Quality Score (What Matters and What Does Not)
If you know SEO
Quality Score is closer to "SERP relevance signals" than a single metric. Treat it as a diagnostic, not a KPI.
What Quality Score is used for
Quality signals influence:
- eligibility (whether you can show)
- Ad Rank (position)
- price (what you pay per click)
What actually moves Quality Score
- Expected CTR (does your ad earn clicks for that intent?)
- Ad relevance (does the ad match the query intent?)
- Landing page experience (does the page satisfy the promise quickly?)
What does NOT fix Quality Score
- Increasing budget
- Random bid changes
- Adding more keywords without structure
Beginner safe improvements
- Split intent properly (do not mix brand/non-brand).
- Write ads that mirror the exact intent language.
- Use a focused landing page (one intent, one offer).
- Remove junk traffic with negative keywords.
Mini-lab
Take one ad group and answer:
- What is the single intent?
- Does the ad headline include that intent?
- Does the landing page headline confirm that intent in 5 seconds?
Acceptance criteria:
- Intent is one sentence.
- Ad and page headline match.
- CTA is obvious above the fold.
Next Step
Continue to Metrics for SEO People (CTR, CVR, CPA, ROAS).