// glossary
Quality Score.
Google Ads keyword quality rating
Quality Score is Google Ads' 1-10 rating of each keyword. It's based on ad relevance, expected click-through rate (CTR), and landing page experience. Lower Quality Score means higher CPC and fewer impressions.
// detail
Three components:
- Expected click-through rate — CTR estimate for the keyword vs the auction average
- Ad relevance — keyword/ad-copy alignment
- Landing page experience — landing page quality, speed, relevance
Keywords with QS <5 likely have a landing page issue — the page isn't well-aligned with the user's query. CPC can run 30-50% higher than necessary.
Example: The keyword "men's shoes" pointed at a "Company About" page would likely score QS 3-4. The same keyword pointing at a "Men's Shoe Models" page would score 7-8.