PPC Tracking & Attribution Audit Checklist
Your ads may not be underperforming. Your measurement may be broken. Run this 27-point audit to find double counting, consent gaps, and attribution blind spots before they misdirect another month of budget.
What is a conversion tracking audit?
A conversion tracking audit checks whether the conversion data your ad platforms report matches reality. It covers tag coverage, conversion action configuration, reconciliation against your CRM, attribution settings, and consent handling. Broken tracking is more expensive than most people expect because every bidding and budget decision built on wrong numbers compounds the error.
Conversion Tracking Audit FAQ
How do I know if my Google Ads conversion tracking is broken?
The five most common symptoms are: conversion counts that do not roughly match your CRM or order system, sudden unexplained jumps or drops in conversion rate, conversions recorded at odd hours from countries you do not target, a large gap between Google Ads and GA4 conversion numbers you cannot explain, and Smart Bidding performance degrading for no account-side reason. Any one of these justifies a tracking audit before you change bids or budgets.
Why do Google Ads and GA4 show different conversion numbers?
Some difference is normal and expected. Google Ads credits conversions to the click date and uses its own attribution; GA4 credits the conversion date and applies its own model. Google Ads also counts view-through and modelled conversions GA4 may not. A stable difference of roughly 10-25% is typical. What signals a problem is a large, growing, or erratic gap, or numbers that disagree with your actual sales records.
How often should I reconcile ad platform conversions against my CRM?
Monthly at minimum, and weekly for accounts spending £5,000+ per month. Reconciliation means comparing platform-reported conversions against real leads or orders in your CRM or order system for the same period, accounting for conversion lag. If platform numbers drift more than about 20% from reality without a known cause, pause optimisation changes until you find the source.
What is the most common conversion tracking mistake?
Double counting: the same action tracked by both a Google Ads tag and an imported GA4 event, both set as primary conversions. Every reported result is then inflated, Smart Bidding optimises toward phantom conversions, and cost-per-conversion looks better than reality. Each real-world action should have exactly one primary conversion source; everything else should be secondary.
Should my Google Ads conversions match my CRM exactly?
No, and chasing an exact match wastes time. Attribution windows, cross-device journeys, consent-based modelling, and conversion lag all create legitimate differences. The goal is a stable, explainable relationship, for example platform reports consistently sitting 10-15% above CRM-verified leads. Stability lets you plan; sudden changes in the relationship are the real warning sign.
Related Resources
Is Your Conversion Data Lying?
The full guide to auditing Google Ads tracking, with the checks explained in depth.
Conversion Tracking Setup Guide
Setting up from scratch? Start with the full setup guide, then audit with this checklist.
Full PPC Audit Checklist
The 50-point whole-account audit covering structure, keywords, ads, and bidding.
Not Sure Your Numbers Add Up?
Our free analysis includes a tracking confidence check: we verify whether your conversion data can be trusted before recommending any changes to spend.