A dealer Google Ads audit doesn't fix anything — it shows you what's left on the table.

A Google Ads account running on autopilot bleeds budget in four predictable places: broad-match keywords with no negative list, geo-bid modifiers set to the wrong radius, evergreen ad groups carrying low-quality-score keywords from year one, and dayparting bids that ignored your store's actual hours. The audit pulls each of these on its own and writes a dollar number next to them.

• Broad-match bleed without a negative list: typically 10–18% of wasted spend
• Geo-bid waste on the wrong radius: 3–7%
• Low-quality-score keywords still in evergreen rotation: 2–5%
• Dayparting bids set against your store's actual hours: 2–4%

The second deliverable maps where your ads don't show up — and which of your competitors are bidding on the search terms you should own.

Dealer accounts routinely under-bid on the high-intent search terms that come in past the broad-match layer: specific year + make + model + trim ("2022 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew 4x4 near me"), dealership-name + service queries ("[dealer] service appointment"), and OEM-finance queries ("Ford financing near me"). The audit pulls your search-term report, separates brand from non-brand, and writes the gap list — with auction-insights overlap data showing which competitors are bidding on those exact terms.

• Search-term gaps from your last 90 days of search-term data
• Auction-insights overlap matrix — which competitors are bidding on your gaps
• Brand-vs-non-brand separation (so your own brand spend isn't masking non-brand waste)
• Recommended additions and negatives, mapped to ad groups

The third deliverable is the creative side of the audit — the part most agencies skip because it's harder to fake.

A creative audit answers one question: do your top-spend ad groups show vehicles that are actually on your lot today? The audit pulls your top-10-spend ad groups, cross-references each creative against your live VIN feed, and flags the ones running stock photos, generic copy, or vehicles that sold two months ago. The fix side of this is covered in the real-inventory pillar — the audit surfaces the gap and quantifies it in click-through rate loss.

• Top-10 ad groups cross-referenced against your live VIN feed
• Stock-photo carryover flagged with click-through-rate impact
• Sold-unit creatives still in rotation (clicks on vehicles you no longer stock)
• The creative-side fix, covered in the real-inventory pillar

The questions that come up on every audit call — answered straight.

What does a dealer Google Ads audit actually cover?

A dealer Google Ads audit covers four deliverables: a wasted-spend report (broad-match bleed, geo-bid waste, low-quality-score keywords, dayparting), a search-term gap and competitor-overlap analysis (auction-insights, brand-vs-non-brand separation), a real-inventory creative audit (do your ads show vehicles that match your live lot), and a CPL benchmark against the BC dealer top 10%. The audit is written off live account data — not a deck-style report with stock recommendations.

Who runs the audit — is it AI or a human?

The audit is run by a VeloOS campaign strategist who pulls your live Google Ads account, MCC, and (if available) Google Analytics 4 data. VeloOS uses AI tooling to surface wasted spend and auction-insights overlap, but the deliverable is reviewed and signed off by a human — you get a walkthrough call, not just a PDF.

What does the dealer get at the end of the audit?

You get a written deliverable with a wasted-spend dollar number, a missed-keyword list with recommended additions and negatives, a competitor-overlap matrix, a creative audit of your top-spend ad groups (real inventory vs stock-photo carryover), and a CPL benchmark vs the BC dealer top 10%. The output is a working fix list, not a vanity report — every recommendation maps to a specific dollar amount or a specific campaign change.

How much does the audit cost?

The audit itself is free when paired with the VeloOS $1,500/month management engagement — the audit is the first step. Standalone audits are priced case-by-case depending on account size and the scope of the Google Ads MCC, but the typical BC dealer audit runs in the $500–$1,500 range. Pricing is published up front — no surprise bill.

How long does a dealer Google Ads audit take?

A standard audit takes 2–3 business days from account access to delivered report, plus a 30-minute walkthrough call. Complex accounts with multiple MCCs or a long creative history may take up to a week. The deliverable is the same shape either way — wasted spend dollar number, missed-keyword list, competitor-overlap matrix, creative audit, and CPL benchmark.

What happens after the audit if the dealer signs on?

Month-to-month at $1,500/month starting. VeloOS implements the wasted-spend fixes, builds the real-inventory creative, restructures the campaign around the missed-keyword gaps, and benchmarks your CPL against the BC top 10% every month. Cancel with 30 days notice — no annual contract.