FAQ
Short, factual answers about how the audit works, what each finding means, how advertising policy enforcement differs by category, and how your data is handled. If something is not covered here, email us.
A keyword audit reviews every keyword in an account against its own performance data to find spend that is not earning its place: keywords with cost and no conversions, conversions that cost far more than the account average, keywords held back by a low Quality Score, and budget concentrated in a handful of terms. ClearSpend adds an advertising policy screen on top, because a disapproval or suspension wastes more budget than any single keyword.
CSV audits are free and do not require an account. You can create an account to keep your audit history. Pro and Agency plans add a live Google Ads connection, so you can pull recent performance without exporting a file. See current options on the pricing page.
In Google Ads, open Campaigns, then Keywords → Search keywords. Set your date range — last 30 to 90 days works well — click the download icon at the top right and choose “.csv”. The export needs the Campaign, Ad group, Keyword, Match type, Clicks, Impressions, Cost and Conversions columns. Quality score is optional. The audit page includes the same steps with a column checklist.
The performance findings expect the Google Ads keywords export format. The policy screening covers Google, Meta and TikTok rules, so a Google export still tells you which categories would be restricted or prohibited if you run the same terms on Meta or TikTok.
Google's recommendations are optimisation prompts inside the platform and tend to favour spending more. An audit is a point-in-time review you can hand to a client or manager, and it includes policy exposure, which the recommendations page does not cover.
A keyword counts as wasted spend when it recorded zero conversions and at least $150 of cost in the period you exported. Results are sorted by cost, highest first, so the largest leaks are at the top. A keyword just below the threshold is not necessarily healthy — it simply has not spent enough yet to be conclusive.
ClearSpend calculates your account-wide average cost per acquisition, then flags any keyword that did convert but at a CPA of two times that average or more. These are easy to miss because they look successful in isolation.
A score of 4 or below usually means Google rates at least one of expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance or landing page experience below other advertisers for the same searches. Google calls Quality Score a diagnostic: the number itself isn't used in the auction, but the ad quality it reflects is. The usual fixes are tightening ad copy to match the keyword and improving the landing page's relevance and speed. See our Quality Score guide.
ClearSpend reports what share of total spend sits in your top 20% of keywords by cost. High concentration is not automatically wrong, but it means a single policy flag, disapproval or bid change on those few keywords can move most of your account performance at once.
Your export recorded no conversions in the period, so there is nothing to divide cost by. Check that conversion tracking is working and that your date range is long enough, then re-export.
Some policy categories are enforced immediately rather than with a warning first — typically the ones platforms treat as egregious, such as certain crypto, guaranteed returns and misrepresentation categories. ClearSpend labels every flagged category with an enforcement tier so you can see which of your categories carry no-warning suspension risk before anything happens.
No-warning suspension means the platform can suspend on first detection. Warning first means you would normally get a notice and a chance to fix the issue. Targeting rules only means the category is allowed but limited in where or to whom it can run. Generally allowed means no special restriction applies. Each flag also shows the certification or licence it requires and how difficult an appeal usually is.
No. A flag means your keyword, ad group or campaign wording matches a category the platforms document as restricted, certified or prohibited. It is a prompt to check the platform's current policy for that category and confirm your certification status — it is not a ruling, and it is not legal advice.
No. ClearSpend has no relationship with Google, Meta or TikTok and cannot contact them on your behalf. What it can do is show you which categories your account is touching so your appeal or your certification application addresses the right thing.
A CSV is read in your browser, analysed in memory and discarded when you close the tab. It is never uploaded, and the business name you type labels your results and PDF. If you sign in, saved audit summaries are kept in your account. A live Google Ads connection stores a secure account link and saved results, not a copy of your CSV. See the Privacy Policy for the full detail.
No. CSV audits stay fully free and need neither sign-in nor an account connection. If you prefer an automatic data pull, sign in and use a Pro or Agency plan to connect Google Ads for a read-only live audit. ClearSpend never posts or changes ads on your behalf.
Yes — the “Download PDF Report” button produces a report headed with your business name and today's date, generated on your own device, which you can send to whoever needs it.