What is Quality Score?
Google's rating of the quality and relevance of both your keywords and PPC ads.
Deep Dive
Quality Score is used to determine your Cost Per Click (CPC) multiplied by your maximum bid to determine your ad rank in the ad auction process.
It is scored on a scale of 1-10 and depends on your expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience.
Key Takeaways
- Higher Quality Score = Lower CPC and Higher Ad Rank.
- Landing page speed and relevance are critical.
- Stop keywords with low scores to save budget.
- It's Google's way of rewarding good user experience.
Why This Matters Now
Quality Score is Google's 'Discount Code' for good advertisers. A score of 10/10 can cut your costs by 50%. A score of 1/10 can increase your costs by 400%.
It exists to prevent rich companies from spamming irrelevent ads. You can't just buy the top spot for 'Pizza' if you are selling 'Shoes'. Google will charge you a penalty tax until you quit.
Common Myths & Misconceptions
It's the only metric that matters.
Reality:No. You can have a Quality Score of 10 but zero conversions. It's an efficiency metric, not a business metric.
I can fix it by just changing ad text.
Reality:Ad Relevance is only 1/3 of the score. Landing Page Experience (speed, mobile-friendliness, content match) is equally important.
Real-World Use Cases
Account Optimization: Filtering keywords with QS < 5 and pausing them to improve overall account health.
Landing Page CRO: Improving page load speed specifically to boost the Quality Score.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Facebook have Quality Score?
Yes, they call it 'Quality Ranking', 'Engagement Rate Ranking', and 'Conversion Rate Ranking'. Same concept.
How often does it update?
Real-time. Every time someone searches, the score is recalculated for that specific auction.
We Can Help With
Google Ads Management
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