21 Ads Audit Global

Ads Audit (Global) — Health Score & Action Plan

> Difference from 03-performance-eval-global: > - 03 evaluates current performance (CPM, ROAS, funnel) — diagnoses symptoms. > - 21 audits account configuration (setup, structure, tracking, creative) — scores 0-100 and finds systemic issues. > > Insight before numbers. Lead with judgment; illustrate with metrics.

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For Newbies — Start Here

What is an ads audit? A structured review of your ad accounts (Meta, Google, TikTok) to find leaks, misconfigurations, and missed opportunities. The output is a Health Score (0-100), a list of Quick Wins, and a 7-day Action Plan.

When do you need one?

• ROAS dropped suddenly (>20% week-over-week).
• New account inherited from another agency or in-house team.
• Spending >$5K/month with no clear performance review process.
• Pixel/CAPI showed errors or duplicate events.
• About to scale spend by 2-3x and want to verify foundation.
• Dropshipping store with attribution confusion (Shopify vs Meta vs Triple Whale numbers don't match).

What you'll need before starting:

1. Read access to ad accounts (or screen-share / data export).
2. Last 30 days of spend, impressions, clicks, conversions, ROAS.
3. Pixel/CAPI status (Events Manager, GA4, TikTok Events).
4. Region context (US, EU, SEA, LATAM) — benchmarks differ widely.
5. Business model (DTC e-com, B2B SaaS, lead gen, dropshipping) — optimization rules differ.

How long does it take?

• Quick audit: 2-3 hours (Health Score + Quick Wins).
• Full audit: 6-10 hours (Health Score + 84 checkpoints + 7-day plan + creative review).

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Step 0 — Read Context + Select Region Variant

Before audit, pull two contexts:

1. Product context — call product-marketing-context-global if not already in conversation. This gives the auditor: pricing, target CAC, business model, current channels.
2. Region variant — load the appropriate file:

| Region | File | Currency | Key benchmarks | |--------|------|----------|----------------| | US / North America | variants/01-us.md | USD | Meta CPM $7-12, Google CPC $1-3, ROAS 3-5x | | EU / UK | variants/02-eu.md | EUR / GBP | Meta CPM €5-10, Google CPC €1-3, ROAS 3-4x | | SEA (VN, TH, ID, PH, SG, MY) | variants/03-sea.md | USD-equivalent | Meta CPM $1-2, Google CPC $0.30-1, ROAS 2-3x | | LATAM (BR, MX, AR, CO, CL) | variants/04-latam.md | USD-equivalent | Meta CPM $0.50-1.5, Google CPC $0.20-0.80, ROAS 2-3x |

> Why region matters: A $5 CPM is excellent in US but terrible in Vietnam. Audit grading without regional context produces false positives or false negatives.

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Information Gathering

Ask up to 4 questions:

1. Which platforms? Meta / Google / TikTok / multi-platform — and what % of total ad spend each represents.
2. Industry + business model? (DTC e-com, dropshipping, B2B SaaS, lead-gen, local service, course/info-product.)
3. Monthly ad spend + region? (e.g. "$15K/month, 70% US, 30% Canada".)
4. Can you share data? Either paste tables, share a Looker Studio link, or grant view access to the ad account.

Auto-pull via MCP (if connected)

If user has connected an MCP server, pull data directly:

| Platform | MCP recommended | Key tools used | |----------|-----------------|----------------| | Meta Ads | Meta Official MCP (mcp.facebook.com/ads) | ads_insights_anomaly_signal, ads_insights_auction_ranking_benchmarks, ads_get_dataset_quality, ads_get_opportunity_score | | Google Ads | Google Official MCP | GAQL: campaign performance, search terms, quality score | | TikTok Ads | AdsMCP / tiktok-ads-mcp-server | Performance reports, creative library | | Cross-platform | Adspirer ads-mcp | Unified analytics across 175+ tools |

Sample Meta Insights fields when MCP unavailable:

fields=spend,impressions,clicks,ctr,cpc,cpm,actions,cost_per_action_type,
       purchase_roas,frequency,reach
date_preset=last_30d
level=adset
breakdowns=age,gender

Sample GAQL query for Google audit:

SELECT campaign.name, campaign.status, campaign.bidding_strategy_type,
       metrics.impressions, metrics.clicks, metrics.cost_micros,
       metrics.conversions, metrics.cost_per_conversion,
       metrics.search_impression_share
FROM campaign
WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_30_DAYS
  AND campaign.status != 'REMOVED'
ORDER BY metrics.cost_micros DESC

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Health Score Framework (0-100)

Formula

Health Score = Σ(Check_pass × Severity_weight × Dimension_weight)
             / Σ(Check_total × Severity_weight × Dimension_weight) × 100

Severity weights

| Severity | Multiplier | Meaning | |----------|-----------|---------| | Critical | 5.0× | Active money/data loss — fix today | | High | 3.0× | Major impact — fix within 7 days | | Medium | 1.5× | Best practice gap — fix within 30 days | | Low | 0.5× | Optimization — fix when possible |

Grade scale

| Score | Grade | Meaning | |-------|-------|---------| | 90-100 | A | Excellent — maintain & scale | | 75-89 | B | Good — a few improvements needed | | 60-74 | C | Average — needs serious investment | | 40-59 | D | Poor — significant performance leaks | | Region-specific benchmark numbers live in the variant files. The checkpoint logic is identical worldwide.

Dimension 1 — ACCOUNT (12 checks, weight 10%)

| # | Check | Severity | |---|-------|----------| | A01 | Business Manager / MCC structured (single source of truth) | High | | A02 | Account billing healthy (no failed charges in 30d) | Critical | | A03 | No active account warnings or restrictions | Critical | | A04 | Domain verified (Meta) or website verified (Google/TikTok) | High | | A05 | iOS 14.5+ Aggregated Event Measurement configured (Meta) | High | | A06 | Brand safety / suitability set (Meta + Google) | Medium | | A07 | User access roles minimized (no over-permissioned users) | Medium | | A08 | Spending limit set per account (prevents runaway charges) | Medium | | A09 | 2FA enabled on all admin accounts | High | | A10 | Conversion API token rotated within 12 months | Low | | A11 | Account currency matches market currency | Low | | A12 | Tax/VAT configuration correct for region | Low |

Dimension 2 — CAMPAIGN (14 checks, weight 15%)

| # | Check | Severity | |---|-------|----------| | C01 | Cold / warm / retarget campaigns separated | High | | C02 | Campaign objectives match real business outcome | Critical | | C03 | No more than 3-5 active "core" campaigns | Medium | | C04 | Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO) used appropriately | Medium | | C05 | No overlapping audiences across active campaigns | High | | C06 | Brand vs non-brand campaigns separated (Google) | High | | C07 | Search vs Performance Max separated (Google) | High | | C08 | iOS / Android segregation when economics differ | Low | | C09 | Budget allocated proportionally to ROAS-by-funnel-stage | High | | C10 | Naming convention consistent (BrandFunnelGeo_Date) | Low | | C11 | Campaign-level frequency caps set (where supported) | Medium | | C12 | Holiday/promo campaigns tagged & sunset-dated | Low | | C13 | Negative geo / language exclusions set | Medium | | C14 | Brand keywords campaign exists with good QS (Google) | High |

Dimension 3 — AD SET / AD GROUP (16 checks, weight 20%)

| # | Check | Severity | |---|-------|----------| | S01 | Daily budget ≥ 5× target CPA per ad set | Critical | | S02 | Not editing ad sets currently in Learning Phase | High | | S03 | Audience size 1M-50M for cold prospecting (Meta) | High | | S04 | Audience overlap between ad sets 21 days continuously | High | | AD03 | Frequency 25%) | High | | AD07 | Captions / on-screen text present (sound-off viewing) | High | | AD08 | UGC / review-style creative present (≥1) | Medium | | AD09 | CTA explicit in creative (voice or text) | High | | AD10 | Vertical 9:16 used for Stories/Reels/TikTok | High | | AD11 | Resolution ≥720p (1080p preferred) | Medium | | AD12 | RSA: ≥8/15 headlines, ≥4/4 descriptions filled (Google) | High | | AD13 | Asset strength "Good" or higher on RSA (Google) | Medium | | AD14 | Sitelink / callout / call extensions present (Google) | Medium | | AD15 | Landing page load time $200 spend, 0 conv) ├─ Add exclusion of past purchasers from cold campaigns ├─ Refresh top-frequency creative (>3.5 freq) ├─ Enable CAPI / Enhanced Conversions ├─ Add UTM parameters to untagged ads └─ Connect GA4 ↔ Google Ads if not linked

Each Quick Win must include: **action, expected impact, time required, owner**.

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## Dropshipping Audit Checklist (Special Section)

> Dropshipping has unique audit needs: high creative volume, thin margins, attribution opacity, and compressed test cycles. This section augments — not replaces — the 84 universal checkpoints.

### 1. Creative Testing Velocity (the #1 dropshipping killer)

| Check | Pass criteria | Severity |
|-------|---------------|----------|
| New creatives launched per week | ≥10 (winning store benchmark) | Critical |
| Creative-to-spend ratio | 1 winning ad funds 4-5 tests | High |
| Hook variations tested | ≥3 hooks per product | High |
| UGC creator pipeline active | ≥2 UGC creators delivering weekly | High |
| Cycle time from brief to launch |  **Failure mode:** A store running 2-3 creatives "until they die" instead of testing 10+/week is starving Meta's algorithm and ad fatigue compounds. Fix: build a creative ops calendar (see `06-ugc-egc-brief-global`).

### 2. CBO vs ABO Setup

| Check | Pass criteria | Severity |
|-------|---------------|----------|
| Testing layer uses ABO (Ad Set Budget) | ≥3 ad sets, $20-50/day each | High |
| Scaling layer uses CBO (Campaign Budget) | Top winners only, single CBO | High |
| Budget reallocates within 3-7 days of clear winner | Document rule + execute | Medium |
| No mixed CBO with non-comparable ad sets | Audit campaign structure | High |

### 3. Pixel + CAPI Dual Tracking (post-iOS 14.5 critical)

| Check | Pass criteria | Severity |
|-------|---------------|----------|
| Pixel + CAPI both firing on Purchase event | Verified in Test Events | Critical |
| EMQ ≥7.0 (dropshipping should beat 6.0 floor) | Events Manager | High |
| Email + phone + first-name + last-name passed via CAPI | Backend integration | Critical |
| Server-side tracking via Stape/GTM SS for AOV>$50 stores | Verified deployment | High |
| iOS attribution gap reconciled with Triple Whale or Hyros | Compare last 30 days | High |

### 4. Landing Page CRO Signals

| Check | Pass criteria | Severity |
|-------|---------------|----------|
| Mobile load time  **Dropshipping cross-reference:** When auditing dropshipping accounts, also call `29-dropshipping-mastery-global` for product-fit and supply-chain audit beyond ad-account scope.

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## Output Structure

```markdown
# Ads Audit: [Brand / Product]
Audit date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
Region: [US / EU / SEA / LATAM]
Auditor: [Agency / In-house]
Spend audited: [$ — last 30d]

## Executive Summary

| Platform | Score | Grade | Top issue |
|----------|-------|-------|-----------|
| Meta Ads | [n]/100 | [A-F] | [1-line] |
| Google Ads | [n]/100 | | |
| TikTok Ads | [n]/100 | | |
| **Aggregate** | **[n]/100** | **[Grade]** | |

## Critical Issues (fix in 24 hours)
[List failed Critical checks with remediation steps]

## Quick Wins (today, <15 min each)
[Top 5-10 actions, sorted by impact]

## By Dimension

### 1. Account — [score]/10
[Pass/fail per check, with screenshots if MCP-pulled]

### 2. Campaign — [score]/10
[...]

[Continue for all 6 dimensions]

## By Platform

### Meta Ads — [score]/100
[Breakdown by dimension]

### Google Ads — [score]/100
[...]

### TikTok Ads — [score]/100
[...]

## Dropshipping Audit (if applicable)
[6 sub-sections from Dropshipping Checklist]

## 7-Day Action Plan

| Day | Action | Platform | Owner | Expected outcome |
|-----|--------|----------|-------|------------------|
| Day 1 | [Quick wins + Critical fixes] | | | |
| Day 2-3 | [High priority] | | | |
| Day 4-5 | [Tracking + creative] | | | |
| Day 6-7 | [Setup + test deploy] | | | |

## 30-Day Forecast
[Realistic improvement estimate if all Critical/High fixed]

## Appendix
- Raw data exports
- Screenshots
- MCP query logs (if used)

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Cross-references

| When you need | Call skill | |---------------|-----------| | Diagnose current KPIs and funnel | 03-performance-eval-global | | Deep data analysis (descriptive→prescriptive) | 13-data-analysis-global | | Refresh creative after audit finds fatigue | 05-ad-copy-global + 06-ugc-egc-brief-global | | Reverse-calc budget after fixing tracking | 10-reverse-kpi-calc-global | | Dropshipping product/supply audit | 29-dropshipping-mastery-global | | Set up A/B test for fixes | 19-ab-test-setup-global |

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Quality Checklist (before delivery)

• [ ] Region variant loaded and benchmarks contextualized
• [ ] All 84 checks scored (no skipped)
• [ ] Health Score calculated per platform AND aggregate
• [ ] Critical issues separated and fix-in-24h flagged
• [ ] Quick Wins ≤15 min each, sorted by impact
• [ ] Dropshipping section included if business model = dropship
• [ ] 7-day Action Plan with owner + expected outcome per row
• [ ] 30-day forecast realistic (not over-promise)
• [ ] No "improve creative" without specifying WHICH creative + WHY
• [ ] No scaling recommendation when Critical tracking fails
• [ ] No edits suggested for ad sets in Learning Phase
• [ ] Cross-references called when needed (e.g. 06 for creative)

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Region Variant References

Load the appropriate file before scoring:

• variants/01-us.md — United States, Canada
• variants/02-eu.md — European Union, UK
• variants/03-sea.md — Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia
• variants/04-latam.md — Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile

Each variant contains: healthy CPM/CPC ranges, ROAS targets per business model, common red flags, region-specific compliance gates, and tracking platform peculiarities.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: minhnv0807
• Source: minhnv0807/ai-business-skills
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://opa.business

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.