Is your Google Ads Quality Score driving your campaigns or holding them back?
Google Ads Quality Score is a key metric that directly affects your ad performance and cost-per-click (CPC). A higher Quality Score signals to Google that your ad is relevant, engaging, and provides a good user experience. In turn, Google rewards you by lowering your CPC, reducing ad spend, and improving ad rank to reach the ideal customer profile (ICP).
In this article, we’ll explore the key elements—ad relevance, landing page experience, and click-through rate (CTR)—that contribute to a higher Quality Score and tips for improving them.
TL;DR
- Quality Score measures your ads’ relevance, user experience, and engagement, directly impacting ad performance and costs.
- Higher Quality Scores lead to lesser CPC, improved ad rankings, and better visibility to target audiences.
- Different types of Quality Scores provide insights into specific campaign areas: Account Level, Ad Group Level, Keyword Level, Ad Level, Landing Page, and Display Network.
- Improving Quality Score involves keyword research, optimizing for ad relevance, increasing expected CTR, and enhancing the landing page experience.
- You can check your Quality Score in Google Ads by adjusting your campaign settings to include relevant metrics.
What is ‘Quality Score’ in Google Ads?
The Quality Score in Google Ads indicates how well your ads resonate with your audience. It functions like a tool that evaluates your ad quality. It compares your ads against competitors who appear on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP), targeting the same keywords. Your ads are assigned a Quality Score based on the quality and relevance of your ad, keywords, and landing page experience for users searching for specific keywords.
Google measures Quality Score on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. If your Quality Score is low, say a 3/10, it signals to Google that your ad, keywords, or landing page may not be relevant or valuable for users. Conversely, a high Quality Score of 9/10 shows Google that your ad is highly relevant, allowing you to benefit from better ad placements and lower costs. It also increases your visibility to the ICP decision-makers searching for solutions like yours.
Also, read Benefits of Google Ads to know how Google Ads can help you generate quality leads.
Types of Quality Score
There are multiple types of Quality Scores, and each score is essential for understanding your ad performance and areas for improvement.
The different types of Quality Score are:
1. Account-Level Quality Score
Account-Level Quality Score is a metric that discloses your Google Ads account's overall performance. It evaluates the historical performance of all ads, keywords, and landing pages together. Higher scores are rewarded if the ads consistently deliver value to users and meet Google’s quality standards.
2. Ad Group Quality Score
Ad group Quality Score shows how well your keywords and ads work together within an ad group. A low score means a lack of relevance between keywords and ads, making it less useful to your ICP audience and decreasing user experience.
3. Ad-Level Quality Score
Google measures ad-level Quality Score for individual ads. It measures the relevance of the ad copy to the keywords it targets, expected CTR, and landing page experience. By meeting user expectations, you can improve the Ad-level Quality Score and receive better ad ranks and lesser CPCs.
4. Keyword-Level Quality Score
Each keyword in your account is rated between 1 and 10 based on its relevance to ads, landing pages, and expected CTR. A high score means the keyword will likely trigger relevant ads aligning with users’ search intent.
5. Landing Page Quality Score
It measures your landing page's relevance and user experience. Content originality, business transparency, and ease of navigation on the ad landing page affect the score. A high score indicates a good user experience.
6. Display Network Quality Score
This score applies to ads on Google’s Display Network. It rates the relevance and effectiveness of ads and landing pages based on the Display Network sites (YouTube, Gmail, etc) where the ads appear. A high score enhances ad placement and visibility within the Display Network.
Why is Quality Score in Google Ads Important?
As an advertiser, getting a higher Quality Score in Google Ads is essential.
With a higher Quality Score, you can:
1. Higher Ad Rank
Quality Score is directly proportional to ad rankings, increasing visibility in search results. With a higher ad rank, more ICP users will see and click your ads, driving more traffic to your landing page and improving conversion rates.
2. Reducing CPC
Who wouldn’t want a lesser CPC for their ads? A high Quality Score signals to Google that your ads are relevant and valuable to users, which can lower your cost-per-click (CPC) and reduce your ad budget.
3. Increasing CTR
Relevant and engaging ads are more likely to attract clicks, driving more qualified traffic to your landing page leading to higher click-through rates (CTR).
4. Increase Conversion Rates
Ad relevance and landing page experience increase Quality Scores. A relevant ad-to-landing page journey for the user leads to better engagement, higher conversion rates, and improved Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
Factors Affecting Quality Scores in Google Ads
The key factors affecting your Google Ad’s Quality Score are:
1. Expected CTR
Click-Through Rate (CTR) measures how likely users are to click on your ads when they appear on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Google estimates CTR based on historical performance data and your competitors’ ads. When the target audience finds the ads relevant, more users click on them, increasing the CTRs and boosting the Quality Score.
For instance, you’re running Google Ads for a SaaS business targeting visitor identification software keywords. The page's headline is, ‘Track Website Visitors in Real-Time.’ Your CTR will be high if users find the headline compelling and click through frequently. Google sees this high CTR as a positive indicator of relevance, which improves your Quality Score.
However, if the ad headline was less relevant, like ‘Monitor Your Online Traffic,’ it might not grab as much attention from businesses looking for visitor identification software, resulting in a lesser CTR and Quality Score.
2. Ad Relevance
Ad Relevance means how much your ad matches the user intent behind the search query. The target keywords should be highly relevant to the ad copy. It ensures that users find your ads helpful and aligned with their search. If your ad closely matches the search keyword you’re targeting, your Quality Score increases.
Suppose you are running an ad for the keyword visitor identification software. The ad copy headline is, ‘Identify Who is Visiting Your Website.’ It matches the search intent and provides a relevant solution to users actively searching for visitor identification.
On the other hand, if the ad copy headline is generic, such as ‘Best Software for Website Management,’ it becomes irrelevant to users searching for website visitor identification. So, a lesser relevance means a lower Quality Score.
3. Landing Page Experience
Factors affecting landing page experience are page load speed, mobile-friendliness, easy navigation, and content relevance. A landing page that aligns well with the ad and provides value to visitors has a higher Quality Score.
For example, a potential customer searches for ‘visitor identification software’ and clicks your ad. The page is slow to load, difficult to navigate, or lacks clear information about visitor tracking features. It creates a poor landing page experience, causing the user to leave. Google interprets this as a bad user experience, lowering your Quality Score.
But if your ad landing page loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and provides relevant content on visitor identification solutions for marketers, users are more likely to stay on the page and engage, improving your Quality Score.
4. Historical Account Performance
Suppose your Google Ads account has a history of high-performing campaigns that consistently deliver relevant, high-quality ads. In this case, Google is more likely to reward your new ads with a higher Quality Score from the start.
But if your account has a history of poor performance, such as ads with low CTRs or ads that frequently lead to irrelevant landing pages, the Quality Score of new ads is negatively impacted. This happens because Google perceives your ads as having lesser relevance or engagement quality.
Check out our detailed guide on Google Ads Strategy in 2025, to learn more about optimizing your campaigns.
How to Increase Quality Score in Google Ads?
You can increase your Quality Score in Google Ads by focusing on the critical areas like:
1. Keyword Research
1.1 Staying Updated on Latest Trends
Regular keyword research helps you stay updated on the latest trends and allows you to optimize for the most relevant keywords. It signals to Google that your landing page is fresh and relevant, increasing the Quality Score.
1.2 Identify High-Intent Keywords
Identify high-intent keywords and appropriate keyword match types and optimize for them. This increases your chances of displaying ads to your ICP audience, improves CTR and ad relevance, and raises your Quality Score.
1.3 Filter Negative Keywords
Your ads might get triggered for irrelevant keywords, called negative keywords. Adding them as negative keywords to your ads account prevents irrelevant impressions and ensures ads appear only for relevant queries, enhancing your Quality Score.
2. Optimizing For Ad Relevance
When your ad is highly relevant, it is more likely to engage the audience, improve CTR, and signal to Google that it meets users’ expectations, increasing your Quality Score.
2.1 Align Your Keywords to Ad Copy
Your ad copy should include all the keywords relevant to the user's search intent. Use the target keywords in the headline and description to show users that your ad addresses their needs.
2.2 Refine Ad Group Structure
Group similar keywords together so that ads align to specific themes. For instance, create separate ad groups for product features and user needs to increase relevance.
Imagine you're running a campaign for B2B visitor identification software. During keyword research, you identify high-intent keywords like best visitor identification software and visitor tracking software for B2B.
To optimize ad relevance, you should:
- Create ad groups focused on specific themes (e.g., visitor identification software and visitor tracking for B2B) rather than grouping all keywords together.
- Customize ad copy for each ad group to match the keyword intent.
3. Increasing Expected CTR
A high expected CTR signals to Google that users find your ad useful, which improves your Quality Score and can reduce your CPC
3.1 Writing Compelling Ad Copy
Compelling headings and descriptions highlighting the benefits, unique selling points, discounts, or free trials can make your ad more click-worthy.
3.2 A/B Testing
Run A/B tests on ad copies to see which versions get the most clicks. Small changes like the Call-To-Action (CTA) or headline structure can improve CTR.
3.3 Using Ad Extensions
Ad extensions like sitelinks—for example, Features, Customer Success Stories, or Pricing—provide users with more context and ways to engage, making your ad more informative and clickable.
For example, you’re running ads for keyword B2B visitor identification software. You can increase expected CTR by crafting a compelling ad highlighting a unique value proposition and encouraging action. Instead of a generic headline like ‘Visitor Identification Software for B2B’, use a headline that addresses a direct benefit: ‘Identify Anonymous Website Visitors – Convert Leads Faster!’ Rather than ‘Learn More,’ a targeted CTA could be ‘Book Your Demo Today,’ which can improve CTR.
4. Enhancing Landing Page Experience
When the landing page aligns with the ad’s message, loads quickly, and offers clear navigation, it provides a better user experience and boosts Quality Score.
4.1 Align Landing Page Content With Ad’s Messaging
When a user clicks on the ad and reaches the landing page, the copy on the page should continue the ad’s message on the SERP. For example, if the ad promotes a feature, the landing page should detail that feature. It improves user experience.
4.2 Improve Load Speed and Mobile Optimization
Users expect a fast and smooth experience, so improving the page load speed is critical. If the page is too slow to load, it leads to high bounce rates. Higher bounce rates mean lesser user engagement, thereby decreasing your quality score. Since users may access the page on various devices, make sure it’s mobile-friendly.
4.3 Provide clear CTA and Navigation
The landing page should be easy to navigate and have a clear CTA guiding users to the next steps. To enhance usability, provide clear navigation options like links to Features, Pricing, and Customer Success Stories.
For example, imagine your ad promoting a B2B visitor identification software. A user sees the title ‘Identify Anonymous Website Visitors – Convert Leads Faster’ and clicks. The landing page should then showcase the software's visitor identification features, highlight how it can boost lead conversion, and include clear CTAs like signing up for a free demo or trial. It enhances the user experience and encourages action. This relevance and ease of use improve the chances of conversion and signal to Google that your landing page is valuable, positively impacting the Quality Score.
4.4 Improve User Engagement Signals
Google considers user engagement signals when deciding if your content is useful. These signals are bounce rate and time spent on the page. Improve them by offering interactive elements like video or interactive demos to increase Quality Scores.
How do You Check the Quality Score on a Google Ads Account?
Here is a step-by-step process to check the Quality Score on your Google Ads account.
- Log in to your Google Ads account and select the Campaigns icon.
- Expand the Audiences, keywords, and content dropdown in the menu.
- Choose Search keywords from the options.
- Click on the columns icon in the table's upper right corner.
- In the 'Modify columns for keywords' section, locate and open the 'Quality Score' category.
- To view your current Quality Score and its components, add the following columns to your statistics table: Quality Score, Landing Page Experience, Expected CTR, and Ad Relevance.
- For historical data on Quality Score for the selected reporting period, include these metrics: Quality Score (hist.), Landing Page Experience (hist.), Ad Relevance (hist.) and Expected CTR (hist.)
- Click Apply to implement your changes.
Improving Google Ads Quality Score for Better Performance
Google Ads Quality Score influences your ad performance and CPC. A higher score indicates that your ad is relevant and offers a good user experience, leading to lesser CPC and better ad rankings. Key elements affecting Quality Score include ad relevance, landing page experience, and expected click-through rate (CTR).
There are various types of Quality Scores, such as Account level, Ad Group level, Ad level, keyword level, Landing Page level, and Display Network Quality Scores, each providing insights into specific performance areas.
Improving your Quality Score involves thorough keyword research, enhancing ad relevance, and optimizing the landing page experience. These efforts increase visibility, reduce costs, and improve conversion rates. Checking your Quality Score is straightforward through your Google Ads account, enabling you to monitor and enhance campaign performance effectively.
Check this out: Guide to Google Ads management.
FAQs on Google Ads Quality Score
What is a good Quality Score for Google Ads?
A good Quality Score for Google Ads typically ranges from 7 to 10, indicating that your ads are relevant and provide a positive user experience. Higher scores can lead to lower costs and better ad placements.
How to calculate Google Ads Quality Score?
Google Ads calculates Quality Score by evaluating three key factors: expected click-through rate (CTR), ad relevance, and landing page experience. Google scores each factor from 1 to 10, with the overall Quality Score reflecting their combined performance.
Why is my Quality Score so low on Google Ads?
A low Quality Score may result from poor ad relevance, low expected click-through rates, or a poor landing page experience. Your ads must align with user search intent or provide a satisfactory user experience.
What is the expected CTR in Quality Score?
Expected CTR is a prediction based on historical data of how likely users are to click on your ad when it appears for a given keyword. A higher expected CTR indicates that users find your ad relevant, positively impacting your Quality Score.
How to increase Quality Score?
To improve the Quality Score, you should improve ad relevance, enhance the landing page experience, and increase expected click-through rates (CTR). Conduct thorough keyword research and optimize your ads to align closely with user intent.
What is the Quality Score formula?
There is no specific formula for calculating Quality Score, as it is a proprietary metric used by Google. However, factors such as expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience determine the score assigned to each ad.
