Quality Score The Invisible Campaign Killer
If your Google Ads campaigns are underperforming, chances are you’re checking your bids, budget, or targeting. But what if the real culprit is hiding in plain sight, your Quality Score?
Many advertisers overlook how deeply Quality Score affects campaign success. From higher CPCs to lower ad placements, a poor score silently eats away at your results. In this guide, we’ll break down how to identify if Quality Score is hurting your performance and what to do about it. This isn’t guesswork, it’s a methodical approach used by top PPC professionals.
Cracking the Code, What Is Quality Score, Really?
Before you can assess whether your Quality Score is hurting performance, it’s essential to understand what it is and how Google calculates it.
The Three Core Components of Quality Score
Google’s Quality Score is a metric from 1 to 10 that reflects how relevant your ads, keywords, and landing pages are to a user’s search query. It is determined by three main components:
- Expected CTR (Click-Through Rate) Google’s estimate of how likely your ad is to be clicked.
- Ad Relevance How closely your ad matches the user’s search intent.
- Landing Page Experience The relevance, usability, and speed of your landing page.
If you find your Quality Score Status in the Campaign dashboard in Column.This column shows you graded as “Above Average,” “Average,” or “Below Average.” Poor performance in any of these areas drags down your overall Quality Score.
Why It Matters So Much
Google uses Quality Score as part of its ad rank calculation, which directly impacts: Your Ad Position, Low scores may push your ad lower on the SERP or prevent it from showing. Cost-Per-Click (CPC), A higher score can earn discounts; a lower one increases your costs. Eligibility for Ad Extensions, Better scores improve chances of showing sitelinks, callouts, etc. In short, a bad Quality Score means you’re paying more for less exposure. Even with a high bid, you may lose to advertisers with better relevancy.
How to Know If Quality Score Is Dragging You Down
Start With the Data: Where to Find Quality Score
Go to your Google Ads account > Keywords tab and add the following columns:
- Quality Score
- Expected CTR
- Ad Relevance
- Landing Page Experience
Now, sort your keywords. Anything below a Quality Score of 6 deserves attention. But don’t stop there, look at the individual component scores. A keyword with a score of 7 but a “Below Average” ad relevance still needs work.
Pro Tip: Use filters to identify patterns. Are all low scores concentrated in one campaign or ad group? This could point to structural or thematic issues.
Correlate Quality Score with Campaign KPIs
Just seeing a low Quality Score isn’t enough. You need to determine if it’s directly impacting performance. Create a correlation by reviewing these metrics side by side:
- Impression Share Is it low for high-intent keywords?
- CPC Are you paying more than average for certain keywords?
- Average Position / Top Impression Rate Are low-scoring keywords appearing too low on the page?
If you’re consistently outbid or seeing expensive clicks for low-score keywords, that’s your confirmation. Your Quality Score is very likely the anchor holding your campaign back.
How to Improve a Failing Quality Score
Once you’ve identified that Quality Score is affecting your performance, it’s time to take corrective action. This isn’t just about tweaking one ad, it’s about refining your entire campaign ecosystem.
Fix Ad Relevance With Tight Keyword Grouping
The number one cause of low ad relevance is poor campaign structure. Avoid stuffing multiple unrelated keywords into a single ad group. Instead:
- Create Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) or tightly themed ad groups.
- Write a custom ad copy that includes the exact match keyword.
- Match your ad headline to the keyword whenever possible.
This ensures your ads are laser-focused and aligned with what users are searching for.
Improve CTR With Better Copy and Testing
Expected CTR is based partly on historical performance. If your ad hasn’t attracted enough clicks, Google assumes it’s not relevant, even if it is. To improve:
- Use compelling headlines with urgency or benefits.
- Include numbers, symbols, and emotional triggers where appropriate.
- Regularly A/B test different headlines and descriptions.
Don’t forget to rotate ads evenly while testing to collect reliable data before favoring a winner.
Elevate the Landing Page Experience
Even if your ad is perfect, a subpar landing page can crush your score. Make sure your landing page:
- Loads in under 3 seconds.
- Has content that mirrors the ad’s promise and keyword intent.
- Is mobile-friendly.
- Has clear calls-to-action and intuitive navigation.
Insider Tip: Use Google PageSpeed Insights or tools like Hotjar to identify friction points on your landing pages.
Beyond the Numbers, Monitoring and Long-Term Optimization
Quality Score isn’t static. Even keywords with high scores can degrade if user behavior changes, competitors improve, or your ads get stale. Build the following habits into your optimization routine
- Review keyword-level Quality Scores weekly.
- Flag any drops in individual components.
- Compare historical scores to track improvement.
This proactive monitoring helps you fix small issues before they snowball into expensive problems.
Align Quality Score With Business Goals
Remember, Quality Score is a means not an end. Don’t chase a perfect 10 just for the sake of it. Instead, focus on aligning your ad relevance, user experience, and keyword strategy with your actual conversion goals.
Example: A keyword with a score of 7 and a 10% conversion rate might be more valuable than a keyword with a score of 9 and no conversions.
Final Thoughts
You can have the biggest ad budget in the room, but if your Quality Score is low, you’re playing at a disadvantage. By diagnosing how this silent metric impacts your performance and proactively improving each of its components, you put your campaigns on the path to efficiency and profitability.
Don’t let Quality Score be the ghost in your machine. Take control, take action, and let relevance be your ROI multiplier.