If you are running a Google Ads campaign for your online business, you might have thought about how Quality Score (QS) affects your Google Ads. How crucial is it for the overall success of your Ad campaign?
Well, Quality Score seems like a mystery, especially to those who are new to online advertising. As long as an advertiser pays for the clicks while keeping other key metrics in mind, Google promises to show their Ads in the SERP for selected keywords.
However, with thousands of advertisers online, all trying to make their Ads appear in the top search results, things become tricky. And this is where Google Ads Quality Score comes in!
In this article, we will try to explain how QS affects your PPC Optimization Checklist and ways to help you improve your score. First, let’s know what exactly the Quality Score is.
What Is the Quality Score?
In simple words, the Quality Score is the measure of the quality of your Google Ads. It indicates how relevant your keywords, Ads, and landing pages are to the users’ search queries. Once Google has enough data, it assigns a score between 1 and 10 to the keywords in the advertisers’ account.
The number represents the relevance of a keyword in the auctions in which it has participated. But, it isn’t used to rank the Ads. Instead, Google takes a lot of factors into account alongside the QS to rank an Ad.
The numbers between 1 and 10 help advertisers know how good they are at choosing and bidding the right keywords or writing good Ads; real-time QS is what matters most!
Why Does Google Use Quality Score?
As the world’s leading search engine, Google focuses more on user experience. It aims to provide users with the best experience and the most relevant search results. As a result, people who have a great search experience with Google will continue using it for future searches.
Furthermore, Google depends on advertising revenue. If they fill the top space with low-quality Ads, they risk losing the users in the long-run. Not only for Google, but it is also useful for advertisers.
The good quality score helps them get high-quality leads. In order to keep these leads coming back, they need to write catchy Ads and optimize them for the right keywords. It reduces their CPC and boosts revenue.
How Does QS Affect Your Google Ads?
In a nutshell, QS determines how likely it is that the users will click your Google Ads for the targeted keywords. It is one of the most important metrics that decides-
● Are your Google Ads eligible for auction?
● How relevant are the Ads to the specific keywords, website landing pages, or users’ search queries?
● How does Google Ads rank on the SERP?
● What CPC does an advertiser need to pay?
Let’s have a closer look at all these aspects.
Ad Auction System
As already discussed, Google doesn’t want to show any irrelevant Ads in the top search results and spoils the user experience. Think of search advertising as direct response advertising.
When Google finds that a keyword in your Google Ad is irrelevant, it assigns the Ad a low quality score. As a result, your Ad won’t even enter into the auction for the searches. On the other hand, a good QS ensures that an Ad is eligible to participate in Ad auctions.
Ad Ranks
After Google has selected Ads and keywords that are most relevant to the searches, the Ads enter the auction. Which attributes describe a good landing page experience Here, Google observes how much the advertisers are bidding (or what the max CPC is) and how good their QS is.
The search engine also considers other factors, like Ad extensions, that may boost the CTR. Each of the Ads in the auction system gets a score again. Finally, the Ad rank based on QS and other factors determine which of the Ads will make their way to the top slots.
CPC Rate
The cost of CPC an advertiser will have to pay for a click is calculated based on the CPC they need to maintain the Ad rank above their competitor’s. A higher QS means an advertiser has to pay less CPC to maintain their rank. The higher the QS, the lesser an advertiser will have to pay.
So, How Can You Improve Your Quality Score?
As an advertiser, you don’t want to be in the red when Google reviews your Ads’ performance. Also, a high QS lowers your CPC, improves your Ads’ rank, and boosts ROI. Therefore, it is necessary for every advertiser to improve their score. Below is what you can do to move to a higher QS-
Optimize the Expected CTR
Expected CTR measures how likely your Google Ad is to get clicked when the user’s search term matches the keyword in your Ad. If CTR is low, check if the keyword is relevant to your Ad.
If the keyword is relevant, but the QS is still low, write a more compelling Ad. Include a strong call-to-action, unique proposition, and highlight your Ad’s relevance to the targeted keyword.
Pay Attention to Ad Relevance
The content in your Ad should match the keyword. If the Ad relevance measure is low, it might be due to a lot of themes in your Ad group. For this, you can split the Ad groups into smaller ones. Create a separate Ad Group for each set of keywords that are closely related to each other.
Improve Landing Page Experience
When your Ad gets clicked and a user arrives on your landing page, your goal is to provide them with a great experience. Your landing page should relate to what users are searching for or what you have promised in the Ad. Besides, make sure to optimize the landing pages and Google Ads for both mobile and desktop devices.
Conclusion
Quality Score is an important metric Google considers to decide which Ads to rank higher and show in the search results. Google Ads with low bids can beat the Ads of high paying competitors if they have better relevance. Thus, you need to monitor the Quality Score and observe where a low QS is keeping you from achieving your business goals.
But, don’t get so busy in improving the QS that you ignore the other key metrics. Also, keep your ultimate goal in mind, i.e., to run an efficient business, make connections with your leads, and help them solve their queries.