Monthly Ad Grants review

Use completed months for monthly results

A weekly snapshot and a completed month answer different questions. Early-month numbers can change quickly, especially in a small account. Keep the period, time zone and account name beside every report. Google’s account policy sets a monthly account-level click-through rate rule for accounts that are not exclusively using Smart Campaigns; read the current policy for the exact scope and exceptions. Grantkeeper’s weekly check reads the month so far rather than certifying the whole account. Ask for the completed month separately when reviewing results. If the connection fails or a field is absent, record unknown rather than zero so the team does not mistake a missing report for no activity.

Read the policy with the account owner

Assign a person to open the current Google policy pages during the review. Keep a dated note of the rules relevant to the account, rather than relying only on an old checklist. The monthly click-rate floor, meaningful conversion requirements, bidding rules, location settings and sitelinks need their own review. Requirements can depend on account history or campaign type. Grantkeeper can organize questions and report the fields its existing tools read. It cannot promise program approval or reinstatement. If Google names a specific issue in a notice, keep that exact notice with the review and ask the responsible account owner to follow the route Google provides.

Separate conversions from signups

A form response and a Google Ads conversion are not interchangeable counts. Record the conversion action name, period and what it actually measures. A button click should not be described as a completed donation. Compare the Ads report with the relevant signup export while keeping their totals separate. Attribution settings, date choices and the path people use can explain differences, so a mismatch is a question for the tracking owner rather than proof of a broken account. Grantkeeper does not install tags or upload offline results through the existing connection. Ask the person maintaining tracking to run an approved test and record what the test did and did not confirm.

Check search terms against the mission

Read the searches people used before clicking, not just the keywords the account contains. Group clearly unrelated searches separately from those that fit the services you actually provide. A word that is wrong for one program may be useful for another, so proposed negative keywords need a campaign-specific review. Grantkeeper can read the search terms report and suggest exclusions, including good searches a broad exclusion could also block. The owner checks those proposals against real programs and locations. Keep the reason for each change in the monthly notes. Do not remove useful reach simply to make a single metric look cleaner for the board.

Test the current destinations

Open the actual public pages behind the ads and sitelinks. Check program details, service area, contact information and whether the form or giving link still works. An event that ended can leave accurate ad copy pointing at an outdated page. A Spanish destination needs the same factual review as its English version. Grantkeeper can prepare a page draft or questions from supplied content, but website operation and tag installation still need the site owner. Keep a record of the tested URL and date. A page preview is not evidence that the public destination works, and a working homepage does not establish that every campaign’s landing page works.

Give surveys and notices an owner

Google’s program engagement requirements include responding to its program surveys. That work sits outside the fields read by the weekly account check. Name someone who monitors the official account notices and confirms what needs action. Verify messages through the organization’s normal Google account process before following unfamiliar sign-in links. Grantkeeper can organize a forwarded notice after private codes and access links are removed. It does not claim to see the inbox or confirm survey completion. Record the owner’s checked result and leave the task open until that happens. A week with no keyword warning does not tell you whether a survey was answered.

Explain changes and limits to the board

A short monthly note can state the period, recorded activity, changes made and unresolved questions. Keep clicks, conversions, donations and people served as different measures. Say which sources support the numbers and which parts were not checked. If a draft campaign was created paused, say paused rather than launched. The existing connection can pause named items on request, while new drafts need the owner’s review and activation in Google Ads. Record the actual status after the owner checks it. This makes the report useful to a director who needs to know what happened and what remains to do, without presenting the grant as a guaranteed source of traffic or funding.

Keep a source trail

Keep the original files beside the working draft. Give each file a clear date and keep later corrections as new versions. A sentence that contains a number should point to a record that another person can open. If a source is missing, keep the question visible rather than filling the space with a plausible answer. Remove private details that the reader does not need. A public update, a staff task list and a finance working paper can use the same checked fact, but they need different access. Test folder permissions with the person who will receive the finished work.

Leave a useful handoff

Finish with the next action, its owner and the date someone will check it. Save the reviewed version where the team already looks for this work. Tell the next person what changed and which questions remain open. Do not mark a task complete because a draft exists. Completion means the person responsible has confirmed the actual result, such as a checked document, a corrected record or a message that was sent. At the next review, start with unresolved items rather than rebuilding the whole process. This keeps a small team’s routine manageable when a volunteer is away or a staff role changes.

Related recipes: Conversion check brief, Survey owner handoff, Month-end CTR review. Integrations: Google Ads, Gmail, WordPress.