Agencies onboarding a client
Build a structured baseline of the client's current creatives in the first week.
Ad creative audit
Ad creative audit: review every ad the same way
An audit is only useful if every ad is judged against the same standard. CreativeDoctor gives each creative the same ten-part review, so you can line the reports up, see what your ads have in common, and decide what to fix first.
1 free analysis · No credit card required
Who it's for
Brands about to scale spend
Check the ads you're about to put more budget behind.
Teams doing quarterly reviews
See whether the same weaknesses keep showing up from one quarter to the next.
Why most creative audits stall
A creative audit usually starts as a spreadsheet and a lot of opinions. Each ad is reviewed by whoever has time, against whatever they happen to notice, and the findings are hard to compare.
The valuable part of an audit isn't the verdict on one ad. It's the pattern: every ad leads with the product instead of the problem, none of them mention shipping, the landing pages all use a different headline from the ads. You only see that when every ad is reviewed the same way.
How to run an audit with CreativeDoctor
Pick the ads that matter
Start with the creatives getting the most spend, plus any about to launch. Ten to twenty is a practical first audit.
Analyze each one with its real context
Upload the creative, paste the live copy, add the landing page URL and set the right audience temperature. The report is only as specific as the inputs.
Line up the category labels
Put each report's ten category labels side by side. Weak spots that repeat across ads are patterns, not one-offs.
Read the top issues together
Group similar findings, such as “offer not visible” or “page headline differs from the ad”, and count how often each appears.
Turn patterns into tests
Use the testing plans and alternative hooks from the reports to build your next round of variations.
Patterns an audit can reveal
Illustrative examples of cross-ad patterns. Each report covers one creative; the pattern comes from reading the reports together.
12 ads, apparel brand
Finding: The hook was the weakest area on most ads, and nearly all of them opened on a product flat-lay with no person or problem in sight.
Worth testing: Brief a round of creatives that open on someone wearing the product in a real situation.
8 ads, supplement brand
Finding: Price and subscription terms went unaddressed on every ad, and objection handling was rated low across the set.
Worth testing: Test a per-serving price and a cancel-anytime line on the two highest-spend ads.
15 ads, agency client
Finding: Most reports flagged the same high-severity mismatch: the ads promised a discount the linked homepage didn't show.
Worth testing: Send ad traffic to a page that shows the offer, then re-analyze the ads.
Want to see a complete report? View the example analysis.
What each audit gives you
- A full report for every creative, saved to your dashboard
- The same ten category labels on every report, so ads can be compared directly
- Top issues and recommendations per ad, ready to paste into an audit document
- Alternative hooks, concepts and testing plans to build the next round from
- Reports you can export to PDF and share with clients or teammates
What to know before you start
- Each analysis covers one creative. There's no combined audit report yet, so pulling patterns together across reports is a manual step.
- Every creative uses one analysis from your allowance, so a 20-ad audit needs a plan with enough analyses. Starter includes 25 a month.
- It audits the creative, copy and landing page, not campaign structure, targeting or tracking.
Questions
What is an ad creative audit?
A structured review of the ads you're running or about to run, looking at what each one communicates and where it's weak, so you can prioritize changes and new tests. It's different from a performance report, which shows results but not the reasons behind them.
How many ads should I audit?
Start with the ads getting the most spend and any about to launch. Ten to twenty is usually enough to spot patterns without taking days.
Can I share audit results with a client?
Yes. Each report can be exported as a PDF. Reports are private to your account unless you choose to share them.
How often should I audit ad creatives?
A common rhythm is to review every new creative before launch and do a fuller audit of long-running ads each quarter.
Related use cases
Ad creative analyzer
The ten checks behind every report, and how to read the scores.
Landing page message match
Compare the ad with its landing page: headline, offer, price, promise and CTA.
Meta ad analyzer
Facebook and Instagram ads, with primary text, headline and landing page read together.
Guides
Testing · 3 min read
Ad Creative Testing Checklist: Before, During and After Each Test
A practical ad creative testing checklist: how to pick what to test, write a hypothesis, set up a fair test, read the results and record what you learned.
Framework · 4 min read
How to Analyze an Ad Creative: A 10-Point Framework
A practical framework for analyzing any ad creative: hook, offer, value proposition, visual hierarchy, copy, CTA, audience, pain point, objections and landing page.
Ecommerce · 3 min read
How to Review an Ecommerce Ad Before You Spend on Testing
A pre-launch review for ecommerce ads: product clarity, price and offer, proof, objections like shipping and returns, mobile legibility, claims and the product page.
Start your audit with one ad
Run your first analysis free, then choose a plan that fits the size of your account.