Score your Google Ads account on the 9 pillars that actually matter

Every Google Ads account that fails, fails on one of nine fundamentals. Take the 5-minute scorecard to find out which pillars are holding yours back - and what to fix first.

27 questions · 5 minutes PPC Mastery methodology Personalized action plan

The 9 pillars, briefly

This scorecard is built on the Google Ads Success Formula - nine interdependent pillars that together determine whether an account scales profitably or burns budget. Missing even one creates a structural weakness that caps performance no matter how good the others are.

Irresistible Offer

Landing Page

Unit Economics

Goals & KPIs

Conversion Tracking

Bids & Budgets

Campaign Structure

Creatives

Targeting

Pillar 1 of 9 0%

Pillar 1 of 9

Irresistible Offer

The offer defines the performance ceiling. Optimization cannot compensate for a weak offer.

Rate your offer on Value: does it solve a real, specific pain point your customer cares about?1 = generic, 5 = solves a clear, painful problem

1 2 3 4 5

Rate your offer on Uniqueness: is it clearly differentiated from competitors?1 = looks like everyone else, 5 = clearly different and better

1 2 3 4 5

Rate your offer on Urgency: is there a reason to act now (deadline, scarcity, bonus)?1 = no urgency, 5 = strong reason to act now

1 2 3 4 5

Rate your offer on Trust: does it have strong proof (reviews, guarantees, testimonials, authority)?1 = weak or missing proof, 5 = overwhelming social proof

1 2 3 4 5

Pillar 2 of 9

Landing Page

Landing pages shorten the buyer journey. Using your homepage is rarely effective.

Where does your Google Ads traffic land?

Dedicated landing pages built for each campaign or offer Product pages or a few pages we use for most campaigns Mix of product pages and homepage Mostly our homepage

Which of these does your landing page have? Check all that apply

Clear, specific value proposition in the hero Social proof (reviews, testimonials, logos) Risk reducers (guarantee, free trial, money back) Single clear call-to-action (not 5 different ones) Page loads in under 3 seconds on mobile Message matches the ad that sent them (not generic) FAQ section addressing common objections

When was the last time you A/B tested your landing page?

Currently running tests, with a clear testing roadmap Tested within the last 3 months Tested 6+ months ago Never tested, or not sure

Pillar 3 of 9

Unit Economics

Your unit economics define how far and how efficiently you can scale. Guesswork here is catastrophic.

Do you know your Break-Even ROAS - the minimum return on ad spend needed to cover product cost?

Yes, I calculate it and update it quarterly Yes, but the number might be outdated I have a rough idea but haven't calculated it No, and I'm not sure how to

Do you know your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) - what it actually costs you to win a customer?

Yes, tracked monthly against revenue per customer Yes, but only at a high level I know Cost Per Lead but not true CAC No

Are your target ROAS or CPA values derived from business economics, or are they guesses?

Calculated from AOV, margin, and profit target Based on historical performance Set based on industry benchmarks we read Honestly, they were a guess

Pillar 4 of 9

Goals & KPIs

Without clear goals, optimization becomes reactive instead of strategic.

What is the primary KPI you optimize Google Ads against?

Revenue, profit, or qualified pipeline (business outcomes) CPA or ROAS tied to validated unit economics Conversions (but we're not sure if they all close) Clicks, CTR, or impression share

Are your current Google Ads goals documented and shared with the business owner or team?

Yes, with measurable targets and timelines Informally, but not written down No

Have you explicitly chosen between growth goals (volume, scale) and efficiency goals (profitability, cost control)?

Yes, and campaigns are structured around this choice We try to do both simultaneously Never thought about it this way

Pillar 5 of 9

Conversion Tracking

Google's Smart Bidding is only as good as the data it receives. Tracking is non-negotiable.

Which of these tracking practices are in place? Check all that apply

Primary conversion actions are set up and firing correctly Enhanced Conversions are enabled GA4 is linked to Google Ads and firing events Only real business conversions are "Primary" (not engagement events) Conversion values are passed dynamically (for ecommerce) Offline conversions or CRM data are imported (for lead gen)

How recently has someone verified that your conversion tracking is accurate?

Within the last month - we test regularly Within the last 6 months Over a year ago, or when it was set up Never explicitly verified

Do your Google Ads conversions match what your CRM or backend shows as real business outcomes?

Yes, the numbers are consistent Roughly, but there's a gap we haven't explained The numbers are very different I don't know - never compared

Pillar 6 of 9

Bids & Budgets

Bids and budgets determine reach, visibility, and efficiency together. They cannot be separated.

What bidding strategy is your primary search campaign using?

Target ROAS or Target CPA with enough conversion data Maximize Conversions or Maximize Conversion Value Manual CPC or Enhanced CPC Maximize Clicks I don't know

Do you generate enough conversion volume for Smart Bidding to work properly? Google recommends 15-30+ conversions per campaign per month

Yes, consistent 30+ conversions per campaign monthly 15-30 per campaign, but not always consistent Under 15 per campaign, or fragmented across many campaigns Not sure

When was the last time you reviewed and adjusted budgets based on actual efficiency, not intuition?

Weekly, based on campaign-level ROAS or CPA Monthly, looking at overall performance Quarterly or less Budgets haven't changed in a while

Pillar 7 of 9

Campaign Structure

Modern Google Ads rewards consolidation. Fragmented accounts starve Smart Bidding of data.

How many active Search campaigns do you have running?

Consolidated structure - 1-3 campaigns by intent or product line 4-10 campaigns, structured logically 10-25 campaigns (SKAG or granular structure) 25+ campaigns, some of them barely running

Is brand traffic separated from non-brand (so brand doesn't inflate non-brand ROAS)?

Yes, brand in its own campaign, excluded elsewhere Partially - separated but not fully excluded No, brand and non-brand mixed together

Does your structure feed each campaign enough data to learn (15-30+ conversions/month)?

Yes, every campaign has enough volume Some campaigns have enough, some don't Most campaigns are volume-starved

Pillar 8 of 9

Creatives

Creative is where most accounts leak performance. Generic ads = generic results.

Rate your ad copy message match: does your ad speak directly to the searcher's intent?1 = generic template, 5 = tailored to search intent

1 2 3 4 5

Are your Responsive Search Ads using all available headline (15) and description (4) slots with variety?

Yes, all slots filled with genuinely different angles All slots filled, but many are variations of the same idea Only some slots filled Not sure

Which ad assets are you using? Check all that apply

Sitelinks Callouts Structured snippets Call assets Lead form assets (where applicable) Image assets or video assets

Pillar 9 of 9

Targeting

Modern targeting is about feeding signals, not restricting reach. First-party data is the new edge.

What keyword match types does your primary search campaign use?

Broad match + Smart Bidding (intentional modern approach) Mix of Phrase and Exact, carefully managed Mostly Exact match (legacy SKAG approach) Broad match without Smart Bidding Not sure

Are you feeding first-party audience data (customer lists, CRM, past buyers) into Google Ads?

Yes, customer match lists uploaded and refreshed regularly Uploaded once, not regularly refreshed No first-party audiences in the account

Are negative keywords actively managed to eliminate wasted spend?

Reviewed weekly, robust negative lists applied Reviewed monthly Reviewed rarely, some negatives in place Almost no negative keyword management

Your overall score

Calculating...

Your pillar breakdown

The radar shows relative strength across all 9 pillars. The largest gaps are where to focus first.

Pillar-by-pillar scores

Want the detailed action plan PDF?

Get a personalized report with specific next steps for your weakest pillars, plus benchmarks and the exact order to fix them.

Action plan on its way. Check your inbox in 2 minutes.

Want to walk through your scorecard on a call? Book 20 minutes.

Book a strategy call →

Frequently asked questions

Why 9 pillars?

Google Ads performance is a system, not a set of independent tactics. The 9-pillar framework (built on the PPC Mastery Google Ads Success Formula) maps the nine interdependent fundamentals that determine whether an account scales profitably. Missing any one creates a structural weakness that caps performance - no amount of optimization fixes it.

Is this scorecard accurate if I self-rate?

Self-assessment has limitations, and we're honest about that. What this scorecard does well is surface pillars you have not thought about as risks. If you score yourself high on everything and your account is underperforming, that is the signal - the issue is probably somewhere you are not looking. A proper audit uses your actual account data; this scorecard gets you 80% of the diagnostic value in 5 minutes.

What should I fix first?

Almost always: the lowest-scoring pillar that sits earliest in the dependency chain. A broken Irresistible Offer caps everything. Bad Unit Economics means you cannot scale profitably even if everything else works. Missing Conversion Tracking poisons Smart Bidding. Fix foundations before tactics.

What happens if multiple pillars are weak?

That is normal, and it is also why most accounts underperform. Prioritization matters more than breadth. Pick the single highest-leverage pillar, fix it properly, and only then move to the next. Trying to fix everything at once usually fixes nothing. Your detailed report (emailed after you complete the scorecard) gives the recommended order based on your actual answers.

Want us to audit your actual account against these 9 pillars?

Book a free 20-minute strategy call. We will walk through your real Google Ads data using the same framework - and tell you honestly which pillar to fix first.

Book a strategy call →

Score your Google Ads account on the 9 pillars that actually matter

The 9 pillars, briefly

Irresistible Offer

Landing Page

Unit Economics

Goals & KPIs

Conversion Tracking

Bids & Budgets

Campaign Structure

Creatives

Targeting

Your pillar breakdown

Pillar-by-pillar scores

Want the detailed action plan PDF?

Frequently asked questions

Want us to audit your actual account against these 9 pillars?

Quick Links

Contact