/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 | >1