---
name: "wasted-spend-audit"
description: "Find spend with no return by term, placement, audience, and device, with evidence for each cut."
triggers: ["wasted spend", "ad audit", "negative keywords", "cut ad costs", "account audit"]
version: "1"
---
# Wasted spend audit
Use this for one ad account over a period of at least 30 days.
## Confirm the data
State the account, date range, currency, attribution setting, and the
conversion counted. Check that tracking worked across the whole period and
that exports are complete. If a report is truncated or a week has no
conversions because tracking broke, say so before judging anything.
## Find the leaks
Look at spend with no conversions, or cost far above target, by:
- search terms and match types;
- placements, apps, and sites;
- audiences and locations;
- devices and times of day.
For each leak give the spend, clicks, conversions, and the rows behind it.
Brand campaigns often look efficient because they catch people who were
coming anyway; say so rather than treating them as proof.
## Cuts ranked by risk
List suggested cuts from lowest to highest risk. For each give the spend
saved, what might be lost, and how to check the effect after two weeks. Mark
where the sample is too small to call.
Do not add negatives, exclude placements, or change bids yourself; recommend
for approval. Never invent results or call spend wasted without the evidence.