Optimization - 5 min read - Updated
Quality Score: what it measures, and how to raise it
Google's diagnostic of how your ads compare with other advertisers' for the same search. Not an input in the auction itself; the ad quality it sums up is.
A score from 1 to 10, in three parts.
Google gives each keyword a score from 1 to 10. Each of its three parts is rated Above average, Average or Below average, against other advertisers whose ads showed for the exact same search over the last 90 days.
- Expected clickthrough rate
- how likely people are to click your ad when it shows.
- Ad relevance
- how closely your ad matches the intent behind the search.
- Landing page experience
- how relevant and useful your landing page is to the people who click.
Not an input in the auction. The quality behind it is.
- Quality Score is a diagnostic: Google says it is not an input in the ad auction.
- Ad Rank decides whether and where your ad shows. Google calculates it from your bid, the quality of your ads and landing page, the Ad Rank thresholds, the competition in the auction, the context of the search and the expected impact of your assets.
- Higher quality ads typically cost less per click than lower quality ones, and relevant keywords and ads can win a higher position at a lower price, even against higher bids.
So read a low score as a warning about the clicks you pay for, and use its three parts to find what to fix.
What the free audit checks
- C-04 Overpaying for the same click Keywords where a weak quality component makes Google charge you more than a competitor for the SAME click - with the weak part named and a fix hint.
Columns you add yourself.
Where: Campaigns, then Keywords. Open the columns menu, Modify columns for keywords, and expand Quality score.
- Quality Score, Exp. CTR, Ad Relevance, Landing Page Exp.
- the score today, and its three parts.
- The same four, marked (hist.)
- their values over the dates you choose, to see a trend.
Sort by Quality Score, lowest first, and read the three parts of each low score. The part that is weakest across the account is where to start.
How to raise a low score, part by part.
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Group your keywords by theme
Keywords in an ad group share its ads. Group them by product, service or category, and split a group whose keywords one ad cannot answer well: people who want the best tool and people who want a free one need different ads.
Raises: ad relevance.
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Write the ad in the searcher's words
Match the language of the ad to the searches it shows for. If people search for a free plan, the headline says free.
Raises: ad relevance.
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Give people a reason to click
Say what you offer, why you, and what happens next, in the words of the search. Write several headlines and let them be tested against each other.
Raises: expected clickthrough rate.
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Keep the ad's promise on the page
Keep the message the same from the ad to the page. If the ad promises a free trial, the page says free trial where people land.
Raises: landing page experience.
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Make the page easy on a phone, and fast
Google's own advice: a page that works on a mobile phone, and that loads faster.
Raises: landing page experience.
When to pause a keyword instead.
If the fixes do not move a low score and the keyword does not sell, pause it: either the search is not your buyer, or your offer does not answer it.
A low score is one leak among others. The wasted spend guide lists the rest, each with the check that finds it.
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We read your public pages and check whether your Google Ads tracking is in place. No account, no login, 30 seconds. Connecting is what shows the waste inside the account.
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In their words.
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Two more guides.
- Optimization Wasted spend in Google Ads: 10 causes and their fixes The 10 causes worth checking first, each with its fix and the check that finds it. 8 min read
- Audit Google Ads audit checklist: 55 questions, in order 55 questions to answer yourself, in 7 parts, and a 30-minute pass to start with. 10 min read
See your own Quality Score, keyword by keyword.
The free audit runs all 22 checks on your account and names the keywords where a weak quality part makes you pay more, with the weak part and a fix.
4.6/5 18 reviews (opens in a new tab) Rather have it run for you? Book the call. Managed by our team: $997 a month per account, for ad spend up to $10,000 a month (a quote above), no commitment.