Every advertiser has undoubtedly heard of the quality score. Logical, because this figure can indeed make the difference between failure or success.

The Quality Score is an important measure for Google to show how valuable your ad is.

Google Ads is a handy and effective marketing tool, if properly applied. A place at the top of the search network is the ultimate goal of every advertiser.

Yet not every advertiser is assured of a place in the search network , let alone a first place.

Only the best ads are shown in the paid Google search results. A whole lot of other advertisements do not reach the ad auction.

Cause? A low quality score is often the underlying problem . This score is an important parameter in the ad auction.

So it's best to ensure that you invest in high quality scores if you want to get results from your Google Ads campaigns.

In this blog article we already give you a number of tips & tricks to structurally raise your quality score to a higher level.

What is the quality score and why is it important?

Quality Score is, as the word suggests, an estimate of the quality of your ads , keywords, and landing pages.

It is a review from Google that indicates the relevance and quality of your advertising campaigns.

A high quality score means that the Google Ads system assumes that your ads are relevant and useful to users.

Higher quality ads are rewarded with a higher ad position and can lead to lower costs.

Vice versa, a low quality score leads to higher costs and a lower advertising position. A scenario in which you absolutely do not want to end up as an advertiser.

Quality Score is a number between 1 and 10 that is based on three important parameters : the expected clickthrough rate (CTR ) , the advertising relevance , and the user's experience on the landing page .

These basic elements form the basis for raising and improving your quality score.

Did you think that only the present counted? Then you are wrong. The quality score is also based on performance data from the past.

When Google Ads calculates your quality score, a cumulative estimate is made of all performance in ad auctions.

A high quality score is therefore important for several reasons:

On the one hand, it is a decisive parameter in the ad auction . On the other hand, a high quality score ensures cost-effective advertising campaigns.

How to improve your quality score?

To improve your quality score, it is important to take into account the three important basic elements on which the quality score is based:

  • The expected clickthrough rate or CTR
  • The advertising relevance
  • The experience on the landing page

Together these factors determine your quality score.

We therefore based ourselves primarily on these three elements and did not take into account other optimization options that indirectly lead to a higher quality score.

# 1 Create specific ad groups and ads

Although it is generally recommended to use 15-20 different keywords per ad group, this is not always the best advice to assume.

This theory is already outdated and will not benefit your quality score.

Suppose you have created an 'isolation work' ad group. This ad group contains 15-20 different keywords ranging from roof insulation to floor insulation.

You soon notice that it becomes difficult to write an ad that closely matches each keyword in your ad group.

For example, someone who is specifically looking for floor insulation may not be interested in insulating his roof and vice versa.

The Quality Score assesses the quality of your keywords. Not the quantity . Less is more in this case.

The smaller your ad groups , the higher your quality score . The strategic alternative that fits in perfectly with this? SKAGs.

The abbreviation stands for Single Keyword Ad Groups : ad groups that consist of, yes, just one keyword .

By working with Single Keyword Ad Groups you create split and specific campaigns.

There is one important rule that you must remember: the more specific the advertisement, the greater the chance that the observer will take action.

You therefore increase the relevance and thus the quality score of your advertisement based on specific advertisement texts and keywords .

The result? a lot of ad groups linked to just one keyword instead of the other way around.

# 2 Advertise on your own brand name (branding)

Advertising on your own brand name is a good idea for various reasons. We wrote a blog article about this before, by the way.

The key to success is to put together the most relevant combination of keywords, ads & landing pages.

A brand campaign is the textbook example of this. Keywords match exactly with your company name.

Because brand campaigns are extremely relevant for surfers, this quickly leads to a high CTR and thus to a high quality score.

If your brand campaign has a higher quality score than your other campaigns, this will have a positive influence on the total average of your account.

The result? Your complete Google Ads account including other campaigns also benefits from the (simple) success of your brand campaign.

Keep in mind: this rule also applies the other way around. A low quality score affects your entire account.

That is why it is best to pause keywords with a low quality score that do not bring in any money.

If you don't do this, it will pull down the average quality score of your Google Ads account .

# 3 Improve the experience on your landing page

Your landing page is the first page that a visitor sees when he / she clicks on your advertisement and provides a first contact moment.

A landing page that is not relevant, is not easy to use or is confusing for your visitors results in a low quality score.

So take a closer look at these multiple aspects . Provide a relevant, well- arranged landing page that is easy to use and encourages action.

A relevant landing page may seem obvious, but too often ads redirect the user to the home page instead of a relevant landing page.

Google Ads offers you the possibility to make targeted advertisements . It is therefore the intention to make the best possible use of this opportunity.

You can target specifically based on various factors, but what if you click on an landing page after clicking on an ad that does not correspond at all to what was in the ad?

Right. Then your visitors drop out, regardless of how specific your targeting is.

Therefore, try to match your landing page as precisely as possible to the content of your advertisement.

If you do not do this, your ad will be considered irrelevant by Google . This irrevocably results in a low quality score.

In addition, a whole bunch of potential customers will drop out , because they don't immediately find what they were looking for.

For example, are you a car dealer who has different car models in stock?

Then do not refer in your advertisement to the general webshop of your website. You are guaranteed to lose your potential customers.

Link in such a case to the specific models or car brands you advertise on.

Logical. Someone who surfs the internet and looks for a Peugeot is specifically looking for that brand.

Send this person immediately to a relevant category, product or filter page.

Not only the relevance, but also the loading time of your landing page influences the quality score.

Patience is a good thing, but unfortunately this saying does not apply online. Too slow a loading time will cause your visitors to drop out.

You can easily test the speed of your page using the Google Pagespeed Insights tool. Google's general recommendation is faster than 3 seconds.

Google PageSpeed Insights

Last but not least: encourage action . When a visitor lands on your landing page, you want him / her to click through.

A clear call-to-action is therefore crucial. It is the sentence or button that closes the deal.

A strong call to action determines the score for leads and thus the success of your advertisements.

# 4 Use the possibility of ad extensions

By adding an extension to your ad, you can expand the ad with additional information.

That way your advertisement stands out more among the search results, which can lead to a higher CTR.

Such extensions come in different formats . For example, you have extensions that add a call button to your ad, communicate location data or extensions that simply add some extra text .

Consider adding three or more extensions. Use these different extension formats as optimally as possible.

It puts your ad extra in the flowers out and you can bring your business in the spotlight.

Can potential customers request a free quote from you? Are you available 24/24 or have you built up years of expertise ?

Extensions allow you to highlight a host of benefits that make it more attractive to click through.

In the example above you clearly notice that the first advertisement takes up more space than the second and third advertisements. (Birkenshop is an advertisement made by us)

This is because the first ad makes prominent use of ad extensions that make the ad stand out more .

This is in contrast to the third advertisement, which makes no use of advertising extensions.

# 5 Use negative keywords frequently

Negative keywords or negative keywords are keywords that prevent your ad from being triggered by a specific search query.

Adding negative keywords gives your ads more targeting, resulting in a higher click-through ratio (CTR).

You minimize irrelevant and useless clicks from surfers that are likely to be uninterested in what you offer.

Negative keywords do not only benefit the CTR. We must not forget that receiving clicks costs us money effectively.

An irrelevant click that has yielded us nothing is useless and is therefore money wasted.

As an online marketer you advertise on the keyword " online marketing ". You do not use negative keywords. When someone subsequently searches for " vacancy online marketing " there is a good chance that your advertisement will be activated by this search term. However, you are not looking for staff and you do not offer a job as an online marketer. You can therefore make it quite clear that it is not about a vacancy as an online marketer by excluding “ vacancy ” as a keyword.

Get started with the quality score

You now know what the quality score is, why it is important and how you should improve it. Time to put the theory into practice.

We summarize the most important highlights: the quality score is in fact based on a chain reaction.

It is important to focus on the relevance of the keyword in relation to the advertisement on the one hand & the relevance of the advertisement in relation to the landing page on the other.

Do you still have questions about Google Ads? Or do you need support ? Then you can always contact us without obligation . We are happy to help you further!