What is Quality Score in Google Ads?
Short answer: Quality Score is Google's 1–10 rating of how relevant your ad is for a given keyword. It's calculated from expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience. A higher Quality Score lowers your CPC and improves ad position — the same ad can cost less and rank higher just by improving relevance.
The three components of Quality Score
- Expected CTR — How likely is someone to click your ad when it shows for this keyword, compared to competing ads? Google estimates this based on your historical CTR adjusted for position. See what is CTR.
- Ad relevance — How closely does your ad copy match the intent of the keyword? An ad for “running shoes” that doesn’t mention running shoes scores lower on relevance.
- Landing page experience — Is your landing page relevant, fast, and useful for someone who clicked? Google evaluates content relevance, load speed, mobile-friendliness, and ease of navigation.
Each component is rated as Above Average, Average, or Below Average. The combined score produces a 1–10 Quality Score visible at the keyword level in your Google Ads dashboard.
How Quality Score affects your CPC and Ad Rank
Google uses Ad Rank to determine which ads show and in what position. Ad Rank is not just your bid — it’s your bid multiplied by Quality Score (simplified). This means:
- An advertiser with a $2 bid and Quality Score 10 can outrank a competitor with a $5 bid and Quality Score 3
- A higher Quality Score also reduces the actual CPC you pay — you often pay less than your max bid
- Improving Quality Score from 5 to 8 can reduce CPC by 30–50% for the same ad position
This is why improving relevance is often more cost-effective than simply raising bids. See what is a good CPC for how this affects your budget.
What is a good Quality Score?
- 8–10: Excellent. Your ad, keyword, and landing page are well-aligned. You’re likely paying less than competitors for the same position.
- 5–7: Average. Room to improve, but not an immediate problem. Focus on the component rated Below Average.
- 1–4: Poor. Significant misalignment between keyword, ad copy, and/or landing page. Campaigns with low Quality Scores pay more and show less.
Branded keywords (people searching your company name) almost always score 9–10. Non-branded, generic keywords are harder to score above 7 and require more work on relevance.
How to improve Quality Score
- Tighten ad groups — Group keywords by tight theme and write ads that match each theme specifically. One ad group per topic, not 50 keywords in one group.
- Mirror keywords in headlines — If someone searches “running shoes for flat feet,” your headline should include that phrase or close variants.
- Improve CTR — Test headline variations, add ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts), use numbers and urgency.
- Fix landing page relevance — The page the ad links to should deliver exactly what the ad promises. Match headline, copy, and offer.
- Speed up page load — Slow pages tank landing page experience scores. Aim for under 3 seconds on mobile.
- Remove low-QS keywords — Keywords with permanent Quality Score 1–2 drag down campaign performance. Pause or restructure them.
Common mistakes
- Obsessing over Quality Score as a KPI. Quality Score is a diagnostic, not a goal. Optimise for conversions and CPA; Quality Score improvement follows naturally.
- Mixing unrelated keywords in one ad group. “Broad” ad groups with many themes force generic copy that scores poorly on all keywords. Tighter groups = better relevance scores.
- Ignoring landing page experience. Most advertisers focus only on ad copy. But landing page experience accounts for roughly a third of Quality Score and is often the weakest link.
FAQ
Does Quality Score affect Shopping ads?
Not directly — Shopping campaigns use a different auction mechanism without a visible Quality Score. However, the underlying principles (ad relevance, landing page quality, expected CTR) still influence Shopping Ad Rank.
How often does Quality Score update?
Quality Score is updated in real time with each auction, but the score displayed in your dashboard is a snapshot. It can take days or weeks of accumulated data for changes to show a meaningful shift in the displayed score.
Can I see Quality Score in Google Ads?
Yes. In your Google Ads keyword view, add the Quality Score column (and its sub-components: Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, Landing Page Experience) to see scores for each keyword.