How to increase Keyword Quality Score in Google Ads

In this post we will share and explain ways to increase your Keyword Quality Score and how Quality Score impacts performance.

What is Quality Score in Google Ads?

Google Ads Quality Score is a measure of how your ads compare to other advertisers in the Google Ads Search network. This metric is calculated on a scale from 1-10 and is available at the keyword level. Higher Quality Scores typically lead to lower costs per click, because they indicate that your ads are more relevant than the competition, but it's important to note that there are several factors that go into determining Quality Score.

This score takes into account an ad's campaign history, so you can’t expect to find a Quality Score for your ads on your first day of campaign. At least three days worth of data are necessary for Google to be able to give feedback on the ad.

The Quality Score diagnostic tool is a way to identify potential issues with your ads, landing pages, and keyword selection. The better your Quality Score is, the more likely your ads are to appear at the top of search results for relevant keywords. This makes it easier for customers to find you!

How is Quality Score calculated?

Google Ads Quality Score is calculated based on combining 3 components:

• Expected clickthrough rate (CTR): The likelihood that your ad will be clicked on when it is shown.
• Ad relevance: The match between the user's search and the content of your ad is the key to a successful conversion rate
• Landing page experience: It's important to make sure your landing page is relevant and useful to people who click your ads.

Each component is graded on a scale from “above average,” to “below average.” This evaluation is based on a comparison with all ads showed on the platform for the exact same keyword, within the last 90 days.

Source: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6167118?hl=en 

If one of our components is at an 'average' or ‘below average’ level, this may be a good opportunity to make some improvements, as we explain below.

How can your Quality Score be harmed?

There are many ways that your Google Ads Quality Score can be harmed. One of the most common ways is by not targeting the right keywords for the service you offer, that is, terms that are either too broad, or not what your target audience use when they’re looking for your service or product on Google.

But that’s not the only one to hurt your Quality Score. Having generic or poor ad content and ads that send people to irrelevant, or too generic, landing pages will also have this adverse effect on your Quality Score.

How can you increase your Quality Score?

If you want to be on top at any time of your campaigns Quality Score, always review these three things:

• Keywords
• Ad headlines and copy
• Landing page content

And aim for maximum relevance and usefulness for your audience in these three categories, if you want to have a campaign with the highest possible Quality Score.

Be merciless if you spot underperforming keywords and ads, prune them as soon as you see clear signs that they hurting your score and your campaigns. And always ask yourself how you can improve your landing pages.

What is the effect of a higher Quality Score?

What effect can higher Quality Scores have in your campaigns? It’s no small benefit.

For example, if you have a score of 10, then your ads will be shown to more people than someone with a lower quality score, providing you both have the same bid. In other words, Google will “promote” your ads even more if they have higher Quality Scores than other competing advertisers, and you will enjoy lower CPCs and therefore have lower advertising costs as a result.

This is because Google is interested in showing the most relevant ads first - it’s embedded in how advertising on Google’s search engine works since the beginning. They want to show ads, but not relevant ones. Ideally, they would like to show ads only in those queries where there is a real fit between what the users are looking for, and what advertisers are selling.

Try the OrbitalAds Quality Score dashboard

If you think that all of this is a lot to take in, and you are anticipating a lot of work just to make sure that your Quality Score is as high as possible, then you’re in luck, because OrbitalAds got you covered.

We happen to have a Quality Score Dashboard, where all this process can be easily monitored. Any potential issues with your score will be immediately highlighted so you can take action with just a couple of clicks. Does this sound too good to be true? Well, you’ll have to try to believe it, then.