{"id":23960,"date":"2026-05-22T13:37:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T11:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ddigitals.net\/?p=23960"},"modified":"2026-05-27T15:14:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T13:14:37","slug":"quality-score-google-ads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddigitals.net\/en\/blog\/marketing-digital\/quality-score-google-ads\/","title":{"rendered":"Quality Score Google Ads: what it is, how it works and how to improve it to pay less per click"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you manage campaigns in Google Ads<\/strong>, At some point you've probably seen this number in your account and passed it by. Or worse: you haven't even activated it in your metrics table and aren't seeing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are talking about the Quality Score<\/strong> o Quality Score in English, the score that Google assigns to each of your keywords in search campaigns and which has a direct impact on how much you pay per click and in which position your ads appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At DDigitals we have experience managing large Google Ads accounts.<\/strong> And if there is one resource that we see recurrently underused, it is this one. Not because it is difficult to understand, but because nobody has explained it properly. In this article we are going to remedy this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Google Ads Quality Score?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Quality Score<\/strong> is a score from 1 to 10 that Google assigns to each keyword within your search campaigns. The higher the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it's not just a note. It's Google's way of telling you how relevant it thinks your ad is to the person who just did that search. And that, as you'll see below, changes absolutely everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the Google Ads auction works (and why the Quality Score changes everything)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is a widespread belief that In Google Ads, whoever puts the most money on the table wins. <\/strong>This is not the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What really determines where your advertisement appears is the Ad Rank<\/a>, which is calculated as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ad Rank = Maximum Bid \u00d7 Quality Score \u00d7 Expected impact of ad formats<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that an advertiser with a lower bid can win the position over another advertiser. with a higher bid if it has a higher Quality Score.<\/strong> And when it comes to the actual CPC (what you end up paying), something equally interesting happens: The higher your Quality Score, the lower the cost per click you are actually billed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to understand in depth how Google measures the real value of each interaction in your campaigns, we also recommend you to read our article on Improved conversions on Google Ads<\/a>, where we explain how to make sure that no conversion goes unregistered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short: improving your Quality Score doesn't just improve your ranking. It saves you money on every click.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What factors determine the Quality Score?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Google calculates this score on the basis of three variables. None is more important than the other two. You have to work on all of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expected CTR (Expected Click-Through Rate)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Google predicts whether your ad will receive clicks based on the performance history of that keyword. If it does not generate clicks when it appears, Google interprets that it is not what the user is looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ad without a clear value proposition, a headline that engages or a call to action that invites you to click, is going to have an Low CTR<\/strong>. And a low CTR drag the Quality Score downwards.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relevance of the announcement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Does your ad match exactly what the user is looking for? If someone types \u00abrunning shoes for women\u00bb and your ad says \u00abDiscover our collection of running shoes\u00bb, there is a relevance mismatch that Google penalises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ad copy has to connect directly with the user's search intention. And for this it is essential to segment the ad groups well and write specific messages for each one, instead of using a generic ad for all keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landing Page Experience (Landing Page Experience)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is by far the most overlooked factor. It is also the one that has the most negative impact when it is not optimised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn't matter if the ad is perfect: if the user arrives at a landing page<\/a> If you have content that has nothing to do with what you were looking for or that doesn't work well on mobile, Google detects this and penalises your score. Google knows. Google measures it. And Google charges you for it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The landing page has to deliver on the promise of the ad. Quick, relevant and easy to navigate. No exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to improve the Quality Score in Google Ads? Concrete actions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you understand what Google measures, the next question is obvious: how do you improve that score? Here are the actions that have the most impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Structure your campaigns and ad groups well<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Having 50 keywords in the same ad group with a single text for all of them is one of the most common mistakes we see in the accounts we audit.. And one of the most damaging to the Quality Score.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relevance comes from structure. Each ad group should contain keywords with the same search intent, and the ads in that group should match exactly that intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technique SKAG (Single Keyword Ad Groups)<\/strong> is an option that, although it may seem extreme, allows you to maximise relevance for highly competitive keywords. And if you're also exploring automated campaign models such as Performance Max<\/a>, Remember that working the structure well is still just as important, as the Quality Score also influences these environments.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Write more relevant ads<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The copy of your ads is not a formality. It is what decides whether the user clicks or moves on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Include the main keyword in the headline. Take advantage of the three headlines available in responsive search ads. Use descriptions with a real value proposition, not generic phrases that could be copied by any competitor in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And test systematically. Launch variants, measure which one generates the best CTR and stick with the one that works. Ad optimisation is not a one-off job: it's an ongoing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Optimise your landing page<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We have said it before, but it deserves its own section: the landing page is the most neglected link and the one that most affects the user experience (and therefore the Quality Score).<\/p>\n\n\n\n