High Google AdWords Quality Scores improve overall account performance

June 7, 2017 – By Aaron Hockel

Why Google AdWords Quality Scores Matter

Google AdWords Quality Scores are determined by estimating how well ads, keywords, and landing pages relate to a specific search. The closer your keywords, ads, and landing page content match the search terms, the higher your Quality Score. Ranked from 1 to 10, higher Quality Scores can lower cost per click and improve ad positions. These both represent significant ways to improve your account performance without increasing your budget. Here are 5 ways to improve your Google AdWords quality scores:

Monitor Your Quality Scores

Google recently introduced improved reporting for Quality Scores, so make sure you are monitoring them closely to spot areas for improvement. Here’s an example of how Quality score, Ad relevance, and Landing page exp. can be added to Google AdWords reports: 
 

Target “Above Average” Ad Relevance

If any of your Google AdWords quality scores for ad relevance are scoring “Below average”, it means there is a serious disconnect between your keywords and your ad copy. Try to build small keyword lists, focusing on very specific topics, then writing ad copy to match. Examine all your ad relevance scores and set a minimum standard of “Average” across your account.

Build Keyword Specific Landing Pages

Once you build your small keyword list with closely matching ad copy, build landing pages to match. Rarely will an existing page on a website work with a Google AdWords campaign. When possible, try to include your focus keyword in title tags, meta descriptions, and page content. Our home improvement contractor marketing landing page plays a big role in our 10/10 quality score for +home +improvement +marketing in the example above.

Always Add Negative Keywords

How do negative keywords help quality score? Google uses historical account performance to calculate quality scores. Using negative keywords can eliminate irrelevant impressions and clicks on your ads which can reduce bounce rate and increase CTR. This is just another added benefit of properly implementing negative keywords.

Use Google’s Developer Tests

In the mobile first world, having a page with fast load speeds and a mobile friendly layout is critical to success. Google offers a mobile friendly test and a page speed test. Test your landing pages and make any recommended changes to improve Landing page experience and boost your Google AdWords quality scores. You can also submit your pages to Google for indexing right from the mobile friendly test.
 
 

 

Ready to improve your Quality Scores? Start by assessing your current Quality Scores in Google AdWords or contact the team at AltaVista Strategic Partners for a free account analysis. To schedule a free consultation, fill our the contact form on this page, call us at 1-800-313-2168, or send us an email.

Aaron Hockel

Aaron Hockel is a Partner and the VP of Digital Marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners. A University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) alumnus, Aaron expertly crafts digital marketing strategies that drive success for clients, leveraging his deep industry knowledge and innovative approach.