Quality Score

The Quality Score is a Google Ads metric that rates the quality and relevance of an ad in relation to its keyword. It is given on a scale from one to ten and influences both the effective click price and the position of the ad in the search results. Comparable values exist for Microsoft Advertising and Meta Ads.

How the value is calculated

The Quality Score is built from three main factors, the expected click through rate on the keyword, the ad relevance to the search term and the landing page experience. Google calculates the value dynamically after each auction and shows a historical value per keyword in the account for reference. Weak values lead to higher click prices and less frequent serving.

Levers for optimisation

Anyone wanting to improve Quality Score sharpens the topical match between keyword and ad copy, refines ad copy with clear calls to action, builds specific landing pages per ad group and ensures fast load times and mobile optimisation. Negative keywords help avoid irrelevant clicks, which in turn supports the click through rate. Clean account structure with tightly defined ad groups is the most important foundation.

Practical use

In day to day marketing, Quality Score has a major impact on how economically search engine advertising runs. Advertisers with a Quality Score of ten often pay thirty to fifty per cent less per click than competitors with a score of five at the same position. Maintaining this value is therefore not a one off project but a permanent part of productive Google Ads optimisation.