What is Quality Score?
Quality Score is a 1–10 score per keyword in Google Ads. Partly determines your CPC and ad position. Three components: expected CTR, ad relevance and landing page experience.
Each component gets a label: 'Below average', 'Average' or 'Above average'. Those labels are more valuable than the total score, because they point you to the problem. A QS 6 with 'Below average' on landing page experience needs a different fix than a QS 6 with 'Below average' on expected CTR.
Quality Score is a diagnostic tool, not a campaign goal in itself. Google itself advises not to optimise for QS but for actual campaign performance (conversions, ROAS). QS is however an excellent indicator of structural problems in your account build.
Why does Quality Score matter?
Higher QS = lower CPC for the same position. The difference between QS 4 and QS 8 can save up to 50% in cost.
The mechanics behind this difference is the Ad Rank formula: Ad Rank = bid × Quality Score × expected impact of ad extensions. An advertiser with QS 8 needs to bid less than a competitor with QS 4 to achieve the same position. Structurally higher Quality Scores therefore improve your competitive position without additional budget investment.
How do you raise Quality Score?
Repeat the keyword in ad + landing page, keep keywords tightly grouped per ad group, and make sure the landing page loads fast and delivers on the promise.
The most effective approach per component: improve expected CTR by rewriting ad copy and testing RSA pinned combinations. Improve ad relevance by using tightly themed ad groups. Improve landing page experience by reducing load time (see Core Web Vitals) and making page content match the search intent of the keyword precisely.
Real-world example
A software company in Brabant had an ad group 'CRM software' with 45 keywords and an average QS of 4. After splitting into 8 smaller ad groups per theme (e.g. 'CRM for SMEs', 'CRM accounting integration') and adjusting ad copy and landing pages per ad group, average QS rose to 7.2 within 8 weeks. CPC dropped from €3.40 to €2.10. Same budget, 38% more clicks.
How to measure Quality Score
In Google Ads: go to Campaigns → Keywords and add the columns 'Quality Score', 'Landing page experience', 'Ad relevance' and 'Expected CTR'. View them at keyword level, not campaign level.
Export a monthly report and track the trend per keyword. A falling QS on a profitable keyword is an early signal of competitive pressure or ad fatigue. There is no API access to historical QS data, save monthly snapshots.
Common mistakes
Putting everything in one ad group: too many keywords per ad group structurally lowers relevance and therefore QS.
Ignoring the landing page: most QS problems sit in landing page experience. Adjusting ad copy does little to fix that.
Treating QS as a goal: a QS 10 with poor conversions is worthless. QS is a means, not the end.
Broad match keywords in small budget campaigns: broad match generates irrelevant queries, lowers expected CTR and therefore QS.
Related terms
Ad Rank: the formula that determines at which position your ad appears. QS is one of three factors in Ad Rank.
CTR (Click-Through Rate): expected CTR is the most directly improvable QS component through ad copy optimisation.
Landing page experience: how Google assesses whether your landing page is relevant and user-friendly for the searcher. Strongly connected to Core Web Vitals and content relevance.
Want to know where your Quality Scores stand?
Request an Ads audit →