If two businesses bid on the exact same keyword in Google Ads, you’d assume the higher bidder wins the better position. It doesn’t work that way. Google factors in something called Quality Score, and that score can mean the difference between paying $3 per click and paying $8 for the same keyword.
If your Google Ads costs feel higher than they should be, or your ads keep showing in lower positions despite a decent budget, Quality Score is very likely part of the problem. The good news is that it’s something you can improve, and the payoff is real: lower costs, better positions, and more leads for the same spend.
As a certified Google Partner agency with over $10M in managed ad spend for Australian businesses, we see Quality Score shaping campaign performance every day. This guide covers what it is, how to check yours, and what to do about it.
Google Ads Quality Score: Quick Summary
- What it is: A 1 to 10 rating Google assigns to each keyword in your account, measuring how relevant your ads and landing pages are to users
- The three components: Expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience
- Why it matters: Higher Quality Scores reduce your cost per click and improve your ad position. Lower scores increase costs and can prevent your ads from showing at all.
- The benchmark: A Quality Score of 7 or above is considered strong. Below 5 and you’re paying a premium.
- Biggest quick win: Aligning your ad copy closely with the keywords you’re targeting and the landing page you’re sending traffic to
Not sure what your Quality Score looks like? Request a free Google Ads review and we’ll check it for you. Most businesses we audit have at least 3 to 5 keywords where a quick fix would lower their costs immediately.
What Is Quality Score?
Quality Score is Google’s way of rating how relevant and useful your ad experience is to the person searching. It’s a diagnostic score from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent), assigned to each keyword in your Google Ads account.
Think of it as Google’s report card for your ads. A high score tells Google that when someone searches for a particular keyword, your ad is relevant, your landing page delivers on the promise, and users are likely to engage. A low score tells Google the opposite, and Google responds by charging you more or showing your ad less often (or not at all).
Quality Score exists because Google wants its search results (including ads) to be useful. If Google let any advertiser dominate the top positions simply by outbidding everyone, the ad experience would deteriorate and users would stop clicking. Quality Score ensures that relevance, not just budget, determines who shows up. You can read Google’s own explanation in their Quality Score documentation.
For a broader understanding of how Google Ads campaigns work, check out our Google Ads foundations guide.
The Three Components of Quality Score
Google calculates Quality Score based on three distinct factors. Each is rated as “Below Average,” “Average,” or “Above Average,” and together they produce your 1 to 10 score.
Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR)
This is Google’s prediction of how likely someone is to click on your ad when it appears for a given keyword. It’s based on the historical performance of that keyword in your account and across the platform.
In practical terms, expected CTR reflects how compelling your ad is. If your headline grabs attention, your description matches the searcher’s intent, and your ad stands out from the competition, your expected CTR will be higher.
What it looks like in practice: A Brisbane plumber bidding on “blocked drain Brisbane” with an ad headline of “Blocked Drain? Brisbane Plumber On Call 24/7” will have a higher expected CTR than a generic ad reading “Professional Plumbing Services.”
Ad Relevance
Ad relevance measures how closely your ad copy matches the intent behind the keyword. Google is checking whether your ad actually addresses what the person is looking for.
This component penalises a common shortcut: using one generic ad to cover a wide range of loosely related keywords. If you’re bidding on “emergency electrician Brisbane” but your ad talks broadly about “home improvement services,” your ad relevance will suffer.
What it looks like in practice: Tight ad groups with closely related keywords and ad copy written specifically for those keywords consistently score higher on ad relevance than broad, catch-all campaigns.
Landing Page Experience
This measures how relevant, useful, and easy to navigate your landing page is for someone who clicks your ad. Google evaluates load speed, mobile-friendliness, content relevance to the ad and keyword, and overall user experience.
Here’s where your website quality has a direct impact on your ad costs. A slow, generic homepage is a poor landing page for a specific ad. A fast, focused page that directly addresses what the ad promised will score significantly better.
What it looks like in practice: A Brisbane accounting firm running ads for “small business tax returns Brisbane” should send traffic to a page specifically about small business tax returns, not their generic homepage. If that page loads fast, works perfectly on mobile, and makes it easy to request a quote, the landing page experience will be strong.
This is one of the reasons we build conversion-focused websites with ad performance in mind. Your website isn’t just a branding exercise; it directly affects what you pay for Google Ads.
Here’s what Quality Score looks like inside a real Google Ads account. The difference between a strong and weak score directly affects what you pay per click.
How Quality Score Affects Your CPC and Ad Position
Quality Score isn’t just a number sitting in your account. It directly influences the two things that matter most to your bottom line: how much you pay per click and where your ad appears on the page.
The CPC impact
Google uses Quality Score as a multiplier in its ad auction. The formula is straightforward:
Ad Rank = Max CPC Bid x Quality Score
This means a higher Quality Score lets you achieve the same (or better) ad position while paying less per click. The numbers are significant:
- Quality Score of 10: roughly 50% discount on CPC compared to the average
- Quality Score of 7: roughly 29% discount
- Quality Score of 5: no discount or penalty (this is the baseline)
- Quality Score of 3: roughly 67% increase in CPC
- Quality Score of 1: roughly 400% increase in CPC
To put that in real terms: if a keyword would normally cost $4 per click at a Quality Score of 5, that same keyword would cost you about $2 at a Quality Score of 10, or about $20 at a Quality Score of 1. Over hundreds or thousands of clicks per month, that difference is enormous.
The ad position impact
Higher Quality Scores also mean higher Ad Rank, which determines your position on the page. This means you can outrank a competitor who is bidding more than you, simply because your Quality Score is stronger.
On the flip side, if your Quality Score drops below a certain threshold, Google may stop showing your ads entirely for that keyword, regardless of how high you bid. You’ll see a status of “Rarely shown (low Quality Score)” in your account.
For a detailed look at how these costs add up across a full campaign, see our guide to Google Ads management costs in Australia.
Here’s what that looks like in a real Google Ads account. The difference in cost per click between a Quality Score of 7 and a Quality Score of 3 is significant, and it compounds across every click your campaign generates.
How to Check Your Quality Score
Checking Quality Score takes about 30 seconds, but most advertisers never look at it. Here’s how:
- Open your Google Ads account
- Click “Campaigns” in the left menu, then “Audiences, keywords, and content,” then “Search keywords”
- Click the columns icon (three vertical lines) in the upper right corner of the keyword table
- Expand the “Quality Score” section
- Select “Quality Score,” “Expected CTR,” “Ad Relevance,” and “Landing Page Experience”
- Click “Apply”
You’ll now see the overall Quality Score plus the three individual component ratings for every keyword in your account. Look for any keyword scoring below 5, as that’s where your budget is being wasted.
Pro tip: You can also add the historical columns (Quality Score hist., etc.) to track how your scores have changed over time. If scores are trending downward, something in your campaign or landing page has shifted and needs attention.
Want us to do this for you? Request a free Google Ads review and our team will audit your Quality Scores and show you exactly where the opportunities are.
How to Improve Your Quality Score
Quality Score isn’t a black box. Improving it comes down to better alignment between three things: your keywords, your ads, and your landing pages. Here’s how to tackle each component.
Improving Expected CTR
- Write headlines that match the keyword. If someone searches “roof repair Brisbane,” your headline should include those words, not a generic “Home Services Company.”
- Use all available ad extensions. Sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and call extensions make your ad larger and more compelling, which increases click-through rate.
- Test multiple ad variations. Run at least 3 to 4 responsive search ad variations per ad group and let Google optimize toward the best performers.
Improving Ad Relevance
- Organise your campaigns into tight ad groups. Group closely related keywords together and write ad copy specific to each group. A “blocked drain” ad group should have different ads from a “hot water system” ad group, even if both fall under “plumbing.”
- Mirror the searcher’s language in your ad copy. Use the actual words and phrases your customers type, not your internal industry jargon.
- Review your Search Terms report regularly. If your ads are triggering irrelevant searches, add negative keywords and tighten your targeting.
Improving Landing Page Experience
- Send traffic to specific, relevant pages. Every ad group should point to a landing page that directly matches the ad’s promise. Generic homepages almost always underperform.
- Prioritise page speed. If your page takes longer than 3 seconds to load on mobile, you’re losing both visitors and Quality Score points. Compress images, minimise code, and use quality hosting.
- Make the conversion path obvious. Your landing page should have a clear call-to-action, easy-to-find contact information, and minimal distractions.
- Ensure full mobile responsiveness. Over 60% of Australian ad clicks happen on mobile. If your landing page doesn’t work perfectly on a phone, it’s dragging down your score.
If your landing pages are the weak link, our web design services can build pages specifically designed to improve both Quality Score and conversion rates. See our PPC management packages for how we approach landing pages as part of campaign management.
Common Quality Score Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
We audit Google Ads accounts regularly for Australian businesses, and these are the issues we see most often.
One ad group trying to do too much. Stuffing 50 loosely related keywords into a single ad group with one set of ads. The ads can’t possibly be relevant to all those keywords, so ad relevance tanks. Break them into tightly themed groups of 5 to 15 keywords each.
Sending all traffic to the homepage. Your homepage is designed to serve all visitors. An ad for a specific service needs a page built for that specific service. This is one of the fastest Quality Score wins available.
Ignoring the Search Terms report. If you’re not checking which actual search queries are triggering your ads, you’re probably paying for irrelevant clicks. Irrelevant clicks hurt your CTR, which hurts your Quality Score, which increases your cost. It’s a downward spiral.
Never testing ad copy. Running the same ads for months without testing alternatives. Google rewards freshness and performance. Test new headlines, descriptions, and calls-to-action regularly.
Neglecting page speed and mobile experience. A landing page that loads in 6 seconds on a phone will drag your landing page experience score down, no matter how relevant the content is. Speed is a non-negotiable foundation.
Confusing Quality Score with other Google metrics. Quality Score is not the same as Ad Strength (which measures responsive ad best practices) or Optimisation Score (which measures how many Google recommendations you’ve accepted). Quality Score is the one that directly impacts your costs.
Get a Free Google Ads Review
If your Google Ads costs feel higher than they should be, Quality Score is one of the first places to look. Even small improvements can deliver significant savings across your entire account.
We’ll review your campaigns, check your Quality Scores across all keywords, and show you exactly where you’re overpaying and what to fix. Request My Free Google Ads Review
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