of your current audience segments. Look at key metrics and identify which segments deliver the highest ROI and which are underperforming. This analysis helps you understand which audiences are most responsive to your ads and where there might be opportunities to improve targeting. Next, review demographic data to see if your ads resonate with the intended audience. Similarly, analyze geographic performance to identify regions that yield the best results. Understanding these demographics and geographic trends allows you to refine your targeting to focus on the most lucrative segments.
Look at user behavior metrics, such as:
- pages visited,
- time spent on site,
- and past interactions with your brand.
By understanding how different audience segments interact with your site, you can tailor your ads and landing pages to meet their needs and preferences better.
In addition to these metrics, evaluate the performance of custom and lookalike audiences. Assess how well these audiences are performing and consider ways to expand or refine them. Lookalike audiences, which target users similar to your best customers, should also be reviewed to ensure they are effectively reaching high-potential new customers. Refine your negative audience lists as well. Negative targeting excludes certain groups from seeing your ads, which helps reduce wasted spending and improve overall campaign efficiency. Regularly updating these lists based on performance data ensures that your ads reach only the most relevant users.
Additionally, consider using new and advanced targeting options that may have become available. Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads regularly introduce new features and targeting capabilities. Evaluate these options to see if they can help you better reach your target audience.
Once you have gathered and analyzed all this data, develop strategies to optimize your audience segmentation and targeting. You can create new audience segments based on high–performing demographics or behaviors, adjust bid modifiers for specific segments, or test new targeting options. The goal is to continually refine your targeting to ensure that your ads are shown to the people most likely to convert.
10. Improve Retargeting Efforts
The tenth step in a monthly PPC checklist is to improve retargeting efforts. This step involves a thorough review and optimization of your remarketing strategies to ensure they effectively re-engage previous visitors and convert them into customers. You can leverage your weekly analysis from the past month to identify which segments are performing well and which need improvement. Evaluate your audience lists, ensuring they are up-to-date and accurately segmented based on user behavior, such as pages visited or actions taken.
Next, personalize your ad creative to match the specific interests and behaviors of your segmented audiences. Tailor your messaging and offers to resonate more deeply with these users. Additionally, review and adjust your frequency caps to avoid ad fatigue while maintaining enough exposure to drive conversions. Incorporate dynamic remarketing to show tailored ads featuring products or services users viewed on your site. Finally, ensure your landing pages are optimized and aligned with your ad messaging, providing a seamless user experience that encourages conversions. Document your findings and the changes made, and use these insights to enhance your remarketing efforts continuously.
By refining your remarketing strategies each month, you can significantly improve your ability to reconnect with potential customers, increase engagement, and drive higher conversion rates, ultimately maximizing the return on your PPC investment.
11. Audit Conversion Tracking and Attribution Models
The eleventh phase of a monthly PPC checklist is to audit conversion tracking and attribution models. This crucial step ensures you accurately measure the success of your campaigns and understand the customer journey. Start by verifying that all conversion tracking mechanisms, such as pixels and tracking codes, are correctly implemented and functioning on your website and landing pages – this process helps ensure that all user actions, like purchases or sign-ups, are accurately recorded. If you use the EventTracker tool from Landingi for monitoring your ad-related landing pages, you can be sure it works well, so you can skip this step.
Next, review your attribution models to ensure they align with your campaign goals. Different models, such as last-click or multi-touch attribution, can significantly impact your understanding of which touchpoints are most valuable. By analyzing the performance data from these models, you can identify discrepancies and adjust your strategies accordingly. Implement any necessary changes to improve tracking accuracy and data reliability.
Finally, document your findings and adjustments. This regular audit helps maintain the integrity of your data, providing a clearer picture of your PPC efforts’ effectiveness and guiding future optimizations to enhance overall campaign performance.
12. Generate Detailed Reports
The twelfth step in a monthly PPC checklist is to generate detailed reports. This step is essential for maintaining transparency, tracking performance, and informing future strategies. Unlike weekly reports focusing on short-term metrics and immediate actions, monthly reports provide a comprehensive overview of your campaign’s performance over a longer period, offering deeper insights and strategic recommendations.
Begin by compiling data from all your PPC campaigns, including key performance indicators (KPIs), such as:
- impressions,
- clicks,
- ad performance by device,
- click-through rates (CTR),
- conversion rates,
- cost-per-click (CPC),
- cost-per-acquisition (CPA),
- overall return on investment (ROI).
Analyze these metrics to identify trends, patterns, and any significant changes compared to the previous month. This will highlight what’s working well and what areas need improvement.
Include a section that details the performance of individual campaigns and ad groups. Break down the data to show which campaigns delivered the highest ROI, which ad groups had the best CTRs, and where you saw the most conversions. This detailed level of reporting helps identify the specific elements of PPC activities that lead to success. Next, review the performance of your keywords. Identify high-performing keywords that are driving traffic and conversions, as well as underperforming ones that may need adjustment or removal. Highlight any new relevant keywords added during the month and their impact on campaign performance. It’s crucial for ongoing optimization and budget allocation.
Your report should also cover the effectiveness of your ad creatives. Detail the performance of different ad copies, headlines, and CTAs. Include insights from A/B tests conducted during the month, showing which variations performed best and how these insights will inform future ad copy strategies. Then, summarize the performance of different audience segments, including demographic and geographic data, and any adjustments made to targeting criteria. This information helps in understanding which audience segments are most valuable and how targeting strategies can be refined.
Additionally, include an overview of your budget and spend analysis. Compare the actual spend to the allocated budget and explain any variances. Highlight areas where the budget was adjusted based on performance and provide recommendations for future budget allocation. Finally, outline the strategic actions taken during the month and their outcomes. This could include changes to bidding strategies, adjustments to ad placements, or optimizations to landing pages. Provide a summary of the results of these actions and how they have impacted overall campaign performance.
By generating detailed monthly reports, you provide a clear and comprehensive overview of your PPC campaigns’ performance, offering valuable insights that drive strategic decision-making and help achieve your marketing objectives.
13. Set a Plan for the Upcoming Month
The last step in a monthly PPC checklist is to set a plan for the upcoming month. Leverage your monthly PPC audit report and set specific, measurable goals for the upcoming month. These goals should be based on your performance analysis and aligned with broader business objectives, such as increasing conversions, improving return on investment (ROI), or expanding market reach. Define clear benchmarks for these goals to track progress and make data-driven decisions throughout the month easily.
Incorporate any upcoming events, promotions, or seasonal trends into your plan, and adjust your budget, bidding strategies, and ad creatives to reflect these opportunities, ensuring that your campaigns are positioned for maximum impact. Consider any new strategies or tactics you want to test in the upcoming month. This could include experimenting with new ad formats, testing different audience segments, or trying out automated bidding strategies.
Allocate your budget strategically based on the performance insights from the previous month. Increase spending on high-performing campaigns and reduce or reallocate funds from underperforming areas. Ensure that your budget aligns with your goals for the month and is distributed in a way that maximizes your chances of success.
Document your plan in detail. Outline the specific actions you’ll take, the goals you aim to achieve, and the metrics you’ll use to measure success. This documentation serves as a roadmap for the upcoming month, ensuring that everyone involved in your PPC campaigns is aligned and working towards the same objectives.
What PPC Metrics Should I Track?
The core metrics you should track to evaluate PPC campaign efficiency include impressions, clicks, click-through rate, cost per click, conversion rate, cost per acquisition, and return on ad spend. However, the specific PPC metrics you must track to optimize your campaigns depend on your campaign goals and industry and can involve the following:
Core metrics:
- Impressions – the number of times your ad is displayed.
- Clicks – the number of times your ad is clicked.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR) – the percentage of people who clicked on your ad after seeing it.
- Cost Per Click (CPC) – the amount you pay for each click on your ad.
- Conversion rate – the percentage of people who complete a desired action (e.g., purchase, sign-up) after clicking on your ad.
- Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) – the amount you spend to acquire a customer.
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) – the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.
Advanced metrics:
- Quality Score – a measure of the overall quality and relevance of your ad, keywords, and landing page.
- Ad Rank – determines your ad’s position on the search results page.
- Impression Share – the percentage of impressions you’ve received compared to the total number of impressions you were eligible for.
- Average Position – the average position of your ad on the search results page.
- Bounce Rate – the percentage of visitors who leave your landing page without taking any action.
- Geographic Performance – the performance of your campaigns in different locations.
- Lifetime Value (LTV) – the total revenue a customer generates over their lifetime.
- Form Abandonment Rate – the percentage of users who start filling out a form but don’t complete it.
Additional metrics (depending on goals):
- Time on Page – the average amount of time visitors spend on your landing page.
- Mobile vs. Desktop Performance – compare performance across devices.
- Device–Specific Metrics – performance on different devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets).
How Often Should I Monitor PPC Campaign Performance?
You should monitor PPC campaign performance regularly, with daily checks, weekly adjustments, and monthly audits. Daily monitoring helps you catch immediate issues like budget overspending or underperforming ads. Weekly adjustments allow for optimizing bids, keywords, and ad copy based on short-term performance. Monthly reports provide a comprehensive review of trends, ROI, and strategic insights, guiding long-term decisions and ensuring your campaigns align with broader business goals. Regular monitoring keeps your campaigns effective and responsive – consistency ensures your campaigns remain effective, aligned with goals, and responsive to market changes, ultimately driving better results.
Where to Find PPC Checklist Template?
You can find PPC checklist templates in various online resources tailored for digital marketers. Websites like HubSpot or Vixen Digital often offer free downloadable PPC checklist templates that cover essential steps for setting up, managing, and optimizing PPC campaigns. You can use These templates are designed to help streamline your workflow, ensuring you don’t miss any critical tasks.
Additionally, marketing blogs, like Coupler.io or HawkSEM, forums, and digital marketing tools like Google Ads provide resources and guides where you can access or customize your own PPC checklist templates. You can also check Smartsheet – it offers various useful PPC templates for different aspects of campaign management and reporting.
How Does a PPC Checklist Improve Landing Pages and Campaign Performance?
A PPC checklist improves landing pages and campaign performance by ensuring that all critical elements are consistently reviewed and optimized. Following a structured checklist, you systematically evaluate key components like ad copy, keyword relevance, and bidding strategies, ensuring they align with your campaign goals.
The checklist prompts regular analysis of landing page effectiveness, focusing on metrics like conversion rates and user experience. This leads to continuous refinements in conversion optimization, such as improving load times, enhancing CTA visibility, and ensuring message consistency between ads and landing pages. Ultimately, a PPC checklist drives higher engagement, better conversion rates, and more efficient use of ad spend.
Improving landing pages through a PPC checklist typically covers the following areas:
- Alignment with ad copy – ensures that the landing page content directly correlates with the ad, providing a seamless user experience.
- Conversion optimization – helps identify elements that hinder conversions, such as long forms, slow load times, or unclear calls to action.
- A/B testing – A/B testing encourages experimentation with different landing page elements to determine optimal performance.
- User experience focus – promotes a user-centric approach by emphasizing clear navigation, relevant content, and easy-to-complete actions.
Improving campaign performance through a PPC Checklist involves the following:
- Keyword optimization – guides in selecting the most relevant keywords for your target audience, leading to higher click-through rates and conversions.
- Ad copy refinement – encourages consistent testing and improvement of ad copy to resonate better with potential customers.
- Bid management – helps optimize bids based on performance metrics, maximizing ROI.
- Performance tracking – facilitates regular monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs), allowing for timely adjustments.
- Budget allocation – ensures efficient distribution of budget across campaigns and ad groups.
Optimize Your PPC Campaigns with PPC Checklist
A comprehensive PPC checklist is essential for maximizing the effectiveness of your campaigns. By systematically following daily, weekly, and monthly checklists, you ensure that every critical aspect of your PPC efforts, from keyword research to ad copy refinement and landing page optimization, is thoroughly addressed. This structured approach not only enhances your campaign performance but also ensures efficient use of your budget, driving better ROI.
Regularly reviewing and optimizing each step allows you to stay ahead of competitors, adapt to changing market conditions, and consistently achieve your marketing goals. Leveraging professional tools, including platform-specific analytics for ad campaigns, such as Google Ads, and solutions designed to monitor PPC landing pages, like Landingi with a built-in EventTracker tool, will help you keep an eye on all specific metrics that will drive data-based optimizations. Whether you’re managing a small campaign or handling large-scale PPC efforts, adhering to a detailed checklist helps maintain focus, identify opportunities for improvement, and prevent costly mistakes.
Ultimately, incorporating a PPC checklist into your routine ensures that your campaigns are not only well-managed but also continuously optimized for success, leading to sustained growth and improved results.
