Most estate agencies and law firms understand that Google Ads can be a powerful source of new business. When someone searches for a house valuation in your postcode or a solicitor for a specific legal matter, you want to appear at the top of the results.
But launching a campaign is not the same as running a profitable one.
Too often, firms set up Google Ads, see enquiries coming in, and assume everything is working as it should. In reality, significant inefficiencies often sit beneath the surface. Wasted budget, poor targeting and missed conversion tracking can quietly erode performance for months. This is why regular Google Ads audits are not optional. They are essential.
What Is a Google Ads Audit?
A Google Ads audit is a comprehensive review of your entire account. It examines campaign structure, keyword targeting, ad copy, bidding strategies, location settings and, most importantly, conversion tracking.
For estate agents, this means analysing whether your campaigns are actually generating valuation bookings and vendor enquiries rather than low quality tenant traffic or irrelevant clicks.
For law firms, it means reviewing whether your ads are driving genuine, fee paying enquiries within the right practice areas rather than general information seekers who are unlikely to instruct. An audit identifies what is working, what is underperforming and where budget is being wasted.
The Hidden Cost of Wasted Ad Spend
In both property and legal markets, cost per click can be high. Certain conveyancing, family law or property valuation keywords are extremely competitive. If campaigns are not structured properly, it becomes very easy to spend significant budget without generating profitable work.
An audit often uncovers issues such as broad keywords attracting irrelevant searches, overlapping campaigns competing against each other, or budgets being allocated to services that rarely convert.
For an estate agency, this could mean paying for rental enquiries when your objective is to win sales instructions. For a law firm, it could mean spending heavily on generic legal terms instead of focused, high intent keywords that drive retained cases.
Redirecting that wasted spend into high performing areas can dramatically improve results without increasing overall budget.
Improving Lead Quality, Not Just Lead Volume
More clicks do not necessarily mean more revenue. What matters is the quality of enquiries. A proper Google Ads audit looks beyond surface metrics and focuses on conversion data. Are calls being tracked correctly? Are form submissions being attributed to the right campaigns? Do certain keywords consistently lead to higher value matters or instructions?
In many cases, small structural changes can improve lead quality significantly. Refining match types, tightening geographic targeting or restructuring campaigns around specific services can increase the percentage of enquiries that turn into real business.
For law firms in particular, where a single case can be worth thousands, improving quality over quantity is often the most profitable adjustment you can make.
Staying Competitive in a Crowded Market
Both estate agencies and law firms operate in highly competitive local markets. Your competitors are investing in paid search. Some will be optimising constantly. Without regular audits, campaigns become stagnant. New competitors enter the auction. Search behaviour shifts. Costs fluctuate. What worked six months ago may no longer be effective.
An audit ensures your campaigns evolve with the market. It allows you to identify new opportunities, adjust bidding strategies and strengthen your position for the searches that matter most in your location and sector.
Protecting and Improving ROI
Ultimately, Google Ads should be measured by return on investment. If a campaign is generating instructions or retained clients at a profitable cost, it should be scaled. If it is not, it needs refinement. A structured audit provides clarity. It connects ad spend to real outcomes and highlights where improvements can be made to increase profitability. In many cases, firms discover that they do not need to spend more. They simply need to spend smarter.
Final Thoughts
For estate agencies and law firms, Google Ads can be a powerful growth channel. But without regular auditing, even well intentioned campaigns can underperform. A professional audit uncovers inefficiencies, improves lead quality and ensures that your budget is aligned with real business objectives. It transforms Google Ads from a hopeful experiment into a controlled, measurable source of instructions and revenue.
If your campaigns have been running untouched for months, it may not be your budget that needs attention. It may be your structure, targeting and tracking.
