Improving your Google Ads Quality Score comes down to three levers: expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. Tighten your ad group structure, write ads that match search intent, and send clicks to pages built for that exact keyword. A specialist Google Ads service manages all three together, but here are seven proven ways you can start lifting your score yourself.
What Quality Score Actually Measures
Quality Score is a 1–10 rating Google assigns to each keyword in your account. It’s built from three components, each rated “below average,” “average,” or “above average”: expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience. A higher score doesn’t just look good on a report; it directly lowers your cost-per-click. It improves your ad position because Google rewards accounts that give searchers a relevant, useful experience.
Remember, this is a diagnostic tool, not a target to chase for its own sake. The real goal is the underlying experience it measures: a better-matched ad and a landing page that actually answers the search.
How to Improve Your Google Ads Quality Score: 7 Proven Ways
Google Ads Quality Score improves when your keywords, ad copy, and landing page closely match what people are searching for. Here are seven practical ways to strengthen that alignment.
1. Build Tight, Single-Theme Ad Groups
Broad ad groups with 20+ unrelated keywords dilute relevance. Split keywords into small, tightly themed groups (by product, service, or intent) so every keyword in the group can be served by the same ad. This is the single biggest lever for ad relevance, and it’s usually the first thing worth fixing before touching ad copy.
2. Write Ad Copy That Mirrors Search Intent
Your headline and description should reflect the exact language a searcher used, not generic brand messaging.
Weak: “Quality plumbing services since 1998.”
Strong: “Emergency Plumber Parramatta Same-Day Callout.”
The second version speaks directly to the search term, which lifts both ad relevance and the likelihood of a click.
3. Test and Rotate Ads Continuously
Run 2–3 ads per ad group and let the data decide the winner. Pause underperforming ads regularly; a high-impression, low-click ad drags the whole ad group’s score down. Ongoing testing is how you steadily improve your click-through rate over time, which feeds directly into your expected CTR component.
4. Match Every Landing Page to Keyword Intent
Sending all traffic to your homepage is one of the fastest ways to tank landing page experience. Each ad group should point to a page that answers that specific search with matching headlines, fast load times, and a clear next step. This is also where you’ll see the biggest gains in conversion rate, since a page built for the search is doing double duty: lifting Quality Score and turning clicks into leads.
5. Fix Page Speed and Mobile Experience
A slow or clunky mobile page hurts landing page experience even when the content itself is right. Run your key landing pages through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and PageSpeed Insights, and fix anything flagged as a major issue; compressed images and reduced third-party scripts usually deliver the fastest wins.
6. Add Negative Keywords to Cut Irrelevant Clicks
Irrelevant search terms drag your CTR and relevance down even when your ads are well written. Reviewing the search terms report weekly and adding negatives is a quick win; it’s often the hidden reason behind clicks but no conversions, because unqualified traffic is clicking through but never matching what the page offers.
7. Prioritise by Impact, Not Alphabetically
Don’t review Quality Score keyword-by-keyword. Weight it by impressions and spend, and start with the ad groups where a small improvement moves the most budget. This keeps the process sustainable instead of overwhelming, and it’s the difference between a one-off clean-up and a repeatable monthly workflow.
Above Average vs Below Average: Why the Gap Matters
An ad group sitting at “below average” across all three components isn’t just underperforming quietly; it’s actively paying more per click for a worse position than an “above average” competitor bidding the same amount. The gap compounds: lower CTR means fewer signals for Google to reward, which keeps the score low, which keeps the CPC high. Breaking that cycle is why structural fixes (ad groups, landing pages) usually outperform copy tweaks alone.
Why This Actually Matters for Spend
Quality Score isn’t a vanity metric. As your score climbs, Google requires a lower bid to beat the advertiser below you in the auction, which is one of the clearest ways to lower your cost per click without cutting your budget, and over time it also helps reduce your cost per lead across the whole account.
The Realistic Limitation
A keyword with a Quality Score of 4 that’s converting well is still worth keeping; revenue matters more than the number itself. Use the score as a signal of where to improve your ads and pages, not as a pass/fail grade on the keyword.
Next Step
If your account has several keywords stuck at “below average,” the fastest fix is usually structural, not another round of ad copy tweaks. A proper account audit will show exactly which ad groups are costing you the most in wasted spend.
How to improve your quality score in Google Ads?
Focus on the three components together: build tight ad groups so ads match keywords, test ad copy to lift CTR, and send traffic to landing pages built for that specific search rather than trying to fix the u0022scoreu0022 directly.
What is a good Quality Score?
For non-branded keywords, 7 out of 10 is generally considered good. Branded terms usually sit at 9–10.
Does Quality Score affect my ad position?
Yes. Quality Score is one part of Ad Rank, alongside your bid. A higher score can move your ad up without increasing your bid.
Should I delete keywords with low Quality Scores?
Not if they’re converting. Revenue and conversions matter more than the score itself; use it to guide fixes, not deletions.
How often does Quality Score update?
The visible score updates regularly, sometimes throughout the day for high-volume keywords. Low-volume keywords may take a week or longer to show a change.
