Stop Wasting Money | 10 Simple PPC Audits Every Dealer Must Do

Most PPC problems aren’t budget problems, they’re visibility problems.

In this session from NADA Show 2026, Susan Yen breaks down 10 essential PPC audits every dealership should be running to uncover wasted spend, improve lead quality, and regain control of their campaigns.

From account ownership and conversion tracking to search terms, geo-targeting, and ad copy, this framework helps dealers identify hidden leaks and make smarter decisions with their ad spend.

If you’re spending on Google Ads but aren’t sure what you’re actually getting in return, this session will show you exactly where to look.

Transcript

1. Stop Wasting Money 10 Simple PPC Audits Every Dealer Must Do Susan Yen NADA Show 2026
2. The Auction Story That’s how most dealers experience PPC You Are in an Auction You Can’t See You keep bidding You keep spending You’re not sure what you actually won
3. The Dealer PPC Reality What Dealers Tell Me Every Day “Costs keep going up” “We spend a lot, but results are unclear” “Leads are inconsistent or low quality” Most PPC issues are not spend problems — they are visibility problems
4. What You’ll Walk Away With After This Session, You Will Know How To: See where your PPC money is actually going Identify hidden budget leaks Ask better questions of your team or vendor Make PPC work smarter — not harder
5. This Is Non‑Negotiable If you don’t own the account, you don’t own the data Is the Google/Bing Ads account under your dealership’s email? ? Do you have Admin access? ? Does the account stay with you if you change vendors? ? Audit #1: Do You Own Your Account? Check
6. Why Ownership Matters No Ownership = No Control You lose historical performance data NO ACCESS
7. Why Ownership Matters No Ownership = No Control You lose historical performance data You lose audience learnings NO ACCESS
8. Why Ownership Matters No Ownership = No Control You lose historical performance data You lose audience learnings NO ACCESS You start over every time you switch vendors You wouldn’t let a vendor own your DMS — don’t let them own your ad account
9. Are Conversions Set Up Correctly? If tracking is wrong, performance is an illusion What actions count as a conversion? ? Are phone calls tracked? ? Are form submissions tracked? ? Audit #2: Conversion Tracking Ask
10. Unique vs Every Conversion This One Causes Massive Waste Every conversion One person submits 3 forms = 3 leads
11. Unique vs Every Conversion This One Causes Massive Waste Every conversion One person submits 3 forms = 3 leads Unique conversion One person = one lead “Are we optimizing for unique leads or inflated numbers?” Ask Your Vendor
12. Audit #3: Search Terms SEARCH What Are People Actually Searching? • Keywords are guesses • Search terms show real intent Ask Your Vendor Can I get a list of my search terms?
13. Audit #4: Negative Keywords Your First Line of Defense Against Waste If you don’t block bad traffic, Google will happily sell it to you Are negatives added weekly? ? Are irrelevant services filtered out? ? AskCheck
14. Audit #5: Location Targeting Are You Paying for the Right Geography? Ask City vs county targeting ? Radius targeting accuracy ? Poor geo setup = invisible waste
15. Audit #6: Ad Copy Are Your Ads Doing the Heavy Lifting? Ask: Do the ads have a clear calls to action?
16. Continued: Ad Copy Are Your Ads Doing the Heavy Lifting? Ask: what does our inventory‑specific messaging look like?
17. Continued: Ad Copy Are Your Ads Doing the Heavy Lifting? Ask: Do our ads have Service vs sales separated? Generic ads attract generic leads Do the ads have a clear calls to action? what does our inventory‑specific messaging look like?
18. Audit #7: Bid Strategy VS Not All Spend Is Equal Ask Cost per lead by platform Lead quality by platform Action Shift budget to what actually works ? ?
19. Audit #8: Ad Placements Where Are Your Ads Actually Showing? Just because Google placed it there doesn’t make it relevant
20. Audit #9: Common PMax Budget Leaks Where Dealers Lose Money Fast Inflated conversion tracking No negative controls Mixed goals in one campaign Weak ad assets Performance Max
21. Audit #10: AI Max Explained Simply AI Doesn’t Replace Strategy — It Amplifies It Faster learning Faster mistakes if set up wrong AI scales whatever you give it — good or bad
22. Your Accountability Checklist Questions You Should Be Able to Ask Confidently What is counted as a real lead? Are we optimizing unique conversions? Where is the budget being wasted? What controls are in place?
23. Final Takeaway You Don’t Need to Be a PPC Expert You need visibility You need ownership You need accountability That’s how PPC starts working for dealers
24. Thank You! Want to apply this to your own account? Scan the QR code Questions or follow-ups? Email: Susan.yen@searchlabdigital.com