Quality Score is Google's rating of the relevance and quality of your keywords, ads, and landing pages, scored on a scale of 1 to 10 and used to determine where your ads appear and how much you pay per click.
What three factors make up Quality Score?
Quality Score is calculated from three components:
Expected click-through rate (CTR): how likely Google predicts users are to click your ad when it appears for a given keyword, compared to other advertisers.
Ad relevance: how closely your ad copy matches the intent behind the keyword being searched.
Landing page experience: how relevant, useful, and easy to use your landing page is for someone who clicked the ad.
Each component is rated as Above Average, Average, or Below Average. The combination of these ratings produces the 1-10 score.
How does Quality Score affect what I pay?
Google uses Quality Score alongside your bid to calculate Ad Rank, which determines whether your ad shows and in what position. A higher Quality Score means your ad can rank above competitors who are bidding more, and you pay less per click for the same position. A low Quality Score has the opposite effect: you pay more for lower positions. Improving Quality Score is one of the most cost-effective levers for reducing wasted spend in a Google Ads account.
[Screenshot: Google Ads interface showing the Quality Score column with scores for a list of keywords, alongside the expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience component ratings. Alt text: Google Ads keyword view showing Quality Score column with component ratings for expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience.]
What is considered a good Quality Score?
Scores of 7 or above are generally considered strong. Scores of 4 or below indicate a problem that is worth addressing, usually in ad relevance or landing page experience. The benchmark varies by keyword type: brand keywords typically score 9 or 10, while broad or competitive keywords often score lower. It is more useful to look at trends and component breakdowns than to focus on the absolute number.
How do I improve my Quality Score?
Improvements come from targeting the right component. If ad relevance is low, tighten the relationship between keywords and ad copy, or restructure ad groups so each one covers a narrower theme. If landing page experience is low, ensure the page directly addresses what was searched, loads quickly, and works well on mobile.
If expected CTR is low, test different ad copy to find messaging that generates more clicks. We review Quality Scores as part of account audits, as improving a low score often reduces cost-per-click without needing to increase the budget.
Related KB articles:
• What are Google Performance Max Campaigns
• What is a Landing Page and Why Does it Matter for Conversions
External links:
• Google Ads Help, Quality Score