How to improve your Google Ads quality score
Daria Isanska - 29 June 2018
A Google Ads campaign is the ideal way to help you boost the number of customers visiting your website. It can often be used successfully as a quick win when your website is brand new and you are just starting to get it optimised for the search engines. Alternatively it is also perfect for getting special promotions and new product launches seen by your online customers. However because you have to pay for Google Ads we know that businesses will want to ensure that they are getting maximum value for money from their campaigns. This means taking the time to plan an effective campaign and one key element that it’s vital to get right is your Google Ads quality score. In this blog we’ll explain more about what a quality score is and the impact that it has on your Ads campaign. We’ll also look at the different factors that could affect your score and discover some of the ways that can help you to boost your score and make Ads really work for your website.
What is a Google Ads quality score and why is it so important?
A quality score is a rating that Google gives your campaign based on how well your advert meets your customer’s needs. It is based on a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being the highest. As always Google will be focusing on customer experience and they will be looking to ensure that your ad is both relevant and valuable to your potential customers. This score is really important because it actually affects the cost of your campaign and the higher that you can manage to get your quality score the lower your cost per click will be. Obviously, a key benefit of this is that your campaign becomes far more cost effective for your business and your ad will also rank higher in the search engines – meaning more visitors are exposed to your website and conversions to sales are increased.
What factors affect your quality score?
So what is the perfect recipe for a high quality score? Well, as with many of Google’s algorithms the specific ingredients are a closely guarded secret but our SEO experts have identified the following factors which we feel could impact your score. Firstly, it may surprise you to learn that your historic quality score plays a part in your ranking. Obviously, this means that every campaign matters because it feeds in to the next campaign score. We also know that the expected click through rate of a campaign can help to boost your quality score too. The relevance of both your advert and your keywords are important factors and finally the landing page experience for the customer needs to be positive and engaging. The right mix of these conditions will lead to a higher quality score.
How can you improve your quality score?
If you are planning an Ads campaign or have struggled to get high quality scores in the past, then there are a number of actions that you can take to increase your success. By taking into account the following points you could increase your quality score considerably leading to more efficacious and fruitful Ads campaigns.
Focus on relevancy
One thing that Google wants to see across the board is relevancy and it’s no different when it comes to Ads campaigns. One way to make sure that your campaigns are as relevant as possible is to group them into very specific and well-structured silos. This means that you will need to ensure that your keyword research is also narrow and fits in perfectly with your campaign objectives. We recommend using no more than six or seven keywords per ad group and it’s also a good idea to use negative keywords too. By keeping a very narrow focus you are far more likely to reach your target demographic and when you get the right audience your chances of getting the results that you want from your campaign are much higher.
Create high quality ads
Adverts need to stand out from the crowd and a clear, engaging advert will not only win you customers but will also mean a higher quality score for your campaign. Your advert copy needs to draw customers in but it also needs to be to the point and most importantly relevant! If you have a great advert then you might get a high click through rate but if your product or service is not what the customer actually wants or expects to see then you risk losing them and gaining a high bounce rate for your website.
Make sure that you give your customers as much information as possible
Google wants to see that you are really adding value to its search engine users and one way that you can meet this criteria is to use extensions in your advertising to provide them with further relevant information. Extensions allow to you add additional text to your standard ad copy so they are a great way to explain further to customers about what your business does and to help them understand how relevant your advert is to them. This should lead to a higher conversion rate as your customers will fully understand how you can help them before they decide to click through to your site.
Your landing page is just as important as your advert
As we have already stated a great ad only leads to sales and conversions if the landing page also offers the customer a great experience. We always say that you should concentrate as much effort on the landing page as you do on the advert itself. As well as making sure it is easy to read, loads quickly and clearly signposts users to where they need to be you should also link ad copy to your landing page copy for greater consistency and relevance.
Include your brand name
A quick win to help you boost your Ads quality score is to include your brand name in some of your ad copy. This provides clarity for customers about who the ad is coming from and helps to improve your online brand profile.
Whilst boosting your Google Ads quality score is really important you should also remember that it is part of a bigger picture and you will need to make sure that you think about conversions, cost per click and ROI too. However if you are looking at boosting your score and therefore running a more cost effective campaign you should focus on relevance both in your keywords, advertising copy and your landing page. Remember to offer the customers as much valuable information as possible by using extensions and optimise your landing page to provide a great customer experience and one that will work in harmony with your ad campaign. If you would like support with Ads management or running your Ads account then Wagada HQ are here to help. We can provide you with a comprehensive Ads support service and we can also provide Google Ads training for you and your team. So get in touch to have a chat and find out what we can do for you.
