Is Your PPC Campaign Leaking Money? Here’s How a PPC Audit Can Fix It!

Have you ever felt like your PPC campaign was draining your budget without delivering the expected results? You’re not alone. Many businesses in Southampton and beyond experience the same issue. A PPC audit could be the key to stopping the leaks and improving your return on investment (ROI). Let’s dive into why your campaign might be wasting money and how a comprehensive audit from Daily Bread Consultancy can help fix it.

Why Your PPC Campaign Might Be Wasting Money

Poor Keyword Targeting

One of the most common mistakes in PPC campaigns is poor keyword targeting. Imagine this: you’re trying to attract customers to your restaurant in Oxford Street, Southampton, but your ads are showing up for people searching for restaurants in Birmingham. Wasted clicks lead to wasted money. Without proper keyword targeting, your ads will attract clicks from people who aren’t interested in your product or service, ultimately driving up your costs.

An audit identifies these keyword mismatches and suggests optimisations, like adding negative keywords, to ensure you’re only paying for relevant traffic. For example, a local bakery could add “gluten-free” as a negative keyword if they don’t offer gluten-free products, preventing irrelevant clicks.

Inefficient Ad Copy

Your ad copy is what compels people to click—or not click—on your ad. If it’s too generic or unclear, potential customers won’t feel compelled to take action. I once worked with a client whose PPC ads were bland and didn’t speak directly to their target audience. After rewriting their ad copy to highlight their unique selling points, their click-through rate (CTR) shot up by 30% in just a month!

By analysing the performance of your ads, a PPC audit can identify which copy is underperforming and suggest more engaging alternatives.

Incorrect Bid Strategies

Many businesses set up their PPC campaigns and forget about them. The result? A bidding strategy that no longer aligns with their goals. For example, if you’re overspending on high-competition keywords that aren’t converting, you’re effectively throwing money away.

A PPC audit reviews your bidding strategy and adjusts it based on what’s delivering the most value for your business. This could involve shifting focus to lower-competition, higher-converting keywords or adjusting bids during peak times when your customers are most active.

Low Quality Scores

Google’s Quality Score is a crucial factor in determining your ad costs and visibility. Low-quality scores result in higher costs per click (CPC) and lower ad rankings. This can happen when your ad copy, keywords, and landing page aren’t aligned or relevant.

During a PPC audit, we assess each element of your campaign to improve your Quality Score. For instance, if your landing page doesn’t reflect the promise made in your ad, you’ll lose both money and potential customers. By aligning these elements, we not only improve your score but also reduce your CPC, giving you more bang for your buck.

What Is a PPC Audit, and How Does It Work?

A PPC audit is a detailed examination of your existing PPC campaign to identify areas where you can save money, improve performance, and increase ROI. Think of it like a health check-up for your campaign—it identifies the pain points and suggests actionable improvements.

Step 1: Keyword Analysis

In this step, we look at which keywords are driving traffic and which ones are draining your budget without delivering results. For example, a local café near Southampton’s Bargate may be paying for broad terms like “best coffee”, but a better approach might be to target more specific phrases like “independent café near Bargate”.

Step 2: Reviewing Ad Copy

Next, we evaluate the performance of your ad copy. Is it speaking directly to your audience? Is it clear, engaging, and aligned with what you’re offering? If not, we’ll tweak it to make it more compelling. This could be the difference between someone scrolling past your ad and someone clicking through to your website.

Step 3: Landing Page Analysis

A huge part of PPC success is ensuring that your landing pages align with your ads. For instance, if your ad promotes “free delivery in Southampton” but your landing page doesn’t mention free delivery, potential customers might feel misled and click away.

An audit reviews your landing pages to ensure they’re optimised for conversions and aligned with your ad promises.

Step 4: Bid Strategy Review

Finally, we look at how you’re bidding on keywords. Are you overpaying for competitive keywords when more affordable ones could deliver better results? We’ll adjust your bids to ensure you’re getting the best ROI.

The Benefits of a PPC Audit

Maximise ROI

A PPC audit allows you to reallocate your budget towards campaigns that deliver the most value. You’ll stop wasting money on irrelevant clicks and start seeing a better return on your investment. One local law firm in Ocean Village I worked with saw a 25% increase in leads after we restructured their bidding strategy, simply by focusing on the keywords that were already working for them.

Increase Lead Quality

When your ads are properly targeted, you’ll attract more relevant traffic. Instead of paying for clicks that don’t convert, you’ll start seeing higher-quality leads, meaning more potential customers and less wasted ad spend.

Improve Ad Performance

With optimised ad copy and better targeting, your click-through rate will increase, and you’ll get more conversions for less money. Plus, your ads will be more likely to appear in top positions on search engines, increasing visibility for your business.

When Should You Get a PPC Audit?

You don’t have to wait for your campaign to be underperforming to get a PPC audit. In fact, it’s a good idea to schedule regular audits to ensure your campaign is always running at peak performance. But there are a few signs that it might be time for an audit right now:

Decreasing ROI

If your PPC campaign is costing more than it’s delivering in sales or leads, an audit can pinpoint where the money is leaking.

Increasing Cost Per Click

If your CPC is rising but your results aren’t improving, there may be issues with your bidding strategy or Quality Scores. An audit can fix that.

Poor Conversion Rates

If your ads are getting clicks but those clicks aren’t turning into conversions, an audit will identify what’s causing the disconnect.

Fix Your PPC Campaign With Daily Bread Consultancy

At Daily Bread Consultancy, we specialise in helping Southampton businesses optimise their PPC campaigns. As a Google Partner organisation, our team has worked with a variety of local companies and charities, from small independent shops on Shirley High Street to large businesses near West Quay, to turn underperforming PPC campaigns into revenue-generating machines.

Don’t let your PPC campaign drain your budget any longer. Contact Daily Bread Consultancy today for a PPC audit that will help you fix the leaks and improve your results.

By following the strategies and steps outlined in this article, you can stop wasting money on ineffective PPC ads and start seeing better returns. A PPC audit is a game-changer for any business looking to get more out of its digital advertising efforts. Let Daily Bread Consultancy help you transform your PPC campaign into a profitable part of your business strategy.