You may have heard the term Quality Score when discussing Google AdWords but not know exactly what it means. Quality Score is a large part of the AdWords auction. The AdWords auction is the process that ranks the best ads to appear at the top of a Google search. The auction decides which ads will be displayed for a specific search, in which order those ads will appear on the page, and how much the advertiser will pay for that placement. Having a high quality score is one factor that will help your ad show in a top position.
Your quality score can range from 1 (the worst) to 10 (the best). It is actually very difficult to get a perfect 10/10 score on your AdWords account, but it is not impossible. Among the many benefits of having a high quality score are better ad ranking and lower CPC (cost per click) and cost per conversion.
Google bases your quality score on a number of variables:
- Ad relevance: how well your ad copy relates to your selected keywords and landing page copy
- Landing page experience: ease of landing page navigation and relevance to users’ search queries
- Click-through rate (CTR): the expected CTR for each keyword in your ad group
- Keyword relevance: how well your chosen keywords relate to your ad and landing page copy
- Account historical performance: how well your account has performed in the past
Other variables that can help your quality score and ad rank is including the use of extensions such as sitelinks, call extensions, location extensions, and callout extensions.
How You Can Improve It
Ad Copy
- Highlight what makes you stand out from your competition.
- Use a call to action to entice users to click on your ad and let them know what they can do on your landing page once they do.
- Use copy that promotes a sale or current promotional offers.
- Use ASCII characters and registered trademarks to show credibility and trustworthiness.
- Use an exclamation mark in your call to action (CTA).
- Include words that users often search as keywords in your ad copy. If your ad copy says exactly what they searched, they are more likely to click on your ad.
Landing Page Experience
- Offer informational, useful, and relevant content that is unique to your site. The content on your landing page should be similar to your keywords and your ad copy. You should be specific as you can. A great example would be if someone searched, “2-door sports car” and clicked an ad that took them to a page with exactly what they are looking for (not a general “all car models” page).
- Create credibility and trustworthiness on your landing page. Openly and clearly share information about your company and what your product/service is before asking a user to fill out your form. Make your contact information easy to find.
- Make the design of your landing page simple and organized so it is easy for users to navigate.
- Avoid pop-ups.
- Add a link to your logo on the landing page that directs users to your homepage.
- Create a mobile version of your landing page, and make sure your entire site is mobile friendly.
- Make sure your landing page loading time isn’t too long, whether on desktop or mobile.
Click-Through Rate
- Not only is CTR the most important factor for your ad, but it is also the hardest to change. You can’t control whether someone clicks, but the best way to improve your CTR is to make sure the ad copy is relevant to what users are searching for. Users won’t click on your ads if they don’t speak to their needs.
Other Ways to Improve Quality Score
- Conduct research to determine which keywords are most relevant to your target audience and best fit your company’s industry and goals.
- Split up your keywords into several new ad groups with about 10–15 keywords each, and create 2–3 ads per group that use those keywords in the copy. The content of your landing page should specifically relate to those keywords.
- Add negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches that would waste your budget.
Making these changes will help to improve your quality score over time. Unfortunately, your quality score won’t change overnight; it will take time for your adjustments to take effect. If you are new to AdWords and need assistance with your account, Blue Frog Dynamic Marketing can help you improve your quality score. Contact us today for a consultation!