How to Ace the Google Ads Quality Score Formula

Every advertiser wants to get the most value out of their Google Ads account, and Google has kindly built several ways to help with this. 

The Quality Score formula is perhaps the most critical component because it determines how effective your ads are and how you are likely to compare to your competitors. 

Read on to learn more about how Google Ads Quality Score works and what you can do to ace it!

What is Google Ads Quality Score?

Google tells us that the quality score is a “diagnostic tool meant to give you a sense of how well your ad quality compares to other advertisers.”

Measured on a scale of 1 – 10, this score relates directly to how relevant and valuable your landing page is when users perform a specific search query – compared to other advertisers. This little snippet of information is crucial because it means that the quality score of your ads can, and will, fluctuate as your competitors tweak their ads to beat yours. 

Google Ads quality score is calculated on three main metrics:

1. The expected clickthrough rate (CTR) of your ad
2. Your ad’s relevance as it relates to the user’s intent
3. Your landing page experience

Google will allocate a status of “Above average,” “Average,” or “Below average” to your ads based on the same ads with the same keywords from other advertisers over the past 90 days. 

How to Hack the Quality Score Formula

The exact formula that Google uses to calculate its quality score sums is not available to anyone. Much like Mr Crabs’ secret Crabby Patty recipe, it’s a closely guarded secret. However, there are several key areas that you can focus on to give yourself the best chance to score a perfect 10!

Average Position

The average position of your ad is an essential factor in determining your quality score. If you’re a new Google Ads client, you’ll have no historical data to go on, but if you’ve run ads before, you’re likely to be penalised or rewarded based on the quality and CTR of those ads. 

You can improve your quality score and lower costs by improving your average position. Here are five tips to improve your average position:

1. Use relevant keywords in your ad copy, paying close attention to user intent.
2. Target a wide range of keywords users may use to find your product.
3. Create relevant ads to your landing pages, ensuring the copy is consistent.
4. Use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic, bringing your CTR down.
5. Avoid using broad match types as much as possible, as they don’t always allow sufficient control over which words or phrases trigger your ads.

Landing Page Experience

Advertisers should focus on creating a great landing page experience for their ads. This means having a well-designed page relevant to the ad and easy to navigate. 

The goal is to make it as easy for potential customers to find what they’re looking for and take action. It also helps meet the other factors of an A score, such as relevancy. Again, you want to be acutely aware of user intent and how your landing page offers the solution the user seeks. 

Mobile Site Experience

Mobile devices account for well over half of all web traffic worldwide, so it’s essential that your site provides a great mobile experience. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind: 

1. Make sure your site is responsive and loads quickly on mobile devices. 
2. Use large, easy-to-tap buttons and links. 
3. Keep your content short and sweet. (People have shorter attention spans, especially on mobile devices.) 
4. Make sure you have the latest security protocols and ad tracking code installed on your site. 

Ad and Landing Page Speed

A slow ad or landing page can result in a poor quality score, which means your ad may not be shown as often or at all. To ensure a fast user experience, ensure your ads and landing pages load quickly. You can test your ad speed with an ad speed tool. 

Remember that text ads should load in two seconds or less and that video should never take more than eight seconds to load. Landing pages should also take no more than four seconds to fully load. If you have an issue with loading times, you might need help from an expert web developer or ad agency with experience optimizing site speeds.

Ad Relevance

Advertisers should make sure their ads are relevant to their keywords and landing pages—we get that. A high relevance score means that your ad is relevant to what people are searching for and is likely to get clicked on. You’re aiming for keyword relevance plus content relevance.

Give careful thought to what your potential audience is looking for; do they want information or are they ready to buy? Whatever you’re shooting for, this needs to reflect in both your ad copy and the text on your landing page. It doesn’t matter how great your ads are if they lead to a terrible experience when a person clicks them. You want them to feel like they’ve found exactly what they were looking for by clicking on your ad.

Device Category Targeting Settings

Advertisers can target specific types of devices when creating a new campaign in Google Ads. 

Device category targeting settings include computers, tablets, mobile phones, and other devices. If this applies, advertisers should select the device categories on which they want their ads to show. 

How to Check Your Quality Score

So, how are your ads doing? Checking your Google Ads quality score is pretty simple:

• Sign in to your Google Ads account.
• Select keywords from the menu on the left of the page
• Click on the columns icon on the top right
• Open the quality score section that appears under “Modify columns for keywords.”
  • Add any of the following to your statistics table:
  • Quality Score
  • Landing Page Exp.
  • Exp. CTR
  • Ad Relevance

Do You Need Help?

Running a Google Ads campaign can be challenging and expensive if not done correctly. Why not search the database of experienced PPC professionals who understand your niche?