Guides · Google Ads
Google Ads Quality Score: The Grade Behind Your Click Price
By Josh Croom · October 27, 2026 · 11 min read
Google Ads Quality Score is a 1 to 10 grade Google gives each keyword, based on how well the keyword, its ad and its landing page fit what searchers want. The score itself never enters the auction, but Google weighs the quality of your ad and landing page at every search, so fixing the weakest part can win a better spot for less money.
Why his water heater clicks cost more
Tuesday, 10:20 AM. A plumber is reading through his Google Ads account. His drain cleaning keyword costs a reasonable amount per click, while his water heater keyword costs a lot more, and he can't see why when both run in the same campaign.
The bid isn't the whole story. Both keywords send people to his home page, which talks about drains first and barely mentions water heaters. Google rates that page below average for the water heater searches, and it weighs that weak fit every time one of those searches comes in. He pays for the difference on every click.
The fixed ad repeats the words the searcher typed, and its link goes to a page about water heaters instead of the home page.
water heater repair near me
What Quality Score measures
Google grades three parts on each keyword, and it rates each part as above average, average or below average.
Google rates each part by comparing your keyword with other advertisers whose ads showed for the same searches over the last 90 days. The score runs from 1 to 10 and sums up all three parts. When a keyword shows a dash instead of a number, too few searches have matched it for Google to grade it yet.
That comparison also explains why a score can drop when nothing in your account changed. When other advertisers improve their ads or pages, your keyword can slip against them. Performance Max campaigns never show a score at all, because they run on search themes instead of keywords.
- Expected click rate is Google's guess at how likely people are to click your ad when it shows for that keyword. Google's full name for it is expected clickthrough rate.
- Ad relevance measures how closely your ad matches what the person meant when they searched.
- Landing page experience measures how relevant and useful your page is to the people who click your ad.
Does Quality Score change what you pay?
Not directly. Google says Quality Score isn't an input in the ad auction, and it calls the score a diagnostic tool. Think of it as a report card that sums up how your keyword has done lately.
The auction uses what the score measures. Every time someone searches, Google ranks the ads by your bid, the quality of your ads and landing page, and the competition in that auction. It also weighs the context of the search, like the person's location and device. Google judges the quality of your ad and landing page again right then, for that one search, and your ad's position and price follow from the result.
Google's own help page says that even if your competition has higher bids than yours, you can still win a higher position at a lower price by using highly relevant keywords and ads. So fix a weak grade before you reach for a bigger bid.
Why low scores happen
We track every keyword's grade across our accounts. From September 12 to October 11, 2026, 1,122 keywords across 53 Grant and paid accounts sat at a score of 1 to 4, and Google rated more than one part weak on most of them.
- 85%had two or more weak partsparts Google rated below average
- 83%had a weak expected click raterated below average
- 80%had a weak landing pagerated below average
Most low scores need more than one fix. A higher bid can buy a better spot for a while, but it doesn't touch any of the three parts, and the weak fit keeps costing you on every click.
Which moves lift the grade
Tempting, but they don't lift the grade
- Raise the bid on every keyword with a low score.
- Pause every keyword scored under 5.
- Rewrite a whole ad when one headline would do.
- Send every keyword's clicks to the home page.
What lifts the grade
- Read the three parts and fix the weakest one.
- Point the keyword at a page that answers that exact search.
- Add one headline with the keyword's own words, not pinned.
- Keep core keywords running while their grade gets work.
How to raise Quality Score, one keyword at a time
We use this method on every Grant and paid account we run. It changes one part of one keyword at a time, so you can tell what moved the score.
Step 1
Add the four columns
Open the keywords page in Google Ads and add the columns for Quality Score, expected CTR, ad relevance and landing page experience. The score only tells you that a keyword is weak, while the three parts tell you what to fix.
Step 2
Start with the keywords that show most
Sort your keywords by impressions, which count the times your ad appeared. A fix on a keyword that shows often moves far more clicks than a fix on one that barely shows.
Step 3
Sort keywords into three groups
Core keywords have brought an action, or your business or mission rests on them. Middle keywords aren't core but still get clicks. Waste keywords aren't core, showed often enough to judge and brought no clicks and no actions, and they're the only group we pause.
Step 4
Fix a weak page first
When the landing page is below average, point the keyword at the page on your site that answers that exact search. If no page fits, write one clear page for that one question, because a home page tries to answer everything at once.
Step 5
Put the keyword's words in the ad
When expected click rate or ad relevance is below average, add one new headline with the keyword's own words to the best ad in that ad group. Leave it unpinned so Google can choose when to show it, and change one ad group at a time so you can tell what worked.
Step 6
Give each fix about six weeks
Write down what you changed and the date, then wait about six weeks before you judge it, because Google needs a fresh run of clicks to grade the new version.
What we change for each weak part
We follow these rules on every account.
| What's weak | What we change |
|---|---|
| Landing page experience | Point the keyword at an approved page that answers that exact search |
| Expected click rate | Add one headline with the keyword's own words, not pinned |
| Ad relevance | Add one headline with the keyword's own words, not pinned |
| Time before judging a fix | About six weeks |
| A waste keyword | Not core, 100 or more showings in a week, no clicks and no actions in 90 days |
Quality Score on a Google Ad Grant
A Grant pays for clicks with Google's credit instead of your own money, so a low score doesn't touch your bank account, but it does shrink your reach. When each click costs more, the same credit brings fewer visitors to your website. On our Grant accounts, keywords scored 7 to 9 paid 13% less per click than the ones scored 1 to 4.
On Grant accounts, the landing page is usually the weakest part. We start there and point the keyword at an approved page on your website that answers the search, and then we move to the ad's wording. A low grade never switches off a keyword your mission depends on, so that keyword keeps running while we work on its grade.
Better ads and better-matched pages help a Grant twice, because they lift the score and the click rate together. Google's Ad Grants policy asks each account to keep a 5% click-through rate every month, measured across the whole account rather than keyword by keyword. Our Google Ad Grants guide covers the other rules.
Check one expensive keyword
Pick a keyword that costs more per click than you'd like, and answer five yes or no questions about it. Your answers never leave your device.
Is its Quality Score 5 or higher?
Does Google rate its landing page experience average or above?
Does Google rate its expected click rate average or above?
Does a headline in its best ad use the keyword's own words?
Does its ad send people to a page about that exact search, not your home page?
This keyword's grade looks fine, so check the searches it matches. Read its search terms and add negative keywords for the ones that will never become work. Our search terms study shows what to look for.
One or two parts of this keyword are weak. Fix the part behind your first No this week, then give the change about six weeks before you judge the result.
This keyword pays for a poor fit on every single click. Start with the part Google rates weakest, and if the landing page is one of them, give the keyword a page that answers its exact search.
Fix one keyword this week
Tick each one off as you go. Your ticks stay on this device.
0 of 6 done
Where Quality Score fits
Quality Score work comes after two other jobs. First, your conversion tracking has to be right, because a cheaper click on the wrong lead saves you nothing. Our conversion tracking guide covers that setup. Second, cut the waste, and our PPC audit checklist walks through the full order we check an account in.
How we work on Quality Score
Our system reads every keyword's grade in the accounts we run and keeps each reading. When a grade keeps sliding, it names the weakest part, and a person on our team approves each change before it goes live.
If you'd like a second look at the keywords that cost you most, book a call with Miguel. He'll go over your account's grades with you and point out the part to fix first.
Questions people ask
What is a good Quality Score in Google Ads?
Google calls the score a diagnostic tool rather than a goal to chase, so read the three parts instead of the number. A keyword with all three parts at average or above has no obvious weak spot. On our Grant accounts, keywords scored 7 to 9 paid 13% less per click than keywords scored 1 to 4.
Does Quality Score affect cost per click?
Not directly, because Google says Quality Score isn't an input in the ad auction. Google does judge the quality of your ad and landing page again at each search, though, and that helps set your ad's position and price. A better fit can win a better spot for less.
Why did my Quality Score drop when I didn't change anything?
Google rates each part against other advertisers who showed for the same searches over the last 90 days. When their ads or pages get better, your keyword can slip even though nothing in your account changed.
How long does it take to improve Quality Score?
Give each fix about six weeks before you judge it. Google needs fresh clicks on the new ad or page before it can grade the change.
Should I pause keywords with a low Quality Score?
Keep a keyword running when it matters to your business or mission, and fix its weakest part instead. Pause only true waste, meaning keywords that aren't core, show often and bring no clicks or actions.
See how we manage Google Ads accounts
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