Maximise your Google Ads performance by enhancing Quality Score through stronger ad relevance, higher click-through rates, and an optimised landing page experience.
Does spending more on Google Ads guarantee better results? Not necessarily. Many businesses assume that throwing more budget at campaigns will automatically push their ads to the top of Google’s results. The reality is more complex: your campaign structure, ad quality, and user experience matter far more than sheer spending power.
At the heart of this is a little metric with a big impact: Quality Score.
Think of Quality Score as Google’s way of grading your ads, how relevant they are, how likely they are to be clicked, and whether your landing page gives people what they came for. It directly influences ad placement, cost per click (CPC), and overall campaign efficiency.
In other words, if your Quality Score is high, you’ll spend less to reach more people. If it’s low, you’ll find yourself paying above the odds for fewer results.
For business owners balancing growth and budgets, understanding Quality Score isn’t optional, it’s the difference between campaigns that quietly burn cash and those that deliver measurable ROI.
What exactly is quality score?
Quality Score is Google’s diagnostic metric that evaluates the overall relevance and usefulness of your ads, keywords, and landing pages.
- It’s measured on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.
- A higher score signals that Google considers your ad experience excellent for users.
- A lower score means there’s a mismatch between what you’re promising and what users get.
Google looks at three main ingredients when calculating your score:
- Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR)
This predicts the likelihood of a user clicking on your ad. Ads that earn strong engagement are rewarded because they’re clearly delivering what people are searching for. - Ad relevance
How closely does your ad match the user’s search intent? If someone searches for “women’s leather boots,” and your ad headline is “Shop Women’s Leather Boots – Free Shipping Today,” that’s highly relevant. If your ad is vague or off-topic, expect a lower score. - Landing page experience
After someone clicks, what happens next? If your landing page is slow, cluttered, or doesn’t match the promise of the ad, users bounce quickly and Google takes note.
Google compares your ads against others targeting the same keywords within the last 90 days, labelling each component as Above Average, Average, or Below Average.
Why quality score matters for your business
Quality Score has real financial and strategic implications. It’s not just about where your ads appear, it directly affects your budget efficiency and visibility.
Here’s why it matters:
- Better Ad placement: Higher Quality Scores improve your Ad Rank, meaning your ads are more likely to appear in those coveted top-of-page positions.
- Lower CPC: A strong score reduces how much you pay per click, giving you more traffic for the same spend.
- Stronger visibility: Optimised ads win more auctions, so your message gets in front of more potential customers.
Put simply, if you’re running Google Ads with a poor Quality Score, you’re leaving money on the table.
Breaking down the three drivers of quality score
1. Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR is all about engagement. If users consistently ignore your ad, Google assumes it isn’t useful.
How to improve CTR:
- Craft compelling Ad copy: Be clear, concise, and use strong calls to action (e.g. “Shop Now,” “Book Today”).
- Leverage Ad extensions: Add sitelinks, callouts, and snippets to make your ad more informative and clickable.
- Run A/B tests: Experiment with different headlines, descriptions, and CTAs to see what resonates.
2. Ad relevance
Relevance is about alignment. Does your ad actually match what someone searched for?
How to improve relevance:
- Keyword-rich headlines: Naturally include the exact keywords users are searching for.
- Tight Ad groups: Group related keywords together so each ad speaks directly to its audience.
- Message consistency: Ensure your ad copy reflects the content on your landing page.
3. Landing page experience
A click is only valuable if the destination delivers.
How to improve landing page experience:
- Speed: Pages should load in under three seconds—slow sites bleed conversions.
- Mobile optimisation: With the majority of searches on mobile, a desktop-only site won’t cut it.
- Clarity: Keep navigation simple, CTAs obvious, and copy consistent with the ad.
- Value: Provide helpful content that directly answers the search query.
Strategies to improve quality score
Improvement requires an ongoing process of optimisation. Here are the big levers you can pull:
- Keyword research & segmentation: Build tightly themed ad groups around highly relevant keywords.
- Ad copy optimisation: Craft clear, benefit-driven copy and keep testing.
- Landing page enhancements: Improve design, usability, and speed for a better user journey.
- Use of Ad extensions: Add every relevant extension to make your ads richer and more useful.
- Performance monitoring: Keep an eye on CTR, conversions, and Quality Scores to spot patterns.
Optimising quality score over time
Improving Quality Score isn’t a one-and-done project; it’s an iterative process.
- Weekly/monthly reviews: Look at CTR trends, keyword performance, and landing page engagement.
- Regular A/B testing: Headlines, CTAs, layouts—don’t assume, test.
- Data-Driven adjustments: Use performance insights to refine targeting and messaging.
The key is to treat Quality Score as part of your broader growth strategy. A steady upward trend will mean lower costs, stronger ROI, and more breathing space in your budget.
Common misconceptions about quality score
- “It’s not a direct ranking factor” → Google also considers your bid, competition, and other signals when determining placement.
- “It’s not static” → Quality Score changes as your campaigns evolve; what worked last month may not work next.
- “It’s not everything” → A high Quality Score helps, but you still need strong conversion funnels to translate clicks into revenue.
Looking beyond quality score: Measuring true success
Ultimately, your goal isn’t just to impress Google, it’s to grow your business. That means tracking metrics that matter most to the bottom line:
- Conversion rates
- Cost per acquisition (CPA)
- Return on ad spend (ROAS)
- Lead quality
Pro tip: Don’t fall into the trap of chasing a perfect 10/10 Quality Score at the expense of actual conversions. A score of 7 with strong ROI is worth far more than a 10 that doesn’t move the needle.
Real-world lessons: When quality score meets strategy
Some businesses have already shown how improving Quality Score, paired with the right strategy, transforms results.
Bisley Workwear – Scaling into new segments
- Challenge: Moving from B2B into B2C (especially women’s workwear), with weak digital performance.
- What they did: Refined Google Ads with better targeting, improved site navigation, and optimised keyword strategy.
- Results:
- 4,700% increase in clicks for women’s workwear
- 445% increase in monthly transactions
- 71% drop in cost per conversion
- Takeaway: If you’ve got solid products and traffic, but want to expand into new categories, strategic ad optimisation plus a strong site experience can deliver explosive growth.
The Highline Venue – Lead generation at scale
- Challenge: A venue business reliant on leads, struggling for visibility and conversions.
- What they did: Combined SEO fixes, Google Ads campaigns, and UX improvements (simpler CTAs and forms).
- Results:
- 416% increase in organic clicks
- 309% increase in Google Ads conversions
- 338% increase in social enquiries
- Takeaway: For service-based businesses, aligning paid, organic, and UX efforts creates a strong lead pipeline.
Elysium Home – Winning in a competitive market
- Challenge: Competing in the crowded B2C furniture retail space.
- What they did: Focused ad spend on top-performing product categories and optimised campaigns through data-driven testing.
- Results:
- 83× ROAS in one month
- 101% increase in revenue
- 36% reduction in cost per conversion
- Takeaway: Timing, clarity, and rapid testing let businesses outperform larger competitors—even in crowded markets.
Wrap up
Quality Score isn’t just a metric to keep Google happy, it’s a powerful lever for business growth. By focusing on CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience, you not only lower costs but also ensure your campaigns connect with the right people at the right time.
But here’s the key: don’t obsess over the number alone. Use it as a guide to improve relevance, efficiency, and experience. Combine those insights with conversion tracking, ROAS, and customer lifetime value, and you’ll have a holistic picture of success.
When you get it right, Google Ads stops being an expense and starts becoming a growth engine.
Not sure where your Quality Score stands or how to turn it into a competitive advantage? Book a strategy session with our team. We’ll audit your current campaigns, pinpoint areas to improve, and map out a plan to maximise your ROI.
The sooner you optimise, the sooner your ad spend starts working harder for you.
