Quality Score explained: how to lower your cost per click
Quality Score is Google's 1 to 10 rating of how relevant your keywords, ads and landing pages are. Improve it and you can pay less for the same clicks.
Quality Score is a 1 to 10 rating Google Ads gives each keyword, based on expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. It is a diagnostic tool rather than a direct auction input, but the quality factors behind it influence Ad Rank, so improving them usually lowers your cost per click and improves ad position.
Key takeaways
- Quality Score has three parts: expected CTR, ad relevance and landing page experience.
- It is a diagnostic guide; the live auction uses real-time quality signals.
- Tightly themed ad groups and matching ad copy are the fastest ways to lift relevance.
- Slow, generic landing pages drag scores down, particularly on mobile.
- Focus on keywords with meaningful spend, not every low-volume term.
Two businesses in Dubai bid on the same keyword. One pays noticeably more per click than the other, yet sits lower on the page. The difference is usually quality: how relevant Google judges each advertiser's ad and landing page to be for that search.
Quality Score is Google's way of showing you that judgement. Understanding it will not magically halve your costs, but it points you straight at the parts of your account that are making clicks more expensive than they need to be.
What is Quality Score in Google Ads?
Quality Score is a keyword-level rating from 1 to 10 that estimates the quality of your ads and landing pages compared with other advertisers bidding on the same keyword. You can see it by adding the Quality Score columns to your keywords view.
A keyword needs enough impressions on exact searches before a score appears. If you see a dash, Google does not yet have enough data.
One important nuance: Google describes Quality Score as a diagnostic tool, not an input to the auction. The auction itself uses real-time quality signals for each individual search. In practice, the two usually move together, which is why improving the components tends to lower costs.
What are the three components of Quality Score?
Each component is rated Above average, Average or Below average. Together they explain your overall number and tell you where to act.
| Component | What it measures | Main fixes |
|---|---|---|
| Expected click-through rate | How likely people are to click your ad for this keyword, compared with competitors | Stronger headlines, keyword in the ad, useful assets, better targeting |
| Ad relevance | How closely your ad matches the intent behind the search | Tighter ad groups, ads written for each theme |
| Landing page experience | How relevant, useful and easy to use your landing page is for people who click | Matching content, fast mobile load, clear navigation and contact options |
How does Quality Score affect cost per click?
Higher quality means you can win the same ad position for a lower bid, or a better position for the same bid. That is because Ad Rank weighs quality alongside your bid.
In a second-price style auction, you generally pay just enough to beat the Ad Rank of the advertiser below you. If your quality is strong, the bid needed to beat them is lower. Quality also affects whether your ad is eligible to show at all in top positions and with ad assets such as sitelinks, because each has its own quality threshold.
How do you improve expected click-through rate?
Make the ad the obvious answer to the search. People scan search results quickly on their phones, so the ad that mirrors their words and gives a clear reason to click wins.
- Use the main keyword in at least a few headlines, so it appears when the search matches.
- Add location where it matters: "Emergency Plumber in Sharjah" beats "Professional Plumbing Services".
- Include specifics: response times, opening hours, service areas, starting prices if you publish them.
- Add all relevant assets: sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, call and location assets. They make the ad larger and more useful.
- Remove keywords that attract the wrong people and drag down CTR, and add negatives. Our guide to negative keywords explains how.
How do you improve ad relevance?
Group keywords by theme so each ad can speak directly to them. The most common cause of Below average ad relevance is an ad group mixing unrelated services.
Restructure in three steps
- List your services and intent types. For a clinic: dental implants, teeth whitening, braces, emergency dentist.
- Create one ad group per theme, with 5 to 20 closely related keywords each.
- Write ads specifically for that theme, using its language in headlines and descriptions. A "teeth whitening Dubai" searcher should see a teeth whitening ad, not a general dental clinic ad.
If you advertise in Arabic as well as English, keep separate ad groups per language so the ad language always matches the search.
How do you improve landing page experience?
Send people to a page that answers exactly what they searched for, loads fast on mobile and makes it easy to act. UAE audiences are strongly mobile-first, so test on a phone before a laptop.
- Match the message. An ad for braces should lead to a braces page, not the homepage.
- Load quickly. Compress images, remove heavy sliders and check Core Web Vitals.
- Make contact easy. Visible phone, WhatsApp button and a short form.
- Build trust. Licensing details where relevant, clear address, real photos, transparent policies.
- Avoid interruptions. Intrusive pop-ups and auto-playing video frustrate mobile users.
Our article on landing pages that turn Google Ads clicks into leads covers page structure in more detail.
Common Quality Score myths
A few beliefs cause people to waste time. Clearing them up helps you focus on the changes that make a difference.
- "Pausing low-score keywords hurts the whole account." Quality Score is reported per keyword. Pause keywords because they are unprofitable, not out of fear for an account-wide score.
- "Raising bids improves Quality Score." It does not. Bids and quality are separate parts of Ad Rank.
- "Quality Score is the same everywhere." Real-time quality varies by device, location and the exact search, which is why the reported score is only a guide.
- "Adding the keyword ten times to an ad fixes relevance." Repetition reads badly and hurts click-through rate. Write naturally for the searcher.
Which keywords should you prioritise?
Focus on keywords that spend the most, not every keyword with a low score. A Quality Score of 3 on a keyword that spent AED 20 last month is not worth an afternoon; a 5 on your biggest keyword is.
- Export keywords with Quality Score, the three components and cost for the last 90 days.
- Sort by cost and look at the top 20.
- For each, note which component is Below average.
- Group the fixes: ad copy changes, ad group splits or landing page work.
- Make the changes, then compare using the historical Quality Score columns after a few weeks.
Be wary of chasing a perfect 10. A keyword at 7 that converts profitably is doing its job. Quality Score is a means to lower costs and better leads, not a goal in itself.
Where Upscaleads fits in
Improving Quality Score usually involves both account structure and the website, which is why we look at them together. Our PPC management team handles the account side, and our website development team can build landing pages when needed. Ask us for a review of your top keywords.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Quality Score in Google Ads?
Scores of 7 to 10 are generally considered good, 5 to 6 average and 1 to 4 poor. What matters more is the component breakdown and the keyword's spend. A score of 6 on a profitable, high-volume keyword may be worth improving, while a low score on a keyword with little spend may not justify the effort.
Why does my keyword show no Quality Score?
Google shows a dash instead of a score when a keyword has not received enough impressions on searches that exactly match it. New keywords, low-volume terms and keywords mainly matching variant searches often have no score. It will appear once the keyword gathers enough data, which can take days or weeks.
Does Quality Score affect Performance Max campaigns?
Quality Score as a reported metric applies to keywords in Search campaigns. Performance Max does not show keyword Quality Scores, but ad quality, relevance and landing page experience still influence how its ads perform in auctions. Strong assets and relevant, fast landing pages help every campaign type.
How long does it take to improve Quality Score?
Changes to ads and landing pages can influence performance within days, but the reported Quality Score updates as new data accumulates. Most advertisers see meaningful movement within a few weeks for keywords with regular traffic. Low-volume keywords take longer because Google needs more impressions to reassess them.
