What people see, checked. The ad, the space around it, and the page after.
24 checks read the ads, the free space Google gives them, the tests running between them and the pages they send people to. A page that does not load costs every click sent to it, and nothing in the account says so.
- 24 checks
- Landing pages read and timed
- Tests judged by arithmetic
The 24 checks in this area. As the app names them.
24Checks listed here
Measurement
Can the numbers be trusted
Ads pointing at pages that do not load
Ads sending paid clicks to pages that answer 404 or a server error. Common after a site rebuild, since nobody tells the ads account a URL has gone.
Ads pointing at pages that do not load: How it decides and what to doThe page cannot produce the conversion being optimised for
The account optimises for a form, but the page the ads send people to has no form. Every metric looks like a media problem until someone opens the page.
The page cannot produce the conversion being optimised for: How it decides and what to do
Structure
How it is built and set
A page with no way to make the call the ads are paid for
A call-driven account sending clicks to a page with no tappable phone number. Most visitors on a phone will not copy a number by hand.
A page with no way to make the call the ads are paid for: How it decides and what to doCounting walk-ins while no ad shows an address
The account counts store visits or directions, yet no ad shows an address. Linking the Business Profile as a location asset is the missing half.
Counting walk-ins while no ad shows an address: How it decides and what to doLanding pages that are slow on a phone
Landing pages that are slow on a phone, measured on mobile, with what the account paid to send people to each one. Not priced as a saving, since nobody knows how many left because of the wait.
Landing pages that are slow on a phone: How it decides and what to do
Spend
Where the money goes
Quality Score parts below average on the keywords that spend
The three Quality Score parts (expected CTR, ad relevance, landing page experience) below average on the keywords that carry the spend, once they have enough impressions to grade.
Quality Score parts below average on the keywords that spend: How it decides and what to do
Ads
What people see
A campaign that lives on calls and does not offer one
A campaign whose results are phone calls, with no call asset on the ad. Judged on what the account counts, so an account bidding for forms gets no advice about phones.
A campaign that lives on calls and does not offer one: How it decides and what to doA promotion still in the ads after it ended
A promotion asset still showing after its offer ended, so the ad keeps advertising a sale that is over.
A promotion still in the ads after it ended: How it decides and what to doAd groups running on a single ad
Ad groups running on one ad. Pausing that ad would take the group off air, and nothing is being tested. Oppy writes the second ad as its own step, never inside the finding.
Ad groups running on a single ad: How it decides and what to doAd groups where only one ad is still getting shown
Ad groups where every ad but one has stopped getting impressions. Google picked a winner and nothing new was offered, so no test is running.
Ad groups where only one ad is still getting shown: How it decides and what to doAds Google has refused to show
Ads Google has refused to show, and the worse case behind them: an ad group whose only live ad is disapproved, so the group is off air while everything above it says enabled.
Ads Google has refused to show: How it decides and what to doAds not using the space Google gives them
Ads using fewer headlines and descriptions than Google can combine, for example ten headlines and two descriptions. Usually the reason behind a weak Ad Strength.
Ads not using the space Google gives them: How it decides and what to doAn ad and its page with no word in common
An ad and its landing page that have nothing in common. Only the clear cases are flagged, so taste is never reported as a fault.
An ad and its page with no word in common: How it decides and what to doAn ad test with a real winner
An ad test with a real winner, by the arithmetic rather than by eye. Silent on most accounts, which is why it can be trusted when it speaks.
An ad test with a real winner: How it decides and what to doAsset groups Google rates below Good
Asset groups Google rates below Good, usually because they lack headlines, images or videos Google could use.
Asset groups Google rates below Good: How it decides and what to doAsset groups holding less than Google can use
Asset groups with fewer headlines, images or videos than Google can use. A group with four images cannot appear where six are needed.
Asset groups holding less than Google can use: How it decides and what to doDisplay ads holding less than Google can use
Responsive display ads holding fewer images or sizes than Google can use. A group with no square image cannot appear in a square slot, and no report shows the gap.
Display ads holding less than Google can use: How it decides and what to doEvery video the same length, doing the same job
Every video in one length band. Bumpers, skippable ads and longer cuts reach different people, so one band leaves part of the audience unreached.
Every video the same length, doing the same job: How it decides and what to doFree space in the result, unused
Callouts, structured snippets and images a Search campaign does not use. Sitelinks have a check of their own. Each makes the ad bigger at no extra cost per click. One row per campaign, not a pile of findings.
Free space in the result, unused: How it decides and what to doPinning that fixes an ad slot to one asset
Exactly one asset pinned to a position removes every combination Google would test there. Pinning a legal line is fine; this finds the pins that freeze an ad.
Pinning that fixes an ad slot to one asset: How it decides and what to doResponsive search ads Google rates below Good
Responsive search ads Google rates Poor or Average. The rating measures how much distinct material the ad gives Google to combine, so a low one usually means fewer combinations to show and test. New ads still being rated are left out.
Responsive search ads Google rates below Good: How it decides and what to doSearch campaigns showing fewer sitelinks than Google can use
Search campaigns with fewer sitelinks than Google can show. Sitelinks cost nothing extra and make the ad bigger, and Oppy proposes them to your real pages, on the campaign or the account.
Search campaigns showing fewer sitelinks than Google can use: How it decides and what to doVideos Google made and ran under your name
Videos Google built from your images and text because the asset group had none, running on YouTube under your name. Read from the asset's source, not guessed.
Videos Google made and ran under your name: How it decides and what to doVideos most of the audience leaves before the end
Videos where too few of those who watched the first quarter reach the end, judged inside the campaign's own numbers.
Videos most of the audience leaves before the end: How it decides and what to do
The cheapest gains in any account. They make the ad bigger at no extra cost per click.
Sitelinks to real pages
Extra links under a search ad, at no extra cost per click. Oppy proposes them to your real pages, on a campaign or the whole account.
Headlines Google can use
A responsive search ad holds up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions. Fewer means fewer combinations and, often, a weaker Ad Strength.
A call button for call accounts
When calls are what the account counts, the ad should carry a call asset someone can press.
The page is part of the ad.
Oppy reads the landing pages the ads, sitelinks and Performance Max groups point to, up to a set number per account, and times them on mobile. A page that answers 404 after a site rebuild, a form the account counts that is not on the page, a phone number nobody can tap: each one makes the ads look broken when the ads are fine.
It is common to find a real share of an account's landing pages answering 404 or a server error, with nothing in Google Ads reporting it. Nothing goes live on a page that does not load: a change aimed at a broken page is refused.
Slow pages are reported with what the account paid to send people there, never priced as a saving: nobody knows how many visitors left because of the wait.
Ad tests, read honestly.
A winner only when there is one
Most ad tests on small accounts never reach an answer. The check reports a winner only when the arithmetic says so, and stays silent otherwise.
A stalled test, named
An ad group where every ad but one has stopped getting impressions is not testing anything. The audit says so, and Oppy can draft the next ad.
Questions about ads and pages.
Anything else? Ask Oppy in the product, or write to the team.
Does Oppy write ads?
Yes, as a separate step you approve. Oppy can add a responsive search ad to an ad group or rewrite one in place, written from your own pages, and nothing goes live until you approve it.
Why does Ad Strength matter?
It tells you how much distinct material an ad gives Google to combine. Google says the rating is not used in the auction itself, but an ad with more varied headlines has more combinations to show and test, which is why the audit reads the rating beside the count of headlines.
How are landing pages checked?
The pages the ads point to are fetched, up to a set number per account, and timed on mobile by a nightly test, so a first audit may not have their speed yet. The audit reports pages that fail to load, pages without the form or phone number the account counts, and ads that have nothing in common with their page. Pages are read as they are served, so a form or button drawn by a script can be missed.
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