SEA / Paid Search

Quality Score

Quality Score is Google Ads' 1–10 diagnostic of expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience.

In detail

It is a diagnostic, not a metric to optimise for its own sake. Low components point at the actual problem: wrong keyword grouping, mismatched copy, or a landing page that does not deliver.

Better quality generally means better positions at lower cost.

Example

An ad group covering twenty loosely related keywords scoring poorly on ad relevance.

Why it matters

It tells you where relevance breaks between query, ad and page.

Common mistakes

Raising bids to compensate for low relevance.
Sending every ad group to the same generic page.

Related guides

The Complete Google Ads & SEA Guide
Guide
Paid search from first principles: account structure, keywords and match types, ads, landing pages, bidding, tracking and profitability.

Related terms

Ad Rank
Ad Rank is the value Google uses to decide whether your ad shows and in which position.
CPC
CPC (cost per click) is the amount you pay for one click on an ad.
CTR
CTR (click-through rate) is the share of impressions that resulted in a click.