What is Quality Score in Google Ads and how does it affect your ads?
A complete guide on how to use this important metric to improve your results
In today's digital world, online advertising is essential to the success of any business.
Google advertising is one of the most popular channels through which you have the opportunity to reach millions of potential customers.
But the effectiveness of your campaigns depends on many factors, one of which is called Quality Score in Google Ads.
In this article, we'll take a detailed look at what this metric is, how it's formed, why it's important, and how to improve it.
What is Quality Score in Google Ads?
⭐️ Quality Score is a metric Google uses to evaluate the relevance of your ads, keywords and landing pages to your target audience.
This is a key factor in the success of your Google Ads campaigns, as it affects the cost you pay per click (CPC), your ad's position in search results, return on investment (ROI), and overall campaign performance.
The quality score is measured at the keyword level on a scale of 1 to 10. The higher the score, the more relevant your ad and landing page are for that particular keyword compared to those of your competitors.
Conversely, a lower score indicates that somewhere in the chain - ad, keyword and landing page - something is not meeting the needs of the targeted users and their search intent.
Advertising quality assessment is a feedback mechanism. Because Google wants to show users the most relevant and useful ads, Quality Score is one of the factors by which this is done.
What are the main components of a quality score in Google Ads?
Quality Score is a complex metric that includes elements important to the success of your advertising. The three main components are:
Expected click-through rate (CTR)
👉 This metric shows the likelihood that users will click on your ad when their search matches the keyword you're targeting. To make the prediction, Google uses historical data from previous campaigns.
The higher the expected click-through rate, the more relevant your ad will be, which means a better user experience for people using the search engine. This is what Google aims to achieve - to keep users coming back by showing them what they need.
Relevance of advertising
👉 O r how well the keyword and content of your ad match the user's search.
We've already discussed the importance of choosing the right keywords based on user search intent. A job well done in this direction also reflects positively on your ad quality score.
Users have different reasons to open Google and perform a search:
- Maybe they want to find Christmas gift ideas (information intent);
- to get to a specific gift website (navigational intent);
- to buy gifts for loved ones (transactional intent);
- research and compare different gift sites before buying (commercial intent).
The idea is this: when Iva is looking for a specific website to buy gifts from, an ad that shows her lists of gifts won't do her any good.
The likelihood of a click becomes small, and with it the evaluation of the quality of the advertisement is reduced, the cost per click increases and positions in the advertising results are lost.
Pay attention to the following tips:
- The ad text should be closely related to the keywords it is displayed on. Use the keywords in the title, description and URL of the ad.
- Advertising should be clear, concise and catch the attention of consumers. Use strong call-to-actions to encourage users to click on the ad.
Landing page quality
👉 How relevant, useful and user-friendly is the landing page your ad leads to. Factors like load speed, how the page looks on a mobile device, and content relevance all play into this.
For example, if a user has a specific search for, say, "women's knee-high boots," and sees your ad offering the same, the click becomes more likely.
But if there are no knee-high women's boots on the landing page your ad takes them to, the consumer will leave disappointed and your ad won't achieve the desired results.
How is the quality score calculated in Google Ads?
Your goal is to have all three of these elements, expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page quality, match.
⭐️ When you meet users' expectations and needs, the reward you as an advertiser receive from Google is a higher Quality Score.
It is measured on a scale of 1 to 10 and combines the performance of the three components we discussed above. Your ad is compared to those of competitors who are bidding on the same keyword.
But according to Semrush, the three components do not have equal values in the calculation formula.
The expected click-through rate (CTR) and the quality of the landing page each give a maximum of 3.5 points, and the relevance of the ad - 2 points. Each ad starts with 1 point by default and so if you add up the maximum number, you get 10.
Where can you see the quality rating of your ads?
- Sign in to your Google Ads account.
- Open the "Campaigns" tab.
- Select "Audiences, keywords, and content" > "Search keywords."
- In the upper right corner, click "Columns" > "Modify columns."
- From "Modify columns for keywords," select "Quality Score."
- Confirm the choice.
Don't see Quality Score as some kind of punishment from Google, but as extremely useful information. It can give you a clear sign that somewhere one of the elements needs improvement. And in the long run, it will help you achieve your real goal - more sales and higher turnover.
Why is a quality rating in Google Ads important?
Because the higher it is, the more benefits you get as an advertiser. Here's what they are:
⚡️ Better visibility for your ad
Ads with a higher Quality Score appear in higher positions on the results page. This increases the chances that your ad will be seen and clicked on.
💰 Better budget management and lower conversion cost
A high Quality Score guarantees you a lower cost per click. This allows you to get more results with the available budget. So you can reach more potential customers and have more conversions.
📈 Better return on investment (ROI)
As it has become clear, a higher Quality Score reduces costs and increases results, and thus ensures a better return on investment and greater effectiveness of ads.
How to improve your quality rating?
Keyword optimization
💡 Use relevant and well-chosen keywords, closely related to your products or services and consumer searches.
Experiment with different types of keywords (exact match, phrase match, broad match).
Organise your advertising groups
🪄 Ad groups should contain related keywords, and the way you organize them is important for evaluating the quality of your ad. Why? Because the organization at the ad group level determines what searches your ad will appear on and how likely a user is to click on it.
For example, if you offer shoes, it is a good practice to divide the advertising groups into "men's shoes", "women's shoes" or "winter shoes", "sandals", etc., so you can show him what he is looking for.
Tie ad copy to user intent
🔍 Address the needs of your users in your advertising to increase the chances of a click. It's already been established that you sell shoes and if someone is looking for sneakers, your ad for boots won't do them any good.
Landing page optimization
👩💻 When a user clicks on your ad, they expect speed, mobile optimization and content relevance on the landing page. If these expectations are not met, the likelihood of the user leaving the page without completing the desired outcome (order/query) is high.
Here are a few ideas on how to optimize your landing page to achieve a higher quality score for your ad:
- Take care of your website's speed - you can find potential problems and tips for fixing them through diagnostics with Google's PageSpeed Insights.
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly, with a responsive design that looks good on all devices and screen sizes.
- Create relevant and clear content that matches keywords, user search and ad copy.
- Easy navigation - make sure users can easily navigate and find what they are looking for on your site.
- A clear call to action - tell users what they need to do - order, register or some other action.
Monitoring and testing
And we're tired of repeating it, but that's the reality of digital marketing. Using A/B testing, constant monitoring and data analysis are the keys to success.
Google Quality Score is an important factor in the success of your campaigns. It influences the price you pay per click, the position of your ad and its overall effectiveness. Last but not least, this metric mirrors user experience and satisfaction with your ad and landing page - and these are essential.
Take a look at our other guides and tips for Google advertising. They can help you improve the quality score of your ads and get better results for your business.