Digital Marketing Agency... Websites | Google Ads | SEO
We created our first Goggle Ads campaign in 2007 and was one of the first agencies in the UK to be awarded the Google Partner badge. In 2018 we were handpicked by Google to their exclusive Elevator scheme, designed enhance the UK’s top-performing agencies.
Award winning search, marketing, websites & advertising
Many businesses running Google Ads focus on bids and budgets without paying close attention to Quality Score, a metric that directly affects how much they pay per click and how their ads are positioned. Understanding Quality Score can reveal why some campaigns cost more than expected, even when the bidding strategy seems reasonable. This guide explains what Quality Score is, how it is calculated, and what to do if yours is holding your campaigns back.
Quality Score is a diagnostic metric used by Google Ads to estimate the relevance and quality of your keywords, ads, and landing pages compared to other advertisers. It is scored on a scale from one to ten, with a higher score generally indicating that Google considers your ad relevant and useful to the people searching for that keyword.
Quality Score is not directly used to calculate your final ad rank, but it influences the underlying components that do, which means it has a real effect on both your costs and your ad positioning.
Quality Score is made up of three main components, each of which Google evaluates separately before combining them into the overall score.
This component estimates how likely your ad is to be clicked when it is shown for a specific keyword, based on historical performance data. Ads that are well matched to the intent behind a search tend to perform better here.
This measures how closely your ad copy matches the intent behind the keyword it is targeting. An ad that directly addresses what the searcher is looking for will generally score better than a generic ad applied across many unrelated keywords.
This evaluates how relevant, useful, and easy to navigate your landing page is for someone who clicks the ad. A landing page that matches the ad’s message and loads quickly tends to perform better than one that is slow, cluttered, or unrelated to the ad’s promise.
| Component | What It Measures | How to Improve It |
|---|---|---|
| Expected Click-Through Rate | The likelihood that your ad will receive a click when shown for a particular keyword | Refine keyword targeting, improve ad relevance and test different ad copy variations |
| Ad Relevance | How closely your ad messaging matches the intent behind the targeted keyword | Group closely related keywords together and create relevant ad copy for each group |
| Landing Page Experience | How relevant, useful and easy to use the landing page is after someone clicks the ad | Align the landing page content with the ad and improve page speed, navigation and usability |
Google Ads operates on an auction system, but it does not simply award the top position to the highest bidder. Instead, ad rank is calculated using a combination of bid amount and the quality-related factors that feed into Quality Score. This means two advertisers bidding the same amount can end up paying different prices per click, with the advertiser holding a higher Quality Score often paying less for the same or better position.
In practical terms, a low Quality Score can mean paying significantly more for clicks than a competitor with a better optimised account, even if both are targeting the same keywords and audience.
Several recurring issues tend to drag down Quality Score across accounts. Broad keyword targeting that does not match specific ad groups is a common culprit, since it makes it harder for Google to judge relevance accurately. Generic ad copy that is reused across many unrelated keywords also tends to score poorly, as does directing traffic to a general homepage rather than a page specifically relevant to the ad and keyword. Slow-loading landing pages are another frequent issue, particularly on sites that have not been optimised for performance.
Improving Quality Score generally involves tightening the structure and relevance of your account rather than making a single quick fix.
Grouping closely related keywords together, rather than combining broad or loosely related terms, makes it easier to write ad copy that speaks directly to what each group of searchers is looking for.
Ad copy that reflects the exact intent behind a keyword group tends to perform better than generic messaging applied across the whole account. This also supports a stronger expected click-through rate over time.
Sending traffic to a page that matches what the ad promises, and ensuring that page loads quickly, supports both Quality Score and overall conversion rates. This is where web design plays a direct role in ad performance, since a well-built landing page benefits both paid campaigns and the overall user experience.
Quality Score is not static. It can change as your ads run and as Google gathers more performance data, so reviewing it periodically and adjusting underperforming keywords or ad groups helps maintain a healthier account over time.
While Quality Score has a direct impact on paid campaigns, some of the same principles, such as relevance and page quality, also support organic SEO performance. Businesses that invest in clear, relevant content and a well-structured website often see benefits across both paid and organic search, rather than treating the two as entirely separate efforts.
Diagnosing exactly which component is dragging down Quality Score, and making the right adjustments, can be time-consuming without experience reading Google Ads data closely. Businesses that have tried adjusting bids without addressing the underlying relevance or landing page issues often continue to see high costs per click. You can see examples of how account structure and landing pages come together in our portfolio, or read more about our approach to campaign management on our about page.
If your cost per click seems higher than expected, Quality Score is worth investigating as a likely factor. Contact us for a review of your current account structure, ad copy, and landing pages to see where improvements could reduce your advertising costs.
Scores of seven or higher are generally considered good, though this can vary by industry and competition level. Even moderate improvements from a low score can noticeably reduce costs per click.
Yes, Quality Score updates as Google gathers more data on how your ads, keywords, and landing pages perform, which means it can improve or decline as your account evolves.
Yes, Quality Score is calculated at the keyword level, which means different keywords within the same campaign can have different scores depending on their relevance and performance.
It can help, particularly if landing page experience is the weakest component, but ad relevance and expected click-through rate also need attention for a meaningful overall improvement.
This varies depending on how much data Google needs to reassess the keyword, but noticeable changes are often visible within a few weeks of making structural or content improvements.
© 2026 Getextra Ltd
