ads-audit

name	ads-audit
description	Ad Performance Auditor — analyze existing ad campaigns and identify optimization opportunities
version	1.0.0
author	AI Ads Strategist
tags	["ads","audit","performance","optimization","analytics"]
trigger	/ads audit
output	ADS-AUDIT.md

Ad Performance Auditor

Skill Purpose

Analyze existing ad campaign performance from user-provided data (screenshots, descriptions, or metrics). Evaluate key performance indicators against industry benchmarks, detect creative fatigue and audience overlap, identify budget waste, and provide prioritized optimization recommendations ranked by expected impact. This is a diagnostic tool — it tells you what is working, what is broken, and what to fix first.

When to Use

• User wants to audit their existing ad campaigns
• User shares ad performance data (screenshots, CSV, or described metrics)
• User asks "why aren't my ads working?" or "how can I improve my ads?"
• User wants to know if their ad spend is efficient
• User has been running ads for 7+ days and wants a performance check
• Triggered by /ads audit or /ads audit <platform>

Data Collection

Step 1: Gather Performance Data

Ask the user to provide their ad data in any of these formats:

Option A: Key Metrics (Manual Input) Ask for these metrics per campaign/ad set:

Metric	What to Ask
Platform	Which platform (Meta, Google, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.)?
Campaign Objective	What's the campaign optimized for (awareness, traffic, conversions, leads)?
Time Period	How long has this campaign been running? Date range?
Spend	Total amount spent in this period
Impressions	Total impressions
Reach	Unique people reached (if available)
Clicks	Total clicks (link clicks, not all clicks)
CTR	Click-through rate (or calculate from impressions/clicks)
CPC	Cost per click
Conversions	Total conversions (purchases, leads, sign-ups)
Conversion Rate	Landing page conversion rate
CPA/CPL	Cost per acquisition or cost per lead
ROAS	Return on ad spend (revenue / spend)
Frequency	Average times each person saw the ad
Ad Creative Type	Image, video, carousel, etc.

Option B: Screenshot Analysis If the user shares screenshots of their ad dashboard:

• Extract all visible metrics from the screenshot
• Note which metrics are missing
• Ask follow-up questions for critical missing data

Option C: Platform-Specific Export Guide the user to export data:

• Meta: Ads Manager > Export > Select columns
• Google: Reports > Download
• TikTok: Analytics > Export
• LinkedIn: Campaign Manager > Export

Step 2: Establish Industry Benchmarks

Use these benchmark ranges by platform and objective. Compare the user's metrics against these:

Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Benchmarks:

Metric	Poor	Below Average	Average	Good	Excellent
CTR (Link)	<0.5%	0.5-0.8%	0.8-1.2%	1.2-2.0%	>2.0%
CPC (Link)	>$3.00	$2.00-3.00	$1.00-2.00	$0.50-1.00	<$0.50
CPM	>$20	$15-20	$10-15	$5-10	<$5
Conv. Rate	<1%	1-2%	2-5%	5-10%	>10%
ROAS	<1x	1-2x	2-4x	4-8x	>8x
Frequency (7d)	>5	3-5	2-3	1.5-2	1-1.5

Google Ads (Search) Benchmarks:

Metric	Poor	Below Average	Average	Good	Excellent
CTR	<1%	1-2%	2-4%	4-7%	>7%
CPC	>$5.00	$3.00-5.00	$1.50-3.00	$0.75-1.50	<$0.75
Conv. Rate	<1%	1-3%	3-6%	6-10%	>10%
Quality Score	1-3	4-5	6-7	8-9	10

Google Ads (Display) Benchmarks:

Metric	Poor	Below Average	Average	Good	Excellent
CTR	<0.1%	0.1-0.3%	0.3-0.5%	0.5-1.0%	>1.0%
CPC	>$2.00	$1.00-2.00	$0.50-1.00	$0.25-0.50	<$0.25
Conv. Rate	<0.5%	0.5-1%	1-2%	2-4%	>4%

TikTok Benchmarks:

Metric	Poor	Below Average	Average	Good	Excellent
CTR	<0.3%	0.3-0.5%	0.5-1.0%	1.0-2.0%	>2.0%
CPC	>$2.00	$1.00-2.00	$0.50-1.00	$0.25-0.50	<$0.25
CPM	>$15	$10-15	$6-10	$3-6	<$3
Video View Rate	<15%	15-25%	25-35%	35-50%	>50%

LinkedIn Benchmarks:

Metric	Poor	Below Average	Average	Good	Excellent
CTR	<0.2%	0.2-0.4%	0.4-0.7%	0.7-1.0%	>1.0%
CPC	>$10.00	$7.00-10.00	$4.00-7.00	$2.00-4.00	<$2.00
CPM	>$50	$35-50	$20-35	$10-20	<$10
Conv. Rate	<1%	1-2%	2-4%	4-7%	>7%

Industry Vertical Adjustments:

• E-commerce: CPA benchmarks $15-$45, ROAS target 3-5x
• SaaS/B2B: CPA benchmarks $50-$200, focus on CPL not CPA
• Local Services: CPA benchmarks $20-$75, call tracking critical
• Education/Courses: CPA benchmarks $30-$100, webinar reg focus
• Real Estate: CPL benchmarks $20-$80, lead quality matters more than volume

Step 3: Performance Analysis

Run each of these diagnostic checks:

3A: Efficiency Analysis

Calculate and evaluate:

• Cost Efficiency Score: How much value per dollar spent?
• Click Efficiency: CTR vs benchmark for this platform/industry
• Conversion Efficiency: Conv rate vs benchmark
• ROAS Check: Is the return justifying the spend?
• Budget Utilization: Is the daily budget being fully spent? Underspending signals targeting too narrow.

3B: Creative Fatigue Detection

Identify if ads have fatigued:

Signal	Threshold	Status
CTR decline	>20% drop over 7 days	Fatigued
Frequency	>3 in 7 days	Oversaturated
CPC increase	>30% increase over 7 days	Auction pressure
Relevance/Quality dropping	Score declining	Creative stale
Conversion rate declining	>15% drop	Message exhausted

Creative Fatigue Diagnosis:

• Mild fatigue: CTR dropped 10-20%, frequency 2-3 → Refresh ad copy and images
• Moderate fatigue: CTR dropped 20-40%, frequency 3-5 → New creative concepts needed
• Severe fatigue: CTR dropped >40%, frequency >5 → Pause and relaunch with entirely new creative

3C: Audience Analysis

Evaluate targeting effectiveness:

• Audience Size: Too broad (>10M on Meta) or too narrow (<100K)?
• Audience Overlap: Multiple ad sets targeting the same people?
• Demographic Performance: Which age/gender/location segments convert best?
• Placement Performance: Which placements (feed, stories, reels, search, display) perform best?
• Device Performance: Mobile vs desktop conversion differences?

3D: Budget Waste Identification

Find where money is being wasted:

Waste Type	How to Detect	Fix
Audience Overlap	Multiple ad sets with >30% audience overlap	Consolidate or exclude
Poor Placements	Placements with high spend, low conversion	Exclude underperformers
Time-of-Day Waste	Spending during low-converting hours	Dayparting schedule
Geographic Waste	Spending in non-converting locations	Geo-targeting refinement
Device Mismatch	High mobile clicks but desktop-only landing page	Mobile-optimize LP
Broad Match Waste	(Google) Irrelevant search terms eating budget	Negative keywords
Frequency Cap Missing	Same person seeing ad 10+ times	Set frequency cap
Low Quality Score	(Google) Score <5 driving up CPC	Improve relevance

3E: Funnel Leak Detection

Identify where conversions are being lost:

Impressions (100%) → Clicks (CTR: X%) → Landing Page Views (X%) → Conversions (X%)
                                              ^                        ^
                                              |                        |
                                         LP Load Speed?          LP Conversion?
                                         Bounce Rate?            Form Friction?
                                         Mobile UX?              Offer Mismatch?

Calculate drop-off at each stage:

• Impression to Click: Is the ad compelling? (Creative issue)
• Click to Landing Page View: Is the page loading? (Technical issue)
• Landing Page View to Conversion: Is the offer converting? (Offer/UX issue)

Step 4: Scoring

Overall Ad Performance Score (0-100):

Dimension	Weight	Score Range	Assessment
Cost Efficiency	25%	0-25	CPC, CPM, CPA vs benchmarks
Creative Performance	20%	0-20	CTR, engagement, fatigue level
Conversion Quality	25%	0-25	Conv rate, ROAS, lead quality
Audience Targeting	15%	0-15	Targeting precision, overlap, segmentation
Budget Optimization	15%	0-15	Budget utilization, waste, allocation

Score Interpretation:

• 80-100: Excellent — minor optimizations only
• 60-79: Good — solid foundation with optimization opportunities
• 40-59: Needs Work — significant improvements needed in multiple areas
• 20-39: Poor — fundamental strategy issues to address
• 0-19: Critical — major problems, consider pausing and restructuring

Step 5: Generate Recommendations

Produce recommendations in 3 tiers, ordered by expected impact:

Tier 1: Immediate Actions (This Week) Actions that can be done today with no additional resources:

• Pause underperforming ad sets
• Adjust budgets toward top performers
• Add negative keywords (Google)
• Adjust frequency caps
• Fix audience overlap
• Update ad copy with top-performing hooks

Tier 2: Short-Term Optimizations (Next 2 Weeks) Actions that require some creative or strategic work:

• Launch new creative variations
• Test new audiences
• A/B test landing pages
• Implement retargeting
• Adjust bidding strategy
• Expand to new placements

Tier 3: Strategic Changes (Next 30 Days) Actions that require planning and significant effort:

• Restructure campaign architecture
• Build new funnel stages
• Create new creative concepts
• Expand to new platforms
• Redesign landing pages
• Implement conversion tracking improvements

Step 6: Projected Impact

For each Tier 1 recommendation, estimate:

Action	Current Metric	Expected Improvement	Confidence
[action]	[current value]	[projected value]	High/Medium/Low

Output Format

Save as ADS-AUDIT.md in the current working directory.

# Ad Performance Audit: [Business/Campaign Name]
**Audit Date:** [Date]
**Period Analyzed:** [Date Range]
**Platform(s):** [Platforms]
**Total Spend Analyzed:** $[Amount]

---

## Overall Ad Performance Score: [X]/100
[Visual score bar or assessment]

## Executive Summary
- **Top Finding:** [Single most impactful finding]
- **Biggest Waste:** $[Amount] wasted on [what]
- **Biggest Opportunity:** [What could improve results most]
- **Estimated Improvement:** [X]% improvement possible with Tier 1 changes

---

## Performance Dashboard

### Key Metrics vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Your Value | Industry Avg | Status | Gap |
|--------|-----------|-------------|--------|-----|
| CTR | X% | X% | [emoji-free status] | +/-X% |
| CPC | $X | $X | [status] | +/-$X |
| Conv Rate | X% | X% | [status] | +/-X% |
| ROAS | Xx | Xx | [status] | +/-Xx |
| Frequency | X | X | [status] | +/-X |

### Scoring Breakdown
| Dimension | Score | Key Finding |
|-----------|-------|-------------|
| Cost Efficiency | X/25 | [finding] |
| Creative Performance | X/20 | [finding] |
| Conversion Quality | X/25 | [finding] |
| Audience Targeting | X/15 | [finding] |
| Budget Optimization | X/15 | [finding] |

---

## Detailed Analysis

### Creative Fatigue Assessment
[Fatigue level, evidence, recommendation]

### Audience Analysis
[Targeting assessment, overlap issues, segment performance]

### Budget Waste Report
| Waste Type | Estimated Waste | Fix |
|------------|----------------|-----|
| [type] | $[amount] | [fix] |

### Funnel Leak Analysis
[Stage-by-stage drop-off analysis]

---

## Recommendations

### Tier 1: Immediate Actions (This Week)
| # | Action | Expected Impact | Effort |
|---|--------|----------------|--------|
| 1 | [action] | [impact] | Low |

### Tier 2: Short-Term (Next 2 Weeks)
| # | Action | Expected Impact | Effort |
|---|--------|----------------|--------|
| 1 | [action] | [impact] | Medium |

### Tier 3: Strategic (Next 30 Days)
| # | Action | Expected Impact | Effort |
|---|--------|----------------|--------|
| 1 | [action] | [impact] | High |

---

## Projected Impact of Tier 1 Changes
| Action | Current | Projected | Confidence |
|--------|---------|-----------|------------|
| [action] | [value] | [value] | High/Med/Low |

## Next Steps
1. Implement Tier 1 actions immediately
2. Re-audit in 7 days with `/ads audit`
3. Use `/ads creative` to generate fresh creative if fatigue detected
4. Use `/ads funnel` to restructure campaign architecture if needed
5. Generate new copy with `/ads copy <platform>`

Important Rules

• Never make assumptions about missing data — ask for it or flag it as unavailable
• Always compare to platform-specific benchmarks, not cross-platform averages
• Industry vertical matters — adjust benchmarks accordingly
• Frequency is one of the most overlooked metrics — always check it
• ROAS alone is not enough — consider contribution margin and LTV
• Budget waste identification should always include estimated dollar amounts
• Recommendations must be specific and actionable, not generic best practices
• Tier 1 recommendations should be achievable without additional creative assets
• Always consider seasonality when evaluating performance trends
• If data is insufficient for a thorough audit, say so clearly and specify what is needed
• A declining CTR with stable conversions might be fine — context matters
• Never recommend increasing budget on a campaign that has fundamental creative/targeting issues