Google Ads Quality Score: What It Means and Why It’s Important

In today’s frenzied business landscape, companies aiming to attract new customers must get to the root of their content. SEO is a major component that companies must explore to remain relevant in their markets. Discovering the keywords that will drive results requires in-depth research. Free and paid solutions can get the job done, but it takes time to gather a strong list.

Crafting the right ads with the right keywords is only one piece of a larger puzzle. Companies need a platform to advertise on. Google is the world’s most-used search engine. As such, it remains a popular marketing channel for companies across every industry.

Using Google Ads can seem simple but the complexities involving the bidding process can be a barrier to entry. Plus, winning auctions can prove costly if your advertising is relegated to the bottom of the pack. Why spend money on advertising if it does not reach your target audience?

Fortunately, you can leverage an overlooked feature that Google offers advertisers. Google Ads Quality Score can help you place ads above competing ads at a reduced CPC (cost per click). This article will explain the concept and how you can increase your Quality Score to gain an edge over your competitors.

What Is Quality Score?

The Quality Score is Google’s rating of keywords and PPC ads on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest score and 10 being the highest. Google evaluates the quality and relevance of keywords and ads so companies can see how their ads compare to others. The Quality Score determines your CPC and ad rank. Quality Score factors include keyword relevance, ad copy relevance, and landing page quality. Google also includes your CTRs (click-through rates, meaning how often people who see an ad click it) and previous Google Ads performances to determine a Quality Score.

In other words, if your Quality Score is high, then Google deems your ad can be more useful when compared to competing ads. If your Quality Score is low, then your ad is not considered beneficial. A higher Quality Score can help your ads rank higher at a reduced cost.

How Quality Score Affects Google Ads

As previously mentioned, a high Quality Score can be great for ranking and cost. A low Quality Score means Google does not find much value in the ad, meaning the ad will not rank high and possibly cost more to run.

On its surface, the Quality Score tool can help you win Google Ads auctions. Go a little deeper and you can find a tool that can help you fine-tune your keywords across all of your content. Discovering keywords that work can eat a lot of time, especially if it is not efficiently done. Many solutions can help you complete the job but you need a reliable tool. The Google Ads Quality Score tool is a great option because it was designed for use with their platform. The tool is not a third-party platform that has a spotty track record. The Google team knows its algorithms best. Therefore, using the tools they provide can produce accurate results that other alternatives can not.

Increasing the quality of the content on your landing pages can improve general discoverability and the likelihood that Google Ads will rate your ads higher. The Quality Score can affect more than auction bids, making it a vital piece of digital marketing that every advertiser should utilize.

How To Increase Your Quality Score

You must check your Quality Score before you can improve it. Google provides step-by-step instructions. You can view current and historical Quality Scores, Landing Page Experiences, Ad Relevance, and Expected CTRs in a few clicks. Once you access your data via this diagnostic tool, you can give search engine users (and prospective customers) what they are looking for.

Ad Relevance

Ad relevance, or keyword relevance, is how close an ad matches a search query. This is determined by analyzing keywords and landing pages. To increase ad relevance, which will raise the Quality Score, you have to consider how well your ads relate to search queries. If your ads are underperforming, you can promptly take action and increase their relevance. Waiting to act can cost you sales prospects as well as the money spent on poor ads.

You can use Google Keyword Planner to narrow down the best keywords. Then you can modify your ad copy, inserting better keywords along the way. The key is to use specific keywords that searchers will use. For example, if your ad is marketing natural almond milk and you simply use the generic “milk” in your ad, your ad might zero in on someone who searches for exactly what you are selling. Placing “natural almond milk” or a similar, popular keyword in your ad can generate closer matches. Add appropriate keywords to your copy.

Expected Click Rate

You should want people to click your ads. Otherwise, why run them? You can improve the expected CTR once you run the Quality Score tool. The expected CTR is Google’s estimate of the likelihood of someone clicking your ad after it appears in search results. You can gain a higher CTR if your ad makes good on the search’s promise. For instance, someone looking for natural almond milk found your ad when they searched for “natural almond milk.” However, your ad states “Buy Our Milk” without any mention of it being natural and almond. Your ad copy should reflect the keywords you bid on.

Landing Page Experience

A landing page is a web page people visit when they click on an ad. A landing page can offer more information about a product or service as well as provide the means for visitors to make a purchase.

Landing pages play a large role in determining Quality Scores. A good landing page can raise scores and convert visitors to paying customers. A poor one will cause a low score and turn people off your product or service.

You can enhance the landing page experience for your visitors by making it useful. Provide more information about your product. Give detailed instructions on how to use it. Share customer testimonials. Give visitors a reason to stay on the page and follow through on the call to action.

You can also make sure your landing page is clear and organized. If someone can not easily navigate the page, they might click out and find a more accessible site.

A landing page is a perfect place to incorporate keywords into the copy. Use all of the SEO tricks you have learned here and you might increase visits and sales.

Score a Win Today

Using the Google Ads Quality Score tool can help you pick the best keywords for your ad campaigns, which can position your ads in a better place among the search engine results. A high score is better than a low score. Google will show your ad if it determines your ad has value for people who search for what you offer. The Quality Score tool can also reduce your CPC, making it an effective way to save money and reach more customers.