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Free PPC Audit & Google Ads Grader

Grade your Google Ads account across the eight things that actually drive performance, measure real wasted spend from your own search-terms export, and get a prioritized fix list, in minutes, with no account connection.

By the Digital Success paid-media team · Updated September 2026 · Free, results in seconds

Quick answer: most underperforming Google Ads accounts fail on account structure, conversion tracking, or negative-keyword hygiene, not ad copy, and typically waste 18-27% of budget. This grader scores those eight areas on how well they are done (not just whether a box is ticked), then hands you a root-cause fix list ranked by impact.
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Grade your Google Ads account (8 dimensions, effectiveness-scored)

Runs entirely in your browser, nothing about your account is uploaded. Answer honestly; "Partly" counts as half. For a real dollar figure on wasted spend, paste your Search Terms export in the optional box.

What this grader checks (and why it is different)

Most free "graders" scan for whether something exists, do you have negative keywords, yes or no, and score you on presence. That is why an account can score well while quietly wasting 15-45% of its budget: the box is ticked, but the work is not effective. This grader scores on effectiveness across the eight dimensions that a real 2026 audit examines, and it weights the two that actually decide account health, negative-keyword / search-term hygiene and conversion tracking, most heavily, because most "underperforming" accounts are mis-measured or leaking on irrelevant queries, not short on ad copy.

It also does something almost no free tool does: if you paste your Search Terms export, it calculates your real wasted spend in dollars, the money going to terms that converted zero times, rather than guessing. And it explicitly covers Performance Max, the campaign type most graders ignore entirely even though it now drives the majority of many accounts and is the number-one source of hidden waste and brand cannibalization.

How to use it

  1. Answer the eight sections honestly. "Partly" is worth half, be candid, the grade is only useful if the inputs are.
  2. For a real waste figure, export your Search Terms report (Google Ads → Insights & reports → Search terms) and paste term, cost, conversions rows into the optional box.
  3. Click Grade my account. You will see your score, grade, weakest dimensions and, if provided, your real wasted spend.
  4. Unlock the root-cause diagnosis and the impact-ranked fix list, and download the report card to share with your team or your boss.

How the score works

Each of the eight dimensions carries a weight totalling 100. Within a dimension, every question scores 1 (Yes), 0.5 (Partly) or 0 (No), averaged and multiplied by the dimension weight. The weights reflect real-world impact: search-term waste and conversion tracking are weighted highest (18 each), settings, bidding and Performance Max next (12 each), then structure and landing pages (10), and ad assets (8). Your grade is A (85+), B (70+), C (55+), D (40+) or F. The fix list is then ordered by impact first (high, medium, quick win) and dimension weight, so the top of your list is genuinely the highest-return work.

How this beats a typical free grader

The best-known free grader checks roughly 40 items as present or absent, is widely documented to score even strong accounts below 80 to manufacture urgency, gives the same generic advice ("add negative keywords") to the large majority of accounts, and does not evaluate Performance Max at all. It also correlates only weakly with actual performance because it measures symptoms, not causes. This tool is built to be the opposite: honest scoring (a genuinely good account scores like one), effectiveness over presence, real wasted-spend math from your own data, Performance Max included, and a root-cause fix list instead of a generic checklist. It is guidance, not a substitute for a hands-on audit, but it will not manufacture a problem you do not have.

Frequently asked questions

Is this Google Ads grader really free?
Yes, free with no login and no account connection. You answer a structured audit and optionally paste a Search Terms export; everything is computed in your browser. You enter your details once to unlock the detailed fix list.
Do I have to connect my Google Ads account?
No. Unlike graders that require account access, this one works from your answers and an optional Search Terms paste, so there is nothing to authorize and nothing sensitive uploaded. That also means it relies on honest self-assessment, be candid for an accurate grade.
How is this different from the WordStream / LOCALiQ grader?
That grader checks whether items exist and is widely documented to keep scores low to drive sales, gives generic recommendations to most accounts, and does not assess Performance Max. This one scores on how effectively things are done, weights the highest-impact levers, computes real wasted spend from your data, covers Performance Max, and gives a root-cause fix list, with honest scoring.
What counts as wasted spend?
In the optional calculator, wasted spend is money spent on search terms that produced zero conversions. It is a fast proxy for the biggest, most common leak; a full audit also weighs low-intent converters, poor landing pages, and bad attribution, which the questionnaire covers qualitatively.
What should I do with a low grade?
Start at the top of the fix list, the high-impact items in your weakest dimensions, usually search-term waste and conversion tracking. Fixing measurement and waste first almost always lifts everything else. If you want it done for you, Digital Success can run the audit hands-on and manage the account.
Does a high grade guarantee good results?
No. A high grade means the foundations are sound so your budget is not being wasted, which is the precondition for good results, not a guarantee of them. Strategy, offer, and market still decide the ceiling.

Further reading from Digital Success

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