PPC glossary

Quality Score (QS)

Quality Score is a diagnostic rating from 1 to 10 in Google Ads that estimates the quality of a keyword's ads and landing page compared with other advertisers. It is built from three components: expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance and landing page experience, each rated above average, average or below average.

Reviewed by Gareth Hoyle, Managing Director
Last reviewed 31 October 2026

What are the three components?

Google rates each component by comparing the ad with other advertisers' ads. The overall score is a summary of all three.

Expected clickthrough rate: the likelihood that the ad will be clicked when shown
Ad relevance: how closely the ad matches the intent behind the search
Landing page experience: how relevant and useful the landing page is to the person who clicked

Does Quality Score affect what you pay?

Not directly. Google says Quality Score is not used at auction time to determine Ad Rank. It is an aggregated estimate of performance in past auctions, reported at keyword level.

The qualities it measures do matter. Ad Rank combines the bid with auction-time quality, which Google says can include predicted clickthrough rate, how well the ad matches the search and the experience on the landing page. A keyword with a low Quality Score is a sign that the ad is likely to lose auctions or pay more to win them, so the score works best as a warning light rather than a target.

How to improve it

Start with whichever component is rated below average, because that is where the gap is.

Group closely related keywords so each ad can speak to one need
Use the searcher's own wording in headlines
Send clicks to a page that answers the search, not the homepage
Make the landing page fast and easy to use on a phone

Example

A Manchester locksmith bidding on 'emergency locksmith' sends every click to its homepage, and the keyword shows a Quality Score of 4 with landing page experience rated below average. A dedicated page stating 24-hour call-outs, response times, prices and a click-to-call number addresses the weak component directly.