Quality Score is one of the most important—and misunderstood—metrics in Google Ads. It directly affects your cost per click, ad position, and whether your ads show at all.
What is Quality Score?
Quality Score is Google's rating of the quality and relevance of your keywords and PPC ads. It's measured on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best.
Quality Score affects:
- Your cost per click (CPC)
- Your ad position
- Whether your ad shows at all
- Your overall campaign efficiency
How Quality Score Impacts Your Costs
Here's the formula for Ad Rank:
Ad Rank = Max Bid × Quality Score
This means a higher Quality Score lets you:
- Pay less per click for the same position
- Get higher positions with the same bid
- Win auctions against competitors with higher bids
Example:
- Competitor: $5 bid × 5 QS = 25 Ad Rank
- You: $3 bid × 10 QS = 30 Ad Rank
- You win the auction with a 40% lower bid
The Three Components of Quality Score
1. Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR)
This predicts how likely users are to click your ad when shown for the keyword.
Factors:
- Historical CTR performance
- Ad relevance to the keyword
- Ad position (normalized)
- Ad extensions usage
How to improve:
- Write compelling ad copy
- Use the keyword in headlines
- Test multiple ad variations
- Use all relevant ad extensions
- Target keywords with clear intent
2. Ad Relevance
This measures how closely your ad matches the intent behind the keyword.
Factors:
- Keyword presence in ad copy
- Ad group structure
- Match between keyword and ad message
How to improve:
- Use keywords in headlines and descriptions
- Create tightly themed ad groups (10-20 keywords max)
- Match ad messaging to keyword intent
- Use dynamic keyword insertion when appropriate
3. Landing Page Experience
This evaluates how relevant and useful your landing page is to people who click your ad.
Factors:
- Relevance to ad and keyword
- Content quality and originality
- Transparency and trustworthiness
- Navigation ease
- Page load speed
- Mobile-friendliness
How to improve:
- Match landing page content to ad promise
- Include keywords naturally in page content
- Ensure fast load times (under 3 seconds)
- Make pages mobile-responsive
- Include clear contact information
- Remove intrusive popups
Quality Score Improvement Strategy
Step 1: Audit Current Performance
Export your keywords and check Quality Score for each. Focus on:
- Keywords with QS below 5 (dragging down performance)
- High-spending keywords with low QS (wasted budget)
- Strategic keywords where improved QS = significant savings
Step 2: Restructure Ad Groups
The biggest improvement often comes from better organization:
- Create Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) for high-value terms
- Group related keywords together
- Limit ad groups to 10-20 keywords maximum
- Ensure every ad in the group is relevant to every keyword
Step 3: Write Better Ads
For each ad group, create at least 3 responsive search ads:
- Include the main keyword in Headline 1
- Highlight unique value proposition
- Include clear call-to-action
- Test different messaging angles
- Use all available headline and description slots
Step 4: Optimize Landing Pages
Create dedicated landing pages for major keyword themes:
- Match the headline to the ad promise
- Include the keyword in the page headline and content
- Ensure fast load times
- Make the desired action obvious
- Remove navigation distractions
Step 5: Monitor and Iterate
Quality Score improvements take time:
- Check QS weekly, not daily
- Give changes 2-4 weeks to reflect
- Continue testing and optimizing
- Document what works
Common Quality Score Myths
Myth: You need a 10/10 Quality Score
Reality: 7-8 is often optimal. Chasing 10/10 can mean overly narrow targeting.
Myth: Quality Score updates instantly
Reality: It can take weeks for changes to reflect in Quality Score.
Myth: Pause/resume resets Quality Score
Reality: Historical performance is retained.
Myth: Quality Score is the only metric that matters
Reality: Conversions matter more. A 6 QS keyword that converts well beats a 10 QS keyword that doesn't.
Quality Score by Match Type
Broad match keywords often have lower Quality Scores because:
- They match more varied searches
- Some matches have lower relevance
- Click-through rates may be lower
This doesn't mean broad match is bad—it can still drive valuable traffic at acceptable costs.
When Quality Score Doesn't Matter
Focus less on Quality Score when:
- Keywords are already performing well (good CPA/ROAS)
- You're using broad match for discovery
- Account is new (limited historical data)
- Keywords have low search volume
The Bottom Line
Quality Score is important, but it's a diagnostic metric, not a goal. The real goals are:
- Lower cost per acquisition
- Higher return on ad spend
- More conversions at your target cost
Sometimes a lower Quality Score keyword outperforms higher ones. Always make decisions based on actual performance, not just Quality Score.
Need Help Optimizing Your Google Ads?
Our Google Ads management services focus on what really matters: getting you more leads and sales at lower costs. We optimize Quality Score as part of a comprehensive strategy. Get a free account audit.
