Google Ads Quality Score Guide: Everything You Need to Know

If you’ve been running PPC campaigns and are not satisfied with the results, your Google Ads Quality Score might be the culprit. Quality scores are one of the most important factors to consider when running a Google Ads campaign. They determine how often your ads will be shown, and also affect your cost-per-click (CPC) and Ad Rank factors that determine your ad’s position and click-through rate (CTR).

 

In this guide, we’ll explain what Quality Scores are, how they work, what affects them, and how you can optimise them for improved performance.

 

What is a Google Ads Quality Score?

The Quality Score is a 1-10 number that Google assigns to every search keyword in your account. The higher the score, the more relevant and helpful that keyword is for users. That means Google will show your ad at higher positions on SERPs (search engine result pages) compared to another advertiser with the same bid but a lower Quality Score. In other bids, you’ll pay lower costs when advertising with those keywords!

 

What Factors Impact Quality Scores?

Quality scores are based on a variety of factors, including CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience.

Factors Impact Quality Scores

  • CTR: The most important factor is CTR, which measures how often people who see your ad actually click on it.
  • Ad Relevance: Ad relevance is important, as Google wants to show ads that are relevant to the searcher’s query.
  • Landing Page Experience: Google wants to send people to pages that are easy to use and relevant to the ad.

 

Types of Quality Score

Google measures the Quality Score (QS) at three levels:

 

  • Keyword Level Quality Score: This is the bottom level QS and measures the quality of your keyword and its ad, based on CTR and ad relevance.
  • Ad Group Level Quality Score: This is an aggregated average of all the quality scores for the ads and keywords in your ad group.
  • Account Level Quality Score: This is an average of all the quality scores for the ads and keywords in your account.

 

How to View Your Quality Score

You can view your Quality Score by going to the “Keywords” tab in your Google Ads account and looking for the “Quality Score” column. Keep in mind that your Quality Score is just one factor that determines how successful your Google Ads campaign will be. However, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your Quality Score and try to improve it over time.

 

How Does Quality Score Impact Your Ad Rank?

Google Ad Rank is a metric that Google uses to determine the position of an ad on a Google search results page. The higher the Ad Rank, the more likely it is that the ad will be shown at the top of the page.

 

Ad Rank is determined by a number of factors, including Quality Score. The higher the Quality Score, the better the chance of getting a high Ad Rank. Therefore, improving quality score is one of the best ways to improve Ad Rank and increase the chances of your ad being seen by potential customers.

 

How to Improve Your Quality Score

Improve Your Quality Score

You can increase your Quality Score by improving the quality and relevance of your ads and landing pages. Here’s what you need to do:

  • Test different versions of your ads to see what works and what doesn’t
  • Optimise your landing page content for conversions
  • Use Google Ads Extensions to prompt more people to click on your ads
  • Align your ad copy and headlines with the content on your landing page
  • Make your landing pages clear and easy to navigate
  • Test different versions of your landing pages to find out the best performing version

 

Let’s take a closer look at some of these key steps.

 

Ad Testing

 

Ad testing is a great way to improve your quality scores. Google offers a number of tools to help you test your ads, including the Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool. You can also use third-party tools like Optimizely and Visual Website Optimizer to test your ads. By testing different versions of your ads, you can see which ones are more effective at getting clicks and conversion.

 

Content Optimisation

 

Optimising your content is another great way to improve your quality scores. Make sure your ads are relevant to your keywords and landing pages. You can also use ad extensions to improve your CTR.

 

Ad Extensions

 

Ad extensions are additional links that you can add to your ad, such as a phone number or address. They make it easier for people to find the information they’re looking for, and can improve your CTR by up to 30%.

 

Landing Page Experience

 

Finally, make sure your landing pages are relevant to your ad and easy to use. Google wants people to have a good experience when they click on an ad, so if your landing page is confusing or doesn’t match the ad, you’ll likely see a decrease in quality score.

 

Pay Less, Earn More!

Improving your Google Ads Quality Score is one of the best ways to reduce your PPC costs while increasing your CTR, impression share, and conversions. In simple words, you stand to earn more revenue while investing less money into Google Ads. Working with an experienced digital marketing agency is a great way to get the most out of your Google Ads spend. If you want to optimise your Google Ads, contact us today.