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The short answer
An account with no audience list attached anywhere cannot tell a returning visitor from a stranger, and bids the same for both. Oppy reads every campaign's targeting and flags accounts where no audience of any kind is attached.
Why it matters
On Search, audiences are usually added in observation mode: they do not limit who sees the ad, they only let the account see and bid differently for each group. That is exactly why their absence is easy to miss. Nothing breaks without them.
With them, Smart Bidding gets an extra signal, and reports show how past visitors, customers or high intent groups perform compared with everyone else.
How Oppy decides
The check reads every campaign's targeting criteria.
It reads audiences attached to campaigns, audiences set on ad groups, the usual place on Display and Demand Gen, and Performance Max audience signals.
Checks that weigh money or clicks judge what they find on your own account's numbers, not on one figure applied to every account, so what counts as a problem on a small account is not the same on a large one. Checks on settings read how the account is set up.
When there is too little to go on, the check says so instead of guessing. A finding always comes with the rows behind it, so you can read the evidence before you decide.
| This check | |
|---|---|
| Step of the audit | Structure |
| What it reads | Campaign targeting and exclusions |
| Needs trustworthy conversions | No. It does not wait for the tracking step. |
| What happens next | Reported in the audit with the rows behind it. The decision stays with you. |
Check it yourself in Google Ads
- In Google Ads, open Campaigns, then Audiences, keywords and content, then Audiences.
- Check each campaign for audience segments, in targeting or observation.
- Open Tools, then Shared library, then Audience manager, to see which lists exist.
- If no campaign uses any audience, the account is bidding blind on who people are.
What to do about it
Add your remarketing lists and customer lists to every Search campaign in observation mode. Add a few relevant in-market segments too.
After a few weeks, compare their results with the rest of the traffic. Groups that convert much better are worth a bid adjustment or their own message.
Terms on this page
Other checks in this area
The checks next to this one in Campaign structure, each with its own page.