What Is Quality Score? How to Raise It in Google Ads

Many MONA clients have tried running Google Ads on their own without success because they did not understand what Quality Score is or how to optimize it effectively. If that sounds like you, let's explore together MONA Media explains quality score and how to raise your Google ad quality score effectively. It is a very useful tool for improving your keywords, landing pages and ad campaigns. Let's get into the details.

What is Quality Score?

Quality Score (also known as Quality Score, or QS) is a metric used in Google Ads to measure the relevance, quality and performance of your ads compared with other advertisers in the market. 

This metric rates ads on a scale of 10 based on how useful and relevant they are to what users search for. Note that Quality Score is assessed at the keyword level, not for an ad group or a whole campaign.

The role of Quality Score in Google Ads

Quality Score plays a very important role in determining the results and cost of running Google Ads services. A high score means you pay less for each click and your ad shows in a priority position on Google search results. This not only helps increase conversion rate but also optimizes your ad spend. 

In addition, Quality Score helps Google judge how relevant and good your ads are so it can show the most suitable ads to users, which means your ads reach the right potential audience more often.

When should you optimize your Google Ads Quality Score?

When you create or manage ad campaigns, it is essential to know when to apply Quality Score to your campaign. From the moment you set a keyword bid to the moment your ad shows, the score directly affects visibility and ad cost, helping you use your resources best and get the best results. 

Below are 4 moments when businesses should work on raising their Google ad Quality Score:

• When advertisers care about ad rank, a high Quality Score gives the ad a better chance of showing in a higher position.
• When your bid is high but your ad position is low, raising QS helps improve where your ad shows.
• When advertisers want to save money, a higher score helps lower the average CPC (Cost Per Click) while keeping ad performance strong.
• When your average CPC is high, check your Quality Score and improve it to lower CPC and optimize your ad budget.

The factors that affect Quality Score and need optimizing

More than just a number, this metric reflects many factors in your Google ad campaign as a whole. Understanding and optimizing these factors will show you how to raise your Google ad Quality Score and reach your business goals faster. Specifically:

• Past click-through rate (CTR): The share of users who clicked your ad in the past when searching a specific keyword.
• CTR of the display URL: How often the URL gets clicks when the ad is shown.
• Account CTR history: The overall CTR of the ads and keywords in your account.
• Landing page quality: How transparent, relevant and easy to navigate the landing page is.
• Relevance between keyword and ad: How closely the keyword matches the ad copy.
• Relevance between keyword and search: How well the keyword matches what the user searched for.
• Geographic performance: Improve Quality Score by targeting customers in specific geographic locations.
• Ad performance on the web: How well the ad performs on different websites in the display network.
• Target devices: How well the ad performs on different devices such as tablets, phones and PCs.

Why should you improve ad Quality Score?

Tracking and finding ways to raise your Google Ads Quality Score brings many benefits to your ad campaign, such as:

• Better ranking on the SERPs: A high Quality Score is an important part of the Ad Rank formula (Ad Rank = CPC Bid * Quality Score). If your score is good, your ad has a chance to show in a higher position on the search results page (SERPs), which increases your chance of reaching potential customers.
• Lower CPC: Raising your Google Ads Quality Score helps you optimize cost per click (CPC). When your ads meet Google's requirements, CPC drops, so you save money and make better use of your ad budget.
• More chances for Google ads: Google Ads with a high Quality Score usually get more engagement and positive responses from users. This makes Google rate your ads highly, so they show more often, compete better and convert more customers.

Common ways to raise Quality Score

Finding ways to raise your Google Ads Quality Score is an important goal in any company's advertising strategy. Below are the common and effective ways to improve Quality Score that MONA usually applies.

Choose exact keywords

Prioritize Google Ads keywords that are closely related and growing steadily. Chosen keywords must truly reflect the content of the site's products and services so ads reach the right target customers.

Landing page content that matches the keyword

The landing page you send people to must match and directly relate to the keyword the user searched. If the landing page content doesn't match the keyword, users will leave your page and your Google ad Quality Score will drop. Make sure your landing page provides the exact, detailed information customers are looking for.

Content optimization

Landing page content should be clear, concise and engaging. Detailed, useful and easy-to-understand information keeps customers longer, which helps raise Quality Score. Use images, video and other multimedia to make the page more interactive and appealing.

Suitable navigation

Navigation on the landing page must be clear and easy to use. Place CTA (Call To Action) buttons in sensible spots, and make sure customers have enough information before they take action. Good navigation raises conversion rates and improves your site's quality score.

Optimized page loading speed

Page load speed affects the whole user experience. A slow page makes customers leave before it finishes loading, which lowers Quality Score. Check and optimize page speed by reducing image size, using quality hosting and controlling other technical factors.

Target the right potential customers

Identifying the right audience makes your ad campaign much more effective. Use analytics tools to understand the traits, needs and behavior of potential customers, then adjust your ad strategy to match.

Research and revise your ad campaigns regularly

Online ads need constant optimization to keep up with changing trends and user needs. So regularly research, test and adjust your campaigns to improve performance and raise your Google ad Quality Score.

Geotargeting

Use geotargeting to show ads to customers in specific locations, which makes your ads more relevant to users. This is a fairly new way to improve Quality Score in Google Ads that you can try.

Build a Negative Keyword list

Negative keywords help you avoid showing ads for irrelevant searches, cut wasted ad spend and raise Quality Score. Identify and remove unwanted keywords so your ads only show for searches likely to convert.

Add Sitelinks

Sitelinks extend your ad and give users extra useful links. Use sitelinks to send users to other important pages on your site, which raises click-through rate and improves Quality Score effectively.

Improve your landing page

The landing page needs to be user-friendly, SEO-optimized and give a good user experience. Make sure its content matches search queries and keywords so Google rates your page highly. Optimize the site structure, and use broad-match keywords and negative keywords to raise relevance and your Google ad Quality Score.

Steps to check your Google Ads Quality Score

To check Quality Score and optimize campaigns more effectively, follow these steps:

• First, sign in to your Google Ads account.
• Select Campaigns and go to Keyword finder.
• Add columns Quality Score to the report by choosing Modify columns.
• Find the Quality Score section and tick the metrics (Quality Score, Expected CTR, Landing page experience and Ad relevance).

Tips from experience for optimizing Quality Score in Google Ads

With over 10 years of experience in Digital Marketing and running ads for The MONA and its partners, MONA has found that you need to focus on these 3 key factors to raise your ad Quality Score fast you project.

Click-through rate

Click-through rate A high rate not only improves Quality Score but also raises the chance of conversion for your company's website. You can combine several approaches for the best result:

• Create attractive ad copy: Use promotions, offers or points of difference to draw customers in.
• Group related keywords: Put related keywords in one ad group to raise the chance of showing ads to the right audience.
• Negate off-target keywords: Removing irrelevant keywords saves money and raises CTR.

Ad relevance

Relevance between the ad, the keyword and the landing page is key to improving Quality Score. Here are the ways MONA usually uses to raise ad relevance:

• Create multiple ad variations: Each ad group should have 3-5 different ads with varied messages, so Google can serve your ads more effectively.
• Add keywords to the ad copy: Put the main keyword in the ad's headline, display path and description to raise relevance.
• The right landing page: The ad should send users to a landing page whose content is accurate and fits the goal of the ad.

Raise Quality Score through landing page experience

A good landing page experience is key to a higher Quality Score. Some ways to optimize your landing page include:

• Relevant landing page content: The landing page must match the keyword and the ad copy. For example, an ad for a course should lead to a page with detailed information about that course.
• Mobile-friendly: Make sure your website displays well on mobile. Mobile users should find the information they need easily, without difficulty.
• Easy navigation: The landing page needs a clear structure so customers can easily take the action you want, such as ordering, calling or sending a question. Avoid cluttering the page with too many ads or pop-ups.
• Important information at the top of the page: Put key information where it is easy to see the moment customers arrive. This way users don't have to scroll to find what they need.

Find out more: Our landing page design custom and professional

In short, quality score is a measure Google uses to judge ad performance. Understanding and optimizing Quality Score not only improves your campaign performance but also leads to better business results. With practical knowledge and experience, MONA has put together this detailed guide to what Quality Score is. We hope it gives you useful information to raise the Quality Score of your Google Ads campaigns.