The Google Ads checklist we run through for every client

A Google Ads account without structural oversight is like a car without regular maintenance: it may seem to be running fine, but problems accumulate under the hood and eventually cost you dearly. At AdBrains, we apply a fixed checklist to every new client and on an ongoing basis, whether it is an e-commerce store like ToetsJeKennis.nl or a lead generation advertiser like Clima-Active.nl. This checklist is not optional; it is the backbone of our approach. In this article, we walk through every section step by step, explain why each point matters, and show how our own AI technology executes these checks automatically, every single day.

Why a structured checklist makes the difference

Google Ads is a dynamic platform. Bids shift, search behaviour evolves, algorithms update and competitors adjust their strategies. Those who manage Google Ads manually and only react when something goes wrong will consistently lag behind those who optimise proactively and systematically. A checklist enforces consistency: every item gets checked, nothing falls through the cracks.

For smaller advertisers, this is difficult to maintain due to time constraints. For larger accounts with multiple campaigns and dozens of ad groups, doing this manually on a daily basis is simply not feasible. That is exactly where AI-driven automation makes the difference, not as a replacement for expertise, but as an amplifier of a well-designed system.

Our checklist covers six main categories: account structure, conversion tracking, search term management, bidding strategy, ad quality and audience management. Below, we cover all of them.

1. Account structure: the foundation must be solid

Manual management vs. AdBrains AI approach

What structurally differs when running through the checklist?

Manual management

• Monthly or weekly reviews
• Search terms reviewed manually
• Bidding adjusted on intuition
• Ad copy rarely refreshed
• Conversions via standard browser tracking
• No automated quality control
• Errors visible only after damage

AdBrains AIAI approach

• Daily automated monitoring
• Automated search term mining
• tCPA/tROAS adjusted daily on data
• RSA system rewrites POOR ads
• Server-side tracking via own sGTM
• 4 AI agents verify every decision
• Errors prevented before execution

The structure of a Google Ads account largely determines how well the platform learns and optimises. A common mistake is grouping too many different products or services into a single campaign. This leaves Smart Bidding with insufficient distinguishing data to steer effectively, and you lose visibility into what is actually profitable.

For every client, we review the following aspects of account structure:

• Is there a logical campaign structure aligned with the product range (by product category, service or geographic market)?
• Are ad groups focused enough so that keywords, ads and landing pages are thematically coherent?
• Are separate campaigns used for branded traffic, so branded budget does not compete with generic keywords?
• Is there a clear separation between prospecting campaigns and remarketing campaigns?
• Are Performance Max campaigns (if present) equipped with the right asset groups and audience signals?

At ToetsJeKennis.nl, an online platform for exams and courses, the initial structure was one large campaign mixing all course types together. After restructuring into separate campaigns per course type, Smart Bidding found it far easier to learn which search terms actually drove conversions, resulting in significantly greater efficiency.

2. Conversion tracking: measurement is everything

Those who do not measure correctly are optimising in the dark. Conversion tracking is the foundation of every well-run Google Ads account, and yet it is surprisingly often misconfigured. Issues range from duplicate conversion measurements to conversions that are not tracked at all because tags broke after a website update.

Our checklist includes the following checks in this area:

• Are all relevant conversion actions active and tracking correctly (purchases, form submissions, phone calls, chats)?
• Are Enhanced Conversions being used to send first-party data alongside conversion signals?
• Is server-side tracking configured via a dedicated sGTM infrastructure, so browser-based restrictions do not cause conversion loss?
• Are conversion values set up correctly (dynamic for e-commerce, fixed value for lead generation)?
• Are there any conflicting conversion actions causing double counting?

Advertisers who use server-side tracking see an average of 23 to 28% more conversions recorded compared to purely browser-based tracking. For Clima-Active.nl, which runs on quote requests for air conditioning and heat pump installations, switching to server-side tracking made significantly more signals available to Smart Bidding, leading to sharper tCPA steering and more qualified leads per euro.

AdBrains checklist by the numbers

What the full approach delivers for e-commerce and lead gen clients

Daily

Frequency of automated checks

+28%

More conversions tracked via server-side tracking

4x

AI agents verify every optimisation decision

-24%

Lower CPA after tCPA optimisation

3. Search term management: protecting relevance

One of the most underestimated aspects of Google Ads management is consistent search term oversight. Broad match and Performance Max campaigns give the algorithm considerable freedom to decide which search terms to bid on. This freedom creates scale advantages on one hand, but also irrelevant impressions that burn budget without delivering results on the other.

Our approach combines daily automated search term mining with a Keyword Incubator system. New keywords are first tested in a separate incubator campaign before being promoted to the production campaign. This ensures that unproven keywords do not immediately affect the main budget.

The key checks in this area:

• Are search terms analysed daily for relevance and conversion potential?
• Are irrelevant search terms immediately added as negative keywords at the correct level (campaign or account)?
• Is a Keyword Incubator in place for safely testing new keywords?
• Is the match type strategy (broad match, phrase match, exact match) applied deliberately per campaign objective?
• Are shared negative keyword lists active at account level to structurally block irrelevant traffic?

For E-4motion.com, the webshop selling new electric folding bikes, search term management was a critical component. Without an active negative keyword policy, many search queries arrived relating to second-hand bikes, bike parts and repairs, even though the range exclusively covers new e-bikes. Daily automated mining solved this structurally.

How AdBrains AI executes this checklist every day

The power of the AdBrains approach lies not in having a checklist on paper, but in the fact that our AI technology executes most checkpoints daily and automatically, without requiring manual intervention. This fundamentally distinguishes our approach from both manual management and generic automation tools.

The core of our system is a multi-agent verification structure: four independent AI agents assess every optimisation decision before it is executed. Where a human specialist makes a change based on their analysis, at AdBrains every adjustment passes through four layered checks. This prevents errors that in manual management only become visible after they have caused damage, such as an incorrect bidding strategy adjustment or a campaign that was incorrectly paused.

Our automated search term mining runs daily. The system analyses every incoming search term, compares it with the conversion history and client-specific objectives, and immediately adds irrelevant terms as negative keywords at the appropriate level. For clients like LeroyBrouwer.nl, active in lead generation, this means budget is never wasted for a single day on search terms that structurally deliver no leads.

The Keyword Incubator is a proprietary system that places new keywords in a shielded test environment first. Only when a keyword has demonstrated sufficient conversion potential does the AI automatically promote it to the main campaign. This ensures production campaigns only work with proven keywords, while continuously exploring new growth opportunities.

Our tCPA/tROAS optimisation also runs fully automated. Daily, the AI analyses conversion volume per campaign, compares this with the client's margin targets and adjusts the bidding strategy where needed. The system also accounts for seasonal influences and recent trend changes, so the bidding strategy is always aligned with current market conditions. The RSA improvement system continuously monitors Ad Strength across all active Responsive Search Ads, automatically rewriting any ad that receives a POOR status based on landing page analysis and search intent data.

Average improvement per checklist area

Percentage improvement after full AI implementation per category

Conversion tracking accuracy

28%

Irrelevant search terms blocked

42%

Ad Strength improved to GOOD/EXCELLENT

35%

CPA reduction via tCPA optimisation

24%

Quality Score increase per ad group

19%

4. Bidding strategy: smart bidding based on data

Choosing the right bidding strategy and calibrating it correctly is one of the most impactful decisions in a Google Ads account. Smart Bidding offers tremendous advantages over manual CPC bidding, but only when sufficient quality conversion data is available to steer the algorithm effectively.

Our checklist covers the following in this area:

• Is the chosen bidding strategy (Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions) aligned with conversion volume and campaign objective?
• Are tCPA or tROAS targets set realistically, based on historical performance and margin targets?
• Is there sufficient conversion data (minimum 30 to 50 conversions per month per campaign) for Smart Bidding to work effectively?
• Is the strategy-switch system used to automatically pause campaigns during conversion droughts and reactivate them when performance recovers?
• Are seasonal bid adjustments for holidays or peak periods proactively scheduled?

5. Ad quality: Quality Score and Ad Strength

The quality of ads directly influences Quality Score, which in turn determines CPC and visibility in the auction. A higher Quality Score means lower cost per click at the same or better position. This makes ad quality an item that can never be skipped in the checklist.

We check per ad group whether Quality Score is at the right level, whether the Ad Strength of Responsive Search Ads is at minimum GOOD or EXCELLENT, whether ad copy aligns with the search intent of the target audience, and whether the landing page experience is relevant and fast enough. Our AI quality score advisory system automatically analyses every ad group and generates concrete improvement recommendations based on landing page analysis and the performance of active ad variants.

6. Audience management: reaching the right people

The final major block in our checklist concerns audience management. Remarketing audiences, customer match lists and in-market audiences play an increasingly important role in maximising the profitability of Google Ads. Providing the right audience signals to Smart Bidding gives the algorithm a significant advantage.

We verify that PROD audiences, Incubator audiences and RLSA audiences are automatically created and updated on a weekly basis. For Elletens.nl, an e-commerce webshop, this means visitors who viewed a product but did not purchase are automatically added to an RLSA audience and re-engaged with relevant ads. This structurally increases conversion rates without affecting the budget allocated to cold audiences.

Frequently asked questions about the Google Ads checklist

How often should a Google Ads checklist be reviewed?

A solid Google Ads checklist is not reviewed once and forgotten; it is applied continuously. Some items, such as search term management and bidding strategy checks, should happen daily. Others, such as account structure and audience management, are suited to weekly or monthly reviews. The key is consistency: the more frequently the right signals are processed, the better Smart Bidding learns and performs. At AdBrains, our AI executes most checkpoints automatically every day, so no item is ever skipped.

Is the checklist the same for e-commerce and lead generation?

The main categories are the same, but the execution differs. For e-commerce, the emphasis is on dynamic conversion values, ROAS targets, product feed quality and Performance Max campaigns. For lead generation, the focus shifts to tCPA steering, form conversions, call tracking and lead quality relative to cost per lead (CPL). At Clima-Active.nl we use fixed conversion values per type of enquiry, while at HACCP-cursus.com we work with the actual order value as a dynamic conversion value. The approach is always tailored to the client's business model.

What is the biggest risk of not following the checklist?

The biggest risk is budget waste that goes unnoticed. Irrelevant search terms consuming budget, ads with POOR Ad Strength generating expensive clicks that rarely convert, and conversion tracking that stops working after a website update can all go undetected for weeks. In the worst case, you are feeding Smart Bidding incorrect signals, causing the algorithm to make increasingly poor decisions. A structural checklist prevents this.

Can I apply the checklist myself without AI?

Yes, most checkpoints can be executed manually. The challenge is frequency and consistency. Analysing search terms daily, adding negative keywords, checking ad quality and adjusting bidding strategies takes several hours per week per account. For accounts with more than five campaigns, this is practically impossible without automation. AI makes it not only faster but also more accurate: human specialists miss patterns that an AI system will catch, especially over longer periods and large volumes of data. Our approach combines the best of both worlds: human strategy with AI-powered execution.