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Checklist

Google Ads audit checklist for NZ small businesses

Start with six checks: is conversion tracking recording real enquiries or sales, which search terms are triggering your ads, are your location settings what you intended, do budget and bidding match your goal, do ads match their landing pages, and is the account structured so you can see what works. Most wasted spend shows up in the first three.

By the Moonlighters team. Last updated 11 October 2026.

1. Conversion tracking

Everything else depends on this. If the account counts the wrong actions, bidding optimises toward the wrong goal.

  • List every conversion action and check each one maps to something that matters (an enquiry, a booking, a sale), not a page view or a button click that does not lead anywhere.
  • Check which conversions are marked as primary, because those are the ones bidding optimises for.
  • Submit a test enquiry and confirm it is recorded once, not twice and not zero times.
  • If phone calls matter to you, check calls are tracked separately from form fills.

2. Search terms

The search terms report shows what people actually typed before seeing your ad.

  • Sort by cost and read the top terms. Look for searches that are clearly not your customers: jobs, free, DIY, a competitor's name, a service you do not offer.
  • Add irrelevant terms as negative keywords so you stop paying for them.
  • Check the match types. Broad match can reach a long way from your keyword, so review it more often.
  • Look for good terms you are not bidding on and add them deliberately.

3. Location and language settings

  • Check the locations you target are the ones you can serve, such as your region rather than all of New Zealand or beyond.
  • Check the location option. The default includes people who show interest in your target location, not only people who are physically there, which may not suit a local service.
  • Check the language settings match your customers.

4. Budget, bidding and schedule

  • Does the daily budget fit the goal, or is a good campaign limited by budget while a weak one uses most of the spend?
  • Does the bidding strategy suit the conversion data you have? Automated strategies need enough reliable conversions to learn from.
  • If you only take calls or visits during business hours, check an ad schedule is set.
  • Check the network settings (Search partners and Display) are intentional.

5. Ads and landing pages

  • Does each ad say what the landing page delivers? A mismatch costs clicks and conversions.
  • Is the landing page fast on a phone, with the offer and the action visible without scrolling?
  • Are headlines varied rather than repeated, and are your strongest points (offer, location, proof) used?
  • Are assets such as sitelinks, calls and location details added where they apply?

6. Account structure

  • Are campaigns separated by goal or service, so results and budgets can be read cleanly?
  • Are brand searches (people searching for your name) separated from non-brand searches? Mixing them can flatter the numbers.
  • Are you running automated campaign types such as Performance Max? Check where they send traffic and what you can see.
  • Review the recommendations tab critically. Apply what fits your goal, and ignore what simply raises budget.

NZ-specific checks

  • Currency and time zone. Check the account is set to NZD and New Zealand time. Google sets these when the account is created and does not let you change them afterwards, so a wrongly set account may need replacing. Your ad schedule and call assets run on the account's time zone.
  • GST on your invoices. NZ accounting firms report that Google Ads invoices have carried 15% GST since November 2018. Check the GST line on a recent invoice and that your GST number is on the account. Ask your accountant how to treat it on your return, because the sources we found describe the mechanism differently.
  • Region targeting. If you serve one region, target it directly (for example Canterbury or Christchurch) rather than all of New Zealand, and check Australia or other countries are not included.
  • Te reo and place names. Check macrons and Māori place names display correctly in headlines, descriptions and previews.
  • Privacy notice for tracking. Under the Privacy Act 2020, your website's privacy notice should explain what you collect through cookies, tags and ad pixels, why, and who receives it. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has also added a principle covering information collected indirectly (IPP 3A), reported to be in force from 1 May 2026. Check its guidance and your own setup, and take legal advice if you are unsure.
  • Advertising rules. Ads must not be misleading. The Fair Trading Act 1986 prohibits misleading and deceptive conduct, and the Advertising Standards Authority sets codes for NZ advertising. Make sure every claim in an ad (price, guarantee, "best", "free") is true and can be backed up.

What to do with the findings

  1. Fix tracking first, because every other decision relies on it.
  2. Stop obvious waste: negative keywords, wrong locations, unneeded networks.
  3. Then tune budget, bidding and ads in small steps, one at a time, so you can see what each change did.

This checklist is general guidance. Account settings and menu names change over time, so check Google's current documentation for the exact steps.

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