Google Ads Audit Checklist for Footwear Brands

Use this Google Ads audit checklist for a footwear brand in order: define the decision, verify size and width data, inspect materials and fit claims, classify activity and customer intent, test the product and exchange path, reconcile measurement, and compare fit-driven returns with margin. A changed ad or feed is not a pass until the selected variant and order path are retested.

This is a self-service educational checklist, not an automated audit from adz.so. Gather account exports, catalog diagnostics, product and size-guide captures, inventory, orders, exchanges, returns, shipping costs, consent tests, and change history. Consult Google Ads Help and current Shopping policies.

1. Set scope and evidence

[ ] Record dates, markets, currencies, footwear categories, size systems, seasons, campaigns, pages, and fulfillment.
[ ] State whether the question is eligibility, size or fit mismatch, seasonal delivery, acquisition, exchange rate, repeat purchase, or margin.
[ ] List purchase, exchange, return, refund, replacement, warranty, customization, subscription, and support paths.
[ ] Preserve settings, changes, feed versions, page and size-guide state, inventory, order totals, returns, shipping, and costs.
[ ] Assign source, owner, priority, and proof condition to each finding.

Keep a first purchase distinct from exchange, return, refund, renewal, replacement, warranty, and support. Mark missing evidence unknown.

2. Validate size, width, and catalog fields

[ ] Sample running, training, hiking, work, formal, casual, children’s, safety, specialty, and seasonal shoes, plus accessories and low-stock variants.
[ ] Match ID, title, brand, shoe type, activity, size system, size, width, color, material, feature, fit guidance, image, price, sale price, stock, shipping, and destination.
[ ] Confirm country conversion, half sizes, width labels, children’s sizing, unisex naming, preorders, and customized-item rules.
[ ] Test size and color selection from ad or product result through cart, checkout, and order.
[ ] Record diagnostics, warnings, exclusions, regional sources, shipping, tax, and freshness.

For each discrepancy record field, source, market, item ID, observed value, expected value, owner, and retest condition. Check Shopping policies before assigning a policy conclusion.

3. Review fit, material, and safety claims

[ ] Read ads, assets, pages, size guides, care instructions, reviews, warranties, and checkout copy together.
[ ] Flag injury prevention, pain relief, guaranteed comfort, guaranteed performance, “orthopedic,” “waterproof,” sustainability, recycled, or certification wording without current proof.
[ ] Separate construction or material facts from promises about health or athletic outcomes.
[ ] Record exact claim, product, market, evidence or certification source, date, owner, and permitted alternative.
[ ] Confirm no query or audience rule infers foot condition, injury, ability, age, or body attribute.

The checklist can identify a product, safety, legal, or policy review item; it does not replace that review. Keep measurements, medical notes, names, addresses, and payment data out of ordinary audit notes.

4. Review activity, season, and query intent

[ ] Segment spend, clicks, conversions, and value by shoe type, activity, audience, size or width theme, brand, market, season, campaign, query, and page.
[ ] Record budgets, bidding, locations, languages, devices, networks, product groups, exclusions, and change history.
[ ] Note sports seasons, work cycles, weather, holidays, launches, promotions, supplier changes, and delivery deadlines.
[ ] Classify queries as brand, shoe type, activity, size, width, fit, material, feature, comparison, review, price, sale, gift, care, support, shipping, return, wholesale, custom, or irrelevant.
[ ] Confirm the landing path answers fit research, purchase, custom, wholesale, repair, or support intent correctly.

Separate fit research from ready-to-buy demand and custom, repair, wholesale, and support from new-customer acquisition.

5. Check returning users and landing pages

[ ] Distinguish product viewers, size-guide visitors, cart visitors, purchasers, exchange visitors, repeat customers, and support visitors.
[ ] Review audience windows, exclusions, consent, message fit, and frequency controls where applicable.
[ ] Match shoe type, activity, size system, size, width, color, material, feature, price, offer, stock, delivery, warranty, returns, and exchanges.
[ ] Test mobile and desktop, size-guide links, country selectors, variant selection, preorders, pop-ups, marketplaces, and payment handoffs.
[ ] Check care, warranty, returns, exchange eligibility, and support information before conversion.

Use Google Ads remarketing best practices for related returning-user checks. Save URL, item ID, market, date, observed state, expected state, and proof condition.

6. Test conversion, exchange, and consent events

[ ] Test product view, size-guide interaction, selection, cart, checkout, purchase, customization, exchange, return, refund, replacement, warranty, subscription, and support.
[ ] Confirm events fire once with correct item, size, color, order ID, value, and currency.
[ ] Check reloads, payment redirects, cross-domain transitions, and support or warranty handoffs for duplicate events.
[ ] Reconcile platform results with orders, exchanges, returns, refunds, replacements, warranties, support, and approved offline stages.
[ ] Test consent granted, denied, changed, and withdrawn, including attribution windows, time zones, imports, and currencies.

Keep first purchase, exchange, repeat purchase, renewal, refund, return, replacement, and support distinct. Preserve an unresolved record join as a finding.

7. Review fit and margin economics

[ ] Capture product cost, packaging, shipping, duties, discounts, fitting or customization, exchange shipping, return processing, restocking, damage, warranty, support, and markdowns.
[ ] Compare reported value with net sales and contribution margin by shoe type, size, width, product, bundle, first order, repeat order, market, and channel.
[ ] Identify high-return sizes or widths, costly cross-border exchanges, fit-related support, seasonal markdowns, and free-return offers that consume margin.
[ ] Check exchange, return, warranty, delivery, and support terms are clear.
[ ] Mark profitability unknown when cost, return, exchange, or support data is missing.

Return on ad spend alone does not prove a footwear product is profitable.

8. Close findings with proof

For every failed checkbox, capture account, campaign, shoe type, activity, size, width, product, variant, market, period, feed item, query, page, event, exchange, return, warranty, claim, policy reference, impact, owner, priority, action, proof condition, retest result, and limitation.

Prioritize tracking and consent failures; size, width, material, price, stock, claim, and page mismatches; exchange, return, delivery, warranty, support, and margin gaps; misrouted fit, custom, wholesale, or repair intent; then campaign and creative tests. A checkbox passes only after the affected product path is retested.

Footwear-brand handoff

End with what is proven, what should be corrected or paused, what can be tested, and what remains unknown. This checklist is a repeatable review aid, not an automated adz.so audit. For deeper context, see how to audit Google Ads for footwear brands and keep recommendations grounded in the brand’s catalog, fit data, fulfillment, returns, and margin evidence.