Google Ads Quality Score: The Complete Guide
Understanding the different ways to measure your Google ad’s success is essential for kick-starting optimization and improvement. Let’s say you’ve put all your efforts into an ad campaign, making it the most relevant and effective it can be. But how do you actually know if these efforts have paid off? That’s where Google Ads quality score comes in.
A whole host of information can be discovered from the quality score, and there’s a lot more to uncover than it first may seem. With different types of quality scores and the calculation process, there’s a lot to uncover about this Google Ads feature.
Want to work with an award-winning agency who understands just how valuable Google Ads quality scores can be? We’re here to help. Get in touch to find out more about how our PPC consultants can help.
What is a quality score in Google Ads and why is it important?
So, what actually is a quality score? Basically, a quality score refers to the effectiveness, relevance and overall (yep, you guessed it) quality of your ads and landing pages. It takes Google’s point of view to evaluate what number the score will be, determining the relevance of your ad for whatever a user types into the search engine.
Google wants to provide the best experience they can for their users. To achieve this, they show the most relevant ads to their users and, therefore the ones with the highest score. The quality score also contributes to ad rank. The ad ranking position is based on the CPC bid multiplied by the quality score. So, if you’re tight on money and unable to increase your bid, the best way to increase your rank is by improving your quality score.
The number of your quality score might even affect your auctions. For example, if a keyword-level quality score is too low, then your ad might not even be in the running to rank for that specific keyword as it can’t enter the auction.
All in all, your quality score is extremely worthy of your attention. It’s simple really- the lower the score, the less valuable your ad is deemed by Google. Therefore, it’s less likely to rank and will result in less traffic to your landing page. It even has an impact on the display network, as this is a key consideration for where Google places your ads.
Have a listen to our PPC lead, George Noon, explaining what Google Ads quality scores are:
Types of quality score and how it’s calculated
The types of quality scores are as follows:
- Ad-level quality score: looks at ads at an individual level and assesses their effectiveness in relation to the user’s search
- Landing page quality score: determines how relevant your landing page is and the experience for the user
- Keyword-level quality score: the score given to specific keywords and shows how relatable your keywords are to a specific user search
- Display network quality score: calculates how relevant your ad is in relation to the display network at hand
- Ad group quality score: this takes all the keywords from one ad group and is indicative of group performance
- Account-level quality score: determines a score for the overall quality of your Google Ads account
The outcome of the score is based on elements of performance. The three things it looks at are:
- Expected CTR (click-through rate)
- Landing page experience
- Ad relevance
Because it uses specific areas if you gain a low-quality score, then you’re able to see which area needs improvement (it’ll be given a below-average or average rating). The result is also based on the performance of competitor sites– these sites are ones that have ranked for the same keyword as you for the last 3 months.
How to improve quality score
The benefit of Google’s calculation is that it hones in on specific components. From this, you can see which is lowering your quality score the most. So, if it’s expected CTR that’s dragging you down, you may consider editing your ad copy so it engages and gains those all-important clicks. Specificity and relevance in your text go a long way, and it may even be worth implementing CTAs to encourage users to click.
Another way to improve your score is by taking a look at keywords. Check that the keywords that are performing best are included in your ad, along with pausing the ones that are lowering your CTR. Keywords affect ad relevance, so by creating keyword groups or by matching the language of the user’s search query you can increase your relevance.
Some other ways you could improve your score are:
- Optimising your landing page experience
- Consider adding broad-match keywords
- Consider adding dynamic keywords
- Look at other data that is linked directly to your quality score
Final thoughts
Google Ads quality score can give you plenty of insight into the performance of your campaign. Even through the way it’s calculated, it can give you a whole host of information such as CTR, landing page success, and how relevant your ads are.
Your score affects how your ad ranks because it’s Google’s way of determining whether you should appear for a specific user search. Therefore, attempting to increase your score will in turn increase how well your ad ranks.
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