Weighting Keyword Quality Score Components
If you want to compete more effectively in Google AdWords auctions, you might want to take a closer look at your quality score. This numeric evaluation describes the effectiveness of your advertisement and can have a significant impact on the ROI (return-on-investment) of your advertising campaign. However, it’s important to note that each element of your rating has a different weight.
How Does Google Determine Your Quality Score?
The three main factors Google uses to determine quality score are landing page experience, ad relevance, and expected CTR (click-through rate). You’ll want to give each element attention when crafting your ads and the content on your website.
The landing page experience refers to the perceived quality, transparency, and effectiveness of the copy on your landing page. For instance, do you provide detailed information about your product or service? Is the copy original and engaging? Can users find what they’re looking for through intuitive navigation and design?
Then you have the expected CTR, which estimates the probability that users will click on your ad based on its relevance to the search query. Long-tail keywords often perform best in this area because they’re more specific. For instance, the keyword “firm memory foam mattress” might appeal more readily to a consumer than “mattress” because the latter keyword could cover a wide range of preferences.
Finally, you’ll want to pay attention to ad relevance, too. It’s an assessment of your ad copy’s relevance to particular search queries. If you’re using broad ad groups that target multiple buyer personas or products, you might get a lower quality score in this area.
Which Elements Matter Most to Your Quality Score?
When you’re tweaking your advertising efforts, focus on the quality-score elements that have the most impact on your performance.
When calculating quality score, Google assigns specific weights to each of the three elements detailed above. Landing page experience and expected CTR have far greater weight attached to them (by a factor of 1.75) than ad relevance.
In other words, if you want to improve your quality score, you might want to focus on your landing pages and projected click-through rates. While ad relevance remains important, improving it won’t benefit your ad campaign as effectively.
Why (and How) Should You Improve Your Quality Score?
Google uses quality score to determine the CPC (cost per click) advertisers pay in exchange for exposure. Lower quality scores lead to higher CPCs, which means you’ll pay more each time a prospect clicks on your ad. This lowers your overall ROI and leads you to spend more money unnecessarily.
How do you boost your quality score? Start with A/B testing on your landing pages. Analyze the results to determine why one page works more effectively than the other. Try different CTAs (calls to action) on your landing pages to increase your CTRs.
The more you test, the more data you’ll accumulate. Since you’re testing on your own website, your data will remain specific to your business, which ultimately makes it more accurate.
Understanding how quality score impacts your advertising campaign will allow you to gain more control over your ad spend. You can learn even more tips and tricks with our case study: Helping TravelStore Become an Online Entity.
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