Quality Score is one of the most powerful — and misunderstood — factors in Google Ads. It directly affects how much you pay per click and where your ads appear on the page. Advertisers with high Quality Scores consistently outperform and outspend competitors who rely on high bids alone. Understanding and optimising Quality Score is one of the highest-ROI activities in any PPC account.
What Is Quality Score and How Is It Calculated?
Quality Score is a 1–10 diagnostic score that Google assigns to each keyword in your account. It is based on three components: Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR), Ad Relevance, and Landing Page Experience. Each component is rated as “Below Average”, “Average”, or “Above Average”.
Quality Score is used to calculate your Ad Rank, which determines your ad position and what you actually pay per click. A higher Quality Score means you can rank higher while paying less — this is the “Quality Score advantage” that separates efficient accounts from wasteful ones.
Expected Click-Through Rate
Expected CTR predicts how likely your ad is to be clicked when it shows for a specific keyword. Google calculates this based on historical performance of your keyword, accounting for factors like ad position. A high expected CTR signals that your ad is appealing and relevant to searchers.
To improve expected CTR, write compelling headlines that match search intent, use all available ad extensions (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets), and include emotional triggers or urgency in your copy. Even small improvements in CTR — from 2% to 3% — can move your Quality Score from 5 to 7.
- Include the keyword in the first headline
- Use numbers and specifics in ad copy
- Test at least 3 ad variants per ad group
- Enable all relevant ad extensions
Ad Relevance: Match Your Copy to the Query
Ad Relevance measures how closely your ad text matches the intent of the search query. If your ad group contains too many loosely related keywords, Google cannot find a single set of ad copy that is highly relevant to all of them.
The solution is tightly themed ad groups — ideally Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) or small clusters of 3–5 closely related keywords. This allows you to write ad copy that directly reflects the language of the searcher, dramatically improving ad relevance.
Landing Page Experience: The Often-Neglected Factor
Landing Page Experience evaluates whether your page is relevant, trustworthy, and easy to navigate. Google assesses page load speed, mobile-friendliness, content relevance to the ad, and the overall user experience.
A common mistake is sending all traffic to a generic homepage. Build specific landing pages for each campaign theme. Match the headline of your landing page to the headline of your ad. Ensure the page loads in under 2 seconds on mobile. These changes consistently move Landing Page Experience from Below Average to Above Average.
Practical Steps to Raise Your Quality Score This Week
Start by pulling a Quality Score report at the keyword level and sorting by score ascending. Keywords with scores of 1–4 are costing you money and dragging down performance. For each low-scoring keyword, diagnose which component (CTR, relevance, or landing page) is rated Below Average.
Fix the easiest wins first: tighten ad groups, update ad copy to include the exact keyword, and check that your landing page loads quickly on mobile. Within 2–3 weeks, re-check scores. Consistent iteration on all three components is how accounts go from average Quality Scores of 5–6 to 7–9.
Work With a Team That Gets Results
Quality Score improvement is a compounding investment. Every point you gain means lower CPCs and better ad positions — permanently. Start with your lowest-scoring keywords today. Explore our Google Ads services and find out how Balistro can help your business grow faster.
