What Is Google Ads Quality Score and How to Improve It
Increasing the quality score means making your ads more competitive in the auction and lowering the cost per click. What can you do to do this?
Quality score is assessment of the relevance and success of an ad, the keywords for which it is shown, and the page to which it leads. The quality score determines:
- Cost per click. The higher the quality score, the lower the cost per click, and vice versa. The point is that the quality indicator shows the parameters that have a direct impact on the cost per click (CTR, ad relevance, landing page quality).
- The position of the ad display in the search engine and the display of extensions (additional links, location, and phone number). The higher the quality score, the higher the competitiveness of the ad in the auction and the higher the probability that it will show up in the top positions with extensions. This is due to the fact that in order to participate in the auction, the ad’s rank is important, which Google Ads calculates based on the quality score.
A low quality score is a signal that your ad needs to be refined to lower cost-per-click, improve ranking and, as a result, competitiveness.
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Basics to Know About Google Ads
Google Ads is a popular web-marketing service for placing ads on the Internet. They are displayed in the search results when a user asks for them, as well as on the pages of sites that are part of the contextual media network. This tool is suitable for any business from a modern BetAmo casino to an old-fashioned flower shop.
The system is based on the vast amount of data that Google has been collecting about its users for years. If you haven’t turned off tracking what you are doing online, AI knows your gender, age, location, education level, preferences and hobbies. In particular, this information can be used for targeting and remarketing.
It should be noted that even if a user has disabled personalization in his account, he will still see ads on the sites. For such people, the system selects ads related to a specific search query or location. But the history of previous requests and personal interests are not taken into account.
Ads advertisers have several options at their disposal for placing ads.
It’s a popular Internet marketing tool. A large role in this is played by the popularity of the search engine itself. But there are also a number of advantages specifically Google Ads, for which it is valued by experts:
- Targeting a warm audience.
- Localization.
- Ease of setting up ads.
- The ability to analyze the effectiveness.
What the Quality Indicator Comprises
Google Ads calculates the index based on three factors:
- Expected clickability of the ad (CTR).
- ad relevance (the relevance of the ad to the keyword).
- quality of the landing page (a set of behavioral factors, data on which is counted from the moment the user clicks on the ad to the landing page).
For each of these factors the system gives each keyword one of three possible ratings: “Below Average”, “Average” or “Above Average”.
Based on this, Google Ads calculates the quality score as a whole. As a result, it ranges from 1 to 10 points, where 1-6 points are low and average quality and 7-10 points are high.
If the quality is average or low, the score is worth working on.
Also read: What is a Cost Per Click? Types, Know Your Average CPC, and More
Where the Quality Score Appears
Open Google Ads and select “Keywords” in the left menu. Click on “Columns” and “Change Columns.
When the screen opens, expand “Quality Indicator” there and check the box next to that metric. You can also display the metrics that make it up: expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page quality.
The items without the “stat.” denote current indicators. If you want to see statistical data on these parameters for the selected reporting period, select items labeled “stat.” The indicator data will appear in new columns.
How to Improve Quality Score
If you have included the columns of criteria that make up the quality score (expected CTR, relevancy of the ad, and landing page quality), you can immediately assess which of them are worth working on.
Increase Expected CTR
Expected CTR is a measure of the likelihood that a user will click on an ad. If the quality for the expected CTR is “Below Average” or “Average”, you need to modify the ad so that it becomes more attractive to your target audience. Try the following:
- Add ad extensions – they make the ad look more prominent against your competitors, and it increases clickability).
- Test different ad texts, trying to make them more appealing to your target audience.
- Check whether the texts of the ads match the queries that users enter.
- Specify the benefits of your offer.
- Use specific calls to action.
- Try different call to action options for ads that match different landing pages.
Increase Ad Relevance
This metric describes how relevant the ad is to the intent of the user conducting the search.
Add keywords to your ad’s headlines (preferred) and descriptions. For high-frequency queries, use exact matches, as “relevance signals” may not work correctly, which will adversely affect performance. Medium and low-frequency queries can remain grouped based on the new rules regarding keywords.
Group keywords by topic so that all possible user queries are as relevant as possible to a particular ad group.
Improve Landing Page Quality
Landing page quality is a metric that describes how relevant and useful the landing page is to those who click on the ad.
Make sure the page is consistent with the information in the relevant ads.
Increase the page’s load speed (if it takes longer than five seconds to load, Google considers it low-quality).
Optimize your layout for mobile devices if it’s not already optimized.
Make sure the content on the landing page is relevant to users’ needs and, if necessary, correct the content (example from Google Ads: If an ad is shown for “buy flannel shirts”, you should add images of flannel shirts to the landing page).
Also read: Google Analytics – About it, Working, Target Group, and More