Quality Score
A 1–10 rating that Google Ads assigns to your keywords based on how relevant and useful your ad is. Higher scores get you cheaper clicks and better ad positions. Lower scores mean you pay a premium for worse placement.
Google is basically rewarding advertisers who create good experiences for searchers and penalizing those who don't.
The three components
Quality Score is built from three factors, each rated as "Below Average," "Average," or "Above Average":
Expected CTR — how likely people are to click your ad based on historical performance compared to other advertisers bidding on the same keyword.
Ad relevance — how closely your ad copy matches the intent behind the search query. If someone searches "running shoes for flat feet" and your ad talks about generic athletic shoes, relevance suffers.
Landing page experience — page speed, mobile-friendliness, content that matches what the ad promised, and overall usability. Google checks whether the page delivers on the ad's promise.
How it affects your costs
This is the part that matters. Google uses Quality Score in its ad auction formula:
Ad Rank = Bid x Quality Score
So if you bid $2 with a Quality Score of 8, your Ad Rank is 16. Your competitor bids $3 with a Quality Score of 4, their Ad Rank is 12. You win the better position while spending less.
The cost impact is real:
| Quality Score | Approximate CPC effect |
|---|---|
| 10 | ~50% discount vs. average |
| 7 | Roughly average CPC |
| 4 | ~25% premium |
| 1 | ~400% premium |
A Quality Score of 10 can cut your cost per click in half compared to a score of 7. That adds up fast across thousands of clicks.
How to improve Quality Score
For expected CTR: Write specific, benefit-driven headlines that include your target keywords. Use strong calls to action. Test multiple headline variations. Ads that match search intent get more clicks.
For ad relevance: Keep your ad groups tight. Don't dump 50 unrelated keywords into one ad group with a single generic ad. Group 10–20 closely related keywords together with ad copy that speaks to that theme.
For landing page experience: The headline on your landing page should reflect the promise in your ad. If your ad says "Free 14-Day Trial," the landing page should feature that trial offer up front. Load time matters — get below 3 seconds. Make sure the page works well on mobile and has a clear CTA above the fold.
What about other platforms?
Quality Score as a numbered metric is specific to Google Search Ads. But the same idea exists everywhere:
Meta uses Ad Relevance Diagnostics, which rates your ads on quality ranking, engagement rate ranking, and conversion rate ranking. No single number, but the same principle: better ads cost less.
LinkedIn has a Relevance Score that affects ad delivery and costs.
TikTok factors engagement metrics into its auction.
The pattern is the same across platforms. Make better ads and you'll pay less to show them.
FAQ
What Quality Score should I aim for?
7+ is considered good. 8–10 earns big discounts. Below 5 means something is off with either your ad copy, your keyword grouping, or your landing page.
Does Quality Score affect Display and Shopping campaigns?
Quality Score as a visible metric only applies to Google Search keywords. Display and Shopping use different quality signals internally, but Google doesn't surface a numbered score for those campaign types.
How fast does Quality Score change?
It can take days to weeks for changes in your ads or landing pages to show up in your Quality Score. Google needs enough data to re-evaluate. Don't expect instant results after making improvements.