What is Google Adwords Quality Score?

If you’ve ever run an ad campaign using Google Adwords, you would have likely seen a field stating your Quality Score beside the keywords you’ve chosen.  Or better yet, had an ad not show/get denied due to a poor quality score.  Quality Score is your friend, the better your score, the more Google rewards you.

Let me show you how it works:

A quality score is Google’s way of assessing the relevancy of your ad, your keywords and the website you’re sending your clickers to.  It’s a ranking out of 10.  It’s a complicated formula that Google keeps under lock and key.  Google Adwords uses your quality score as way to gauge the positioning of your ad versus  your competitions.  Here’s how it works.

Position = Cost Per Click x Quality Score

So what does this mean? Well, let’s say for example that you have a specific keyword that’s ranking in the average quality score range – let’s say 7.  Each click on this keyword is costing you $1. Your competition is also after the same keyword, yet their quality score is a 5. To get the same positioning as you, they would have to pay $1.40 per click.

When you look at the math, the formula becomes clear.

Your ad: $1 (CPC) x 7 (Quality Score) = 7

Your competition’s ad: $1.40 (CPC) x 5 (Quality Score) = 7

Ultimately, Google rewards you with a lower CPC because the keywords you’re targeting are deemed more relevant based on Google’s algorithm.  The more relevant your keywords are to your ads and your landing page – the cheaper you will pay for clicks, and the better positioning you will get.

What does this mean to you?

Take a look at your Adwords campaign – if you have quality scores in the 2-5 range.  Dump those keywords and stick to the ones deemed most relevant.  Those 2-5 range quality scores are likely driving your budget up for useless clicks.