Audit a Meta Ads Account

Stage 1

Review account structure and names

1. 1

   Check the structure: one ad account per brand, one campaign per objective or offer, as few ad sets as possible, and 4–8 different creatives per ad set (SOP 069).

2. 2

   Look for ad sets stuck at “Learning limited” in the Delivery column. Usually there are too many small ad sets sharing too little budget. Recommend merging them.

3. 3

   Check the names. Can you tell the objective, audience and message just from the name? (SOP 073)

   

Stage 2

Review tracking

Bad tracking means the account is over- or under-reporting results.

1. 1

   Install the Meta Pixel Helper Chrome extension. Visit the home, landing and sales pages and check the Pixel fires on each.

2. 2

   In Events Manager, open the dataset (pixel) and check each key event: is it received from both Browser and Server (Conversions API)? Is the Event Match Quality score 6 or higher?

   • Conversions API (CAPI) sends events from the website’s server to Meta, so results aren’t lost when browsers block the pixel.
   • Browser only, or a low score? Recommend CAPI setup (see SOP 005).
3. 3

   Check UTMs: in Ads Manager, click Columns → Customise columns, type “URL” in the search box, tick “URL parameters” and Apply.

   • Every URL should have UTMs such as utm_source=facebook, utm_medium=paid, utm_campaign=lead-generation.

   

4. 4

   To keep a record, select the campaigns, click Export → Customise export, name the report and Export.

5. 5

   Confirm the domain is verified (SOP 097).

6. 6

   Ask the client for last month’s lead or sales sheet from their CRM. Compare it with Meta’s result count. A big gap means tracking is double-counting or leads are low quality.

Stage 3

Review audiences

1. 1

   Compare current audiences with the customer persona. Keep any that perform well (good ROAS) even if they don’t match.

2. 2

   Check prospecting is broad enough: Advantage+ audience on, or wide original audiences. Tiny interest-stacked audiences are a common reason for high costs in 2026.

3. 3

   Make sure warm remarketing runs separately from prospecting, and prospecting excludes existing customers or leads (unless it’s an upsell).

4. 4

   Check frequency (Columns → Delivery). Warm audiences seeing ads more than 4–5 times a week, or cold above about 2.5, usually means creative fatigue.

Stage 4

Review ads and performance

1. 1

   Each ad needs a clear call to action, a unique angle, and a message that matches its landing page.

2. 2

   Check the quality ranking (how people rate your ad against other ads shown to the same audience). Look only at ads with 500+ impressions. It should be at least Average. Replace Below Average ads with a new creative idea, not just a new headline.

3. 3

   Sort campaigns, then ad sets and ads, by “Amount spent”. Is most budget going to the lowest cost per result (CPA) or best return on ad spend (ROAS)?

   • Before judging, check the attribution setting and the funnel role. Prospecting nearly always shows a weaker ROAS than remarketing, but it feeds remarketing.
4. 4

   Write your action plan in the audit sheet, one line per ad set, using these starting rules:

   • Pause: spent about 3× the target cost per result with zero results.
   • Shift budget away: cost per result 30%+ above target for 7+ days.
   • Scale: at or below target → raise the budget about 20% every 3–4 days.
   • Send the client your top 3 actions, each with a screenshot as proof.

   Note

   These are starting rules. Always check them against the account’s own history and the client’s lead quality.