Quality score (commonly confused with “Ad strength – these are not the same thing!) is one of the most important performance indicators in your Google ads account, yet many advertisers either overlook it or misunderstand how it works.

Quality Score is a mark out of 10 at keyword level, measuring of how relevant and useful your ads, keywords and landing pages are to someone seeing your ad. The scale itself works with 1 being very poor and 10 being excellent. The higher your Quality Score, the more likely you are to win ad auctions at a lower cost per click, because Google rewards relevance.

In short, Quality Score matters because it influences how much you pay and how often your ads show.

The three elements of Quality Score

Google determines Quality Score using three core factors:

1. Expected click through rate (CTR)
2. Ad relevance
3. Landing page experience

Each of these is given a rating of below average, average or above average. Together, they combine to produce the numerical Quality Score that you see in your account.

Expected click through rate

This measures how likely Google thinks it is that someone will click your ad when they see it. Google compares your ad’s historical CTR with the performance of other advertisers in similar positions.

What constitutes good here?

• Ads that match search intent closely tend to achieve above-average CTRs.
• Strong use of keywords in headlines can help signal relevance.
• Including clear calls to action makes it obvious why a user should click.
• Using all available ad assets (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, images) helps ads stand out. Remember, these assets make your ad more attractive and bigger, so naturally improves the CTR Google thinks it may achieve.

Expected CTR is essentially Google’s prediction of whether your ad looks appealing enough to attract clicks.

Ad relevance

Ad relevance looks at how closely your ad matches the searcher’s query. If someone types “buy running shoes online” and your ad headline says “Shop running shoes online today”, that is highly relevant. If your ad says “Sports equipment and gear”, it is less specific and therefore less relevant.

What constitutes good here?

• Mirroring the keyword in your ad copy.
• Grouping keywords tightly in ad groups so the ad copy can be tailored.
• Avoiding overly broad ads that try to cover too many keyword themes.

The closer the alignment between keyword, ad copy and user intent, the higher your ad relevance will be.

Landing page experience

This measures what happens after someone clicks your ad. Google wants to ensure users land on pages that load quickly, are easy to navigate and provide useful, relevant information.

What constitutes good here?

• Fast page load times on mobile and desktop. You can check your loadtimes using Pagespeed Insights.
• A clear and user-friendly layout.
• Content that directly answers the searcher’s query, with content above the fold directly related to user searches.
• Transparent information, such as return policies (for eCommerce) or contact details.
• Pages optimised for mobile.

A good landing page experience makes users stay longer, engage more and ultimately convert.

How to influence Quality Score

Improving expected click through rate

Expected CTR is about how attractive and relevant your ads appear compared to competitors. To improve it:

• Write compelling ad copy with clear benefits and calls to action.
• Include your main keyword in headlines to closely match user searches.
• Use responsive search ads to test multiple headline and description variations.
• Take advantage of all available ad assets (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, price extensions) to make your ad stand out and give users more reasons to click.
• Continuously test and refine ads based on performance data.

Improving ad relevance

Ad relevance depends on how closely your ad copy matches the searcher’s intent. To optimise it:

• Organise campaigns into tightly themed ad groups with only closely related keywords.
• Align ad copy directly with the keyword. If the keyword is “buy coffee beans online”, include that phrase or very close variations in your ad.
• Avoid grouping too many different keyword themes together, as this can lead to generic ads.
• Use negative keywords to prevent your ads from appearing for irrelevant searches.

Improving landing page experience

Google wants to deliver a good experience after someone clicks. To improve your landing page quality:

• Direct users to the most relevant page for their query, not just the homepage.
• Ensure the page loads quickly, especially on mobile.
• Make sure the content on the page is directly related to the ad and keyword.
• Design the page to be user-friendly, with a clear layout and visible calls to action.
• Provide trust signals such as reviews, contact information, and clear policies.
• Test mobile usability regularly, as a large share of search traffic comes from mobile devices.

How to find Quality Score in your Google Ads account

Quality Score is available at keyword level. To find it:

1. Log into your Google Ads account and go to the Keywords tab.
2. Click Columns, then Modify columns.
3. Under Quality Score, tick the boxes for Quality Score, Landing page experience, Ad relevance and Expected CTR.
4. Apply changes, and you will now see Quality Score and its components in your keyword table and how you’re scoring.

It is a good habit to monitor these metrics regularly, especially when making campaign optimisations.

Note:If you can’t find “Quality Score” in your column options when you’re modifying, double check to make sure you’re looking at your keyword report first as this is the only report Quality Score will show up on.

What scores should you be aiming for?

A Quality Score of 7 or above is generally considered strong. Scores of 8 to 10 indicate excellent relevance and performance.

Anything below 6 suggests that something needs improvement, whether that is ad copy, keyword alignment or landing page quality.

It is worth noting that some industries with highly competitive keywords (such as legal services or insurance) may find it more challenging to achieve consistently high scores, but the principles remain the same.

How long does it take for Quality Score to update?

When you make changes to improve ads, keywords or landing pages, Quality Score does not update instantly. Google’s systems need to collect enough data from impressions and clicks to reassess performance.

In most cases, you can expect to see changes reflected within a few days to a couple of weeks. The exact timing depends on how much traffic your keywords generate. Higher volume keywords will update faster, while lower volume terms may take longer.

Why Quality Score is not the only metric that matters

Quality Score is important, but it is not the sole measure of success. You should balance Quality Score improvements with your actual campaign goals, whether that is conversions, sales or leads. A keyword with a Quality Score of 6 that drives strong, profitable conversions is often more valuable than a keyword with a Quality Score of 10 but little conversion activity.