The essentials
- Definition: the Quality Score is a rating from 1 to 10 given by Google to each keyword, estimating how relevant your ads and your landing page are for that keyword, based on three components.
- Three components: expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience, each rated “above average”, “average” or “below average”.
- Effect: a diagnostic metric; the actual ranking uses similar signals in real time. A high Quality Score goes with a lower CPC and a better position.
- Benchmarks: 7 or more on the main keywords; below 5, act.
The aim of Quality Score, or quality rating, is the score from 1 to 10 that Google Ads gives to each keyword in your Search Network campaigns. It sums up how relevant your ads and your landing page are for that keyword, as Google sees it. Often misunderstood, it is sometimes treated as a goal in itself; it is a diagnostic tool. This article explains what it measures, its components, its real effect, how to read it and its limits. Improving it is covered in improving the Quality Score.
The three components
| Component | What Google assesses | Levers |
|---|---|---|
| Expected click-through rate (expected CTR) | How likely a user is to click your ad for that keyword, compared with other advertisers, excluding the effect of position and extensions | Ads that echo the query, a clear promise, a history of good CTRs |
| Ad relevance | The match between the keyword and the ad message | Tight ad groups, the group's words in the headlines |
| Landing page experience | The relevance, usefulness, transparency and speed of the page the ad points to | Page dedicated to the theme, content consistent with the ad, fast, usable on mobile |
Each component is rated “above average”, “average” or “below average”, relative to the advertisers who bid on the same keyword over the past 90 days. The overall rating from 1 to 10 follows from it.
What the Quality Score does, and does not do
- It is not used directly for bidding. Google states that the Quality Score shown is an aggregated, delayed indicator; the ad ranking (Ad Rank) uses quality signals calculated in real time at each auction, according to context (exact query, device, location, time).
- It is correlated with cost. The signals it sums up influence the ranking: for an equal bid, an ad judged more relevant ranks better and pays less per click. Account analyses show CPC gaps of 20 to 50% between keywords at Quality Score 4 and at Quality Score 8 on the same theme.
- It is a diagnostic. Its value is in telling you which of the three components falls short for a given keyword, and therefore where to act.
- It only concerns the Search Network. Performance Max, Display, Shopping and video do not show a Quality Score.
Reading the Quality Score in the account
- Campaigns, Search Network keywords.
- Columns, Modify columns, “Quality Score” section: add “Quality Score”, “Expected click-through rate”, “Ad relevance”, “Landing page experience”, and their historical versions.
- Sort by descending cost: the keywords that spend the most and have a Quality Score below 6 are the priorities.
- Read the failing component for each one: that is the action to take.
A keyword with no Quality Score (a dash) does not have enough recent impressions to be rated; this is common on long tails and is not a problem.
Benchmarks
| QS | How to read it | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 8 to 10 | Excellent relevance; CPC advantage | Maintain, raise the budget if the cost per conversion is good |
| 6 to 7 | Correct; room for improvement on one component | Fix the “average” component |
| 4 to 5 | Weak; CPC penalised | Review the ad and the page; consider moving the keyword into a tighter group |
| 1 to 3 | Keyword badly placed or off topic | Pause, restructure or exclude |
Brand keywords almost always have a high Quality Score; generic or competitor keywords a lower one by nature. Compare keywords in the same family with each other rather than with an account average. The structure that supports a good Quality Score is described in structuring a Google Ads account.
The limits
- A rating aggregated over 90 days, updated with a delay: it does not reflect a recent change.
- An average across all contexts: a keyword can be relevant on mobile and not on desktop, and the rating does not say so.
- The Quality Score is not a goal: an account at Quality Score 9 with too high a cost per conversion loses money; a profitable account at Quality Score 6 makes money. The metrics that decide are in the Google Ads KPIs.
- It says nothing about Performance Max, Display and Shopping campaigns.
Tracking the Quality Score over time
The historical columns (“Quality Score (hist.)”) show the value at the end of the period for each date range, which lets you track the change after an edit. Monthly tracking of how keywords break down by Quality Score (share at 7 and above, share at 5 and below), weighted by cost, is a good indicator of account health. It is read alongside average CPC and cost per conversion: the Quality Score explains, the others decide. Overall steering is covered in the SEA strategy.
How GreenRed helps
Rather than juggling several tools, GreenRed's Google Ads module brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time and tells you which actions come first. You can try it free, with no card, from the Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Quality Score influence cost per click?
Indirectly but clearly: the quality signals it sums up feed into the ad ranking, and a more relevant ad pays less for the same position. The gaps observed run from 20 to 50% of CPC between a keyword at Quality Score 4 and a keyword at Quality Score 8 on the same theme. The Quality Score shown is, however, an aggregated indicator, not the value used at each auction.
What Quality Score should you aim for?
7 or more on the keywords that spend the most; brand keywords naturally reach 9 or 10, while generic and competitor keywords often cap at 5 or 6. Compare keywords in the same family with each other, and keep cost per conversion as the final objective.
Why do some keywords have no Quality Score?
A keyword with no rating (a dash) does not have enough recent impressions and clicks to be assessed, which is common on long tails and new keywords. It is not a problem; the rating appears when the volume is sufficient.
Does the Quality Score exist on Performance Max?
No. The Quality Score is only shown for Search Network keywords. Performance Max, Display, Shopping and video use their own quality signals, which are not exposed. For those campaigns, you judge on result metrics: cost per conversion, ROAS, conversion rate.