What is Quality Score? 5 Simple Ways to Improve It in Google Ads

If you’ve spent any time poking around in Google Ads, you’ve probably seen this thing called Quality Score. Most people glance at it once, shrug, and move on. Big mistake. That little number actually has a huge impact on how much you’re shelling out per click and whether your ads even get seen in the first place. Think of it like Google’s report card for your ads. Good grades? You get cheaper clicks and prime spots. Bad grades? Well… your budget’s going to disappear real fast.

So, what exactly is this Quality Score thing?

It’s basically a 1–10 rating Google gives to judge how “good” your ad setup is. By “good,” I mean: are your keywords, ads, and landing pages actually making sense together, or are you just throwing spaghetti at the wall? Google’s not shy about it either — they look at three main ingredients:

• Expected CTR – Do people actually want to click your ad?
• Ad Relevance – Does your ad match what they typed into the search bar?
• Landing Page Experience – Does the page you send them to deliver exactly what they hoped for?

If you’ve got these three dialed in, Google rewards you with better ad positions, lower CPC, and more efficient campaigns.

Why you should care about Quality Score

• You literally pay less per click when your score is higher.
• You can outrank competitors without outbidding them.
• It keeps your campaigns from becoming money pits.
• And honestly, it just forces you to make better ads that people actually like.

5 Simple Ways to Improve Quality Score

1. Make your ads actually match your keywords.
   This one sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many ads are basically clickbait. If your keyword is “buy running shoes online,” then your ad should actually say “buy running shoes online.” Google loves consistency, and so do searchers.
2. Work on your CTR (click-through rate).
   Google pays attention when people keep clicking your ad. To get that CTR up:
   • Write headlines that spell out the benefit.
   • Toss in numbers, discounts, or quirky details.
   • Don’t sleep on CTAs — people like being told what to do.
   • Run A/B tests — sometimes the “boring” ad copy wins.
3. Fix your landing page.
   Don’t trick people into clicking only to dump them on a random, messy page. If someone clicks “running shoes,” don’t take them to your homepage — show them the actual shoes. Also: make the page load fast, work smoothly on mobile, and keep navigation simple. Basically, respect people’s time.
4. Use negative keywords.
   Here’s the sneaky one. If your ad is showing up for totally irrelevant searches, your CTR tanks. Negative keywords keep you out of those situations. Example: if you sell luxury watches, you don’t want your ads popping up when someone types “cheap watches.”
5. Keep tweaking.
   This isn’t a “set it and forget it” thing. Your ads, keywords, and landing pages need regular check-ups. Pause the stuff that’s flopping, refine copy, try new variations. Little by little, your Quality Score creeps up.

Quick FAQs (because everyone asks these)

1. What is a good Quality Score in Google Ads?
   Anything 7 or higher is solid. If you hit 8–10, you’re golden. Below 5? You’ve got some homework to do.
2. Does Quality Score affect my ad position?
   Yep. A higher score can push your ad above competitors even if you’re bidding less.
3. Can Quality Score directly lower my ad costs?
   Also yes. Higher score = cheaper CPC.
4. How quickly can I improve my Quality Score?
   Depends how sloppy things were to begin with. Sometimes you’ll see changes in a few days, sometimes weeks.
5. Is Quality Score the only factor in ad performance?
   Nah. Bids, competition, budget — they all matter. But ignoring Quality Score is like driving with the handbrake on.