What is Quality Score?

Quality Score (QS) is a Google Ads rating from 1 to 10 at the keyword level. It estimates how well the ad, keyword, and landing page match the user’s query. QS is a diagnostic for the search ads auction — not an “account grade” and not a moderation verdict.

Russian write-ups sometimes calque it as «индекс качества». That phrase is a weak query and a bad H1: the Google Ads column is named Quality Score. In the CIS, “индекс качества” is also mixed up with CPA-network lead scoring or with Yandex Direct’s quality coefficient — a different metric on a different scale.

Three components

Google shows three keyword statuses: Below average / Average / Above average.

  • Expected CTR — whether the ad is predicted to be clicked more or less often than comparable ads on that query. Historical CTR of the keyword and ad is the main input.
  • Ad relevance — how closely headline and copy match the keyword’s intent. A group of dozens of unrelated keywords sharing one ad almost always drags relevance down.
  • Landing page experience — whether the page matches the query, offers useful content, is transparent (contacts, terms), and works on mobile. Intent bait (“credit keyword, casino landing”) hits this component and policy at the same time.

Ad Rank and CPC

Position is set by Ad Rank, not by bid in isolation. Simplified, Ad Rank depends on bid, quality (expected CTR, relevance, landing), and the expected impact of assets. An advertiser with QS 8 can outrank a higher bidder sitting on QS 4.

Actual CPC is usually the minimum needed to beat the next advertiser’s Ad Rank. The practical result: a higher Quality Score lowers click price for the same position. A falling QS makes the same volume more expensive or costs you impression share on rank.

A caveat guides often skip: the 1–10 number is a historical diagnosis. At auction time Google computes finer predictions, including device and query wording. A low QS is still a signal that those live components are likely weak. A high QS does not guarantee profit — only cheaper access to the impression.

Where the score exists

Classic Quality Score lives in Search: keyword + ad + landing. Display, YouTube, and Performance Max do not expose the same 1–10 keyword column; they use other quality / ad strength signals. Comparing a Search keyword’s QS to PMax “optimization” is meaningless.

Microsoft Advertising uses a similar scale. Yandex Direct computes its own ad quality coefficient — it cannot be plugged into Google’s formulas or vice versa. In affiliate networks “quality score” sometimes means webmaster or lead scoring; that is unrelated to the Google Ads column.

What moves the score — and what does not

The levers are narrow. Tighter ad groups: one theme, one set of ads. RSA headlines that repeat query intent, not only the brand. A landing in the same language, GEO, and offer as the ad; readable content without an instant hop to a third domain; acceptable load. Assets (sitelinks, callouts) affect Ad Rank via expected impact; they do not “juice” QS as a separate point.

Raising max CPC, dumping more keywords into the same group, or switching to Target CPA does not raise QS by itself. Bid decides whether you win a given auction. Quality decides what you pay and whether you show at the same budget. Fake CTR from bots breaks stats and the account; it does not “train” expected CTR.

Reading QS in a performance funnel

On competitive commercial keywords (insurance, credit, locksmith) the gap between QS 4 and QS 8 often matters more than another 10% on the bid. Low QS plus high Lost IS (rank) means fix the landing and relevance first, not the daily budget. Chronically poor landing page experience lines up with complaints and disapprovals: it is click price and a moderation risk.

Account CPA and ROI cannot be read from QS alone. A keyword with score 9 and a high CPC can beat a cheap QS-3 keyword if post-click CR is higher. Quality Score explains why two keywords with the same payout live at different CPCs. Funnel economics still come from ROAS or ROI after the conversion — not from the ten-point column.

See also: search ads, Google Ads, CPC, impression share.