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Quality score is Google's rating, from 1 to 10, of how your ad and the page behind it compare with other advertisers' for the same search. Google builds it from three parts: expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. The number is a diagnostic that does not set your price by itself, but the quality it measures feeds into what you pay, and for most local firms the easiest part to fix is the page.
What is quality score in Google Ads?
Quality score is a rating from 1 to 10 that Google gives each search term you bid on (Google calls them keywords). Google's help page, checked on 12 November 2026, describes it as "a diagnostic tool meant to give you a sense of how well your ad quality compares to other advertisers."
Each of the three parts is rated "Above average", "Average" or "Below average", against other advertisers whose ads showed for the exact same search over the last 90 days. So a low score says rivals did better on that search; it does not judge your page on its own.
| Part | What Google says it measures | What usually drags it down for a local firm |
|---|---|---|
| Expected click-through rate | "The likelihood that your ad will be clicked when shown" | Ads that read like every rival's, with no reason to pick you |
| Ad relevance | "How closely your ad matches the intent behind a user's search" | One ad covering several services, so it matches none of them closely |
| Landing page experience | "How relevant and useful your landing page is to people who click your ad" | Every ad sent to the homepage, slow pages, pages that are hard to use on a phone |
Does quality score affect what you pay per click?
Indirectly, yes. Google's help page says "Quality Score isn't an input in the ad auction" and "isn't a key performance indicator". What goes into the auction is Ad Rank, and the quality the score reports on is part of it.
Google's Ad Rank page, checked on 12 November 2026, lists six factors: your bid, "the quality of your ads and landing page", Google's minimum thresholds, how competitive the auction is, the context of the search, and the expected effect of extras such as your phone number. The same page says "Higher quality ads can often lead to lower CPCs" and "higher quality ads typically lead to lower costs and more advertising success."
The mechanism is in Google's page on actual cost per click: you "only pay what's minimally required" to clear the thresholds and beat the Ad Rank of the competitor immediately below you. Better quality raises your Ad Rank without a higher bid, so the same position can cost less.
So treat the score as a warning light: it tells you which part to look at, and the work on the ad and the page is what changes the price. Older guides that say Ad Rank equals bid times quality score are out of date; Google's own list of six factors is the one to go by.
How do you check your quality score?
Quality score is hidden by default. Google's help page gives the steps:
- In your Google Ads account, open Keywords in the Campaigns menu.
- Select the columns icon at the top right of the table.
- Open the Quality score section.
- Tick Quality Score, Landing Page Exp., Exp. CTR and Ad Relevance, then select Apply.
If you see a dash instead of a number, Google's page says "there aren't enough searches that exactly match your keywords to determine a keyword's Quality Score." In a small local account that is normal for most terms, so look at the terms that take most of your spend and leave the rest.
How does a better landing page lower your costs?
It works in two ways: more of the clicks you already pay for turn into enquiries, and a better rating can bring the click price down. The business and every figure below are made up to show the arithmetic.
Say Jason runs a two-van plumbing firm in Leeds. He spends six hundred pounds a month on ads for boiler repair, and every ad sends people to his homepage, which gives bathrooms, drains and boilers equal space. His landing page experience for "boiler repair leeds" is Below average.
At twelve pounds a click he gets 50 clicks. One visitor in 25 gets in touch, so that is two enquiries at three hundred pounds each. He then builds a boiler repair page: the service and Leeds in the heading, the brands he works on, how his call-out charge works, the phone number at the top and reviews from boiler jobs. Now one visitor in ten gets in touch, and if the click price later falls to ten pounds, the sums change like this:
| Jason's example (made-up figures) | Homepage | Boiler repair page | Page plus cheaper clicks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly spend | six hundred pounds | six hundred pounds | six hundred pounds |
| Cost of a click | twelve pounds | twelve pounds | ten pounds |
| Clicks | 50 | 50 | 60 |
| Visitors who get in touch | 1 in 25 | 1 in 10 | 1 in 10 |
| Enquiries | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Cost of an enquiry | three hundred pounds | one hundred and twenty pounds | one hundred pounds |
Most of Jason's gain came before Google changed anything: the page turned more of the same clicks into calls. The cheaper click is a bonus on top, and Google does not promise how much it will be. For real click prices in your trade, see what Google Ads cost in the UK.
Why does one page per service fix the landing page part?
A page per service gives people what they searched for, which is the first thing Google asks of a landing page. Google's page on using quality score, checked on 12 November 2026, says "Give people what they're looking for." Its other advice for a weak landing page rating is to keep the message the same from ad to page, make the site easy to use on a phone, and make it load quickly.
A homepage fails that test for most searches. Someone who typed "emergency electrician Reading" and lands on a page about rewires, car chargers and kitchen lighting has to hunt for what they asked about.
A page per service also matches how Google suggests laying out the account. For weak ad relevance, Google says to split ad groups whose search terms "can't be easily addressed by the same ad" and to group them into themes. For a local firm that means one ad group per service, ads written for that service, and one page that answers it. Our guide to setting up Google Ads covers the account side.
You do not need to repeat the search word for word. Google says the exact phrase "doesn't need to be on your landing page". The page needs the service, the area you cover, what happens when someone calls, and proof you do this work: photos, reviews and accreditations for that service. If your site cannot hold separate service pages, or they would take weeks to build, that is the gap our landing page work fills.
What should you fix first?
Start with whichever part is rated Below average on the terms that take most of your money:
- Landing page experience Below average: build or fix the page for that service. It changes what happens after every click you have already paid for.
- Ad relevance Below average: the ad group mixes services. Split it, and write ads that use the words people search with.
- Expected click-through rate Below average: the ad gives no reason to choose you. Add what is true and specific to your firm, such as how fast you attend, your guarantee and the towns you cover.
Then judge the change on the numbers that pay your bills. Google suggests using conversion rate as a measure of a good landing page, while noting that it "doesn't impact your landing page status". If the new page brings more calls for the same spend, it has done its job, whatever the score says.
Common questions
What is a good Google Ads quality score?
Google does not publish a target, and its help page says quality score "isn't a key performance indicator". A sensible aim is Average or Above average on all three parts for the terms that take most of your spend. A 10 on a term that brings no enquiries is worth less than a 6 that fills the diary.
How long does quality score take to change after you fix a page?
Google does not give a timetable. Each part is judged against other advertisers over the last 90 days, so expect the score to move over weeks rather than days, and sooner on terms with plenty of searches. In the meantime, watch how many visitors to the new page get in touch, because that shows straight away.
Does Performance Max have a quality score?
No. Google's help page covers quality score for Search campaigns, worked out per keyword, and Performance Max does not bid on keywords in the same way. The page still matters there: Google's Performance Max guidance asks for a landing page that is relevant to your ads. See Performance Max for local businesses.
Does changing match type improve quality score?
No. Google's help page says the score is based on past impressions for exact searches of the term, "therefore changing keyword match types won't impact Quality Score." A broader match type can help a term gather enough searches to be scored at all, but it will not raise the score.
What to do this week
Add the four quality score columns to your account and sort by cost. For the five terms that spend the most, note which part is Below average and which page each ad sends people to. If several services share the homepage, build a proper page for the service that earns you most, point its ads there, and compare the enquiry rate a month later. For where this fits in the wider plan, see our guide to Google Ads for small businesses.