Google Ads Quality Score: How to Get 10/10 (Complete Guide)

Quality Score is the single most important metric that most Google Ads advertisers ignore. It directly determines two things: how much you pay per click and whether your ad shows at all.

Advertisers with a Quality Score of 10 pay up to 50% less per click than those with a Quality Score of 5. That's not a theoretical number — it's how Google's Ad Rank formula works. Every point of Quality Score you gain lowers your cost and improves your position.

This guide breaks down exactly what Quality Score is, how Google calculates it, and the specific steps to push each component toward 10/10.

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What Is Quality Score?

Quality Score is Google's 1-10 rating of the quality and relevance of your keywords and ads. It's calculated at the keyword level — every keyword in your account has its own Quality Score.

Google uses Quality Score as an input to Ad Rank, which determines:

• Whether your ad shows at all
• What position your ad appears in
• How much you actually pay per click

The Ad Rank Formula

Ad Rank = Bid × Quality Score × Expected Impact of Extensions

This means a $3 bid with a Quality Score of 10 (Ad Rank = 30) beats a $5 bid with a Quality Score of 5 (Ad Rank = 25). Higher Quality Score = lower cost, better position.

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The Three Components of Quality Score

Google calculates Quality Score from three components, each rated as "Above Average," "Average," or "Below Average":

1. Expected Click-Through Rate (CTR)

How likely someone is to click your ad when it appears for this keyword. Google compares your historical CTR against other advertisers targeting the same keyword, normalizing for ad position.

Weight: Highest impact on Quality Score.

2. Ad Relevance

How closely your ad copy matches the intent behind the keyword. If someone searches "red running shoes" and your ad talks about "athletic footwear," Google considers that less relevant than an ad specifically mentioning "red running shoes."

Weight: Medium impact.

3. Landing Page Experience

How relevant, useful, and fast your landing page is for someone who clicked your ad. Google evaluates content relevance, page load speed, mobile friendliness, and ease of navigation.

Weight: Medium-high impact (and growing in importance).

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How to Check Your Quality Score

1. Go to Keywords in your Google Ads account
2. Click Columns > Modify Columns
3. Under Quality Score, add:
   • Quality Score
   • Expected CTR
   • Ad Relevance
   • Landing Page Experience
4. Apply and review

You can also add historical Quality Score columns to see how scores have changed over time.

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Improving Expected CTR

Expected CTR is the hardest component to improve because it's based on historical click data. But here are proven strategies:

Use the Keyword in Your Headline

The most direct way to improve CTR is to include the exact keyword (or a close variant) in your ad headline. Google bolds matching terms in search results, making your ad stand out visually.

Poor: "Great Athletic Gear — Shop Today" Better: "Red Running Shoes — Free Shipping + 30-Day Returns"

Write Compelling Headlines

Your headline needs to accomplish three things in 30 characters:

1. Match the search query
2. Communicate a benefit or differentiator
3. Create urgency or curiosity

Headlines with numbers outperform those without: "Save 40%" beats "Great Savings." Headlines with specifics beat generalities: "$49 Running Shoes" beats "Affordable Running Shoes."

Use All Available Ad Extensions

Extensions increase your ad's real estate on the page, which directly improves CTR:

• Sitelinks — add 4-6 links to key pages
• Callouts — highlight benefits ("Free Shipping," "24/7 Support")
• Structured Snippets — list product categories or features
• Price Extensions — show pricing for products/services

Ads with extensions see 10-15% higher CTR on average.

Pin High-Performing Headlines

In Responsive Search Ads, pin your best headline to Position 1 so it always shows. Test different headlines in positions 2 and 3.

Improve Your Offer

Sometimes low CTR isn't a copywriting problem — it's an offer problem. If competitors offer free shipping and you don't, no amount of headline optimization will close the gap.

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Improving Ad Relevance

Ad Relevance measures how well your ad copy matches the keyword's intent. This is the easiest component to fix.

Create Tightly Themed Ad Groups

The number one cause of poor Ad Relevance is ad groups with too many unrelated keywords. If one ad group contains "running shoes," "hiking boots," and "dress shoes," your ad can't be relevant to all three.

Structure your ad groups with 5-15 closely related keywords. Each ad group should have a clear theme, and the ads in that group should speak directly to that theme.

Match Your Ad Copy to Keywords

For each ad group, ensure at least 3-5 headlines include the exact keyword or close variants. Your descriptions should also reference the keyword naturally.

Ad Group: "Red Running Shoes"

• Headline 1: "Red Running Shoes — Shop Now"
• Headline 2: "Best Red Running Shoes 2026"
• Headline 3: "Red Running Shoes from $49"

Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion (Carefully)

Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) automatically inserts the user's search query into your ad:

Headline: {KeyWord:Running Shoes} — Shop Now

If someone searches "red running shoes," the headline becomes "Red Running Shoes — Shop Now." This guarantees keyword match but can look awkward for some queries. Use it selectively.

Review and Reorganize Regularly

Every month, check the search terms report. If keywords in an ad group are triggering for very different searches, split them into separate ad groups with more specific ads.

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Improving Landing Page Experience

Landing Page Experience is where many advertisers lose points, especially those sending all traffic to their homepage.

Match Landing Page to Ad Promise

If your ad promises "Red Running Shoes from $49," the landing page should show red running shoes with visible pricing starting at $49. Don't send people to a general shoe category page — send them to the filtered results showing exactly what you promised.

Speed Matters — A Lot

Google explicitly factors page load speed into Landing Page Experience. Target:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): under 2.5 seconds
• First Input Delay (FID): under 100 milliseconds
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): under 0.1

Use PageSpeed Insights to test and fix speed issues. Common fixes:

• Compress images (WebP format)
• Lazy load below-the-fold content
• Minimize JavaScript bundles
• Use a CDN
• Enable browser caching

Mobile Optimization Is Mandatory

Over 60% of Google clicks happen on mobile. If your landing page isn't mobile-optimized:

• Text is too small to read
• Buttons are too small to tap
• Content extends beyond the screen
• Forms are painful to complete

Google will penalize your Landing Page Experience score.

Include Relevant, Original Content

Your landing page should provide substantive, helpful information about the product or service the user searched for. Thin pages with minimal content score poorly. Include:

• Product descriptions with specifications
• Customer reviews and ratings
• FAQs related to the search intent
• Clear pricing information
• Trust signals (security badges, guarantees, testimonials)

Make Navigation Easy

Users should be able to find what they need within seconds of landing. Clear headings, logical page structure, visible CTAs, and simple navigation all contribute to a good Landing Page Experience score.

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Quality Score Optimization Roadmap

Phase 1: Audit (Day 1)

1. Export all keywords with Quality Score data
2. Sort by Quality Score ascending
3. Identify keywords with QS below 6
4. For each, check which component is "Below Average"

Phase 2: Quick Wins (Week 1)

1. Restructure ad groups with too many unrelated keywords
2. Write new ads with keyword-matched headlines for low Ad Relevance keywords
3. Add all available ad extensions
4. Remove or pause keywords with QS 1-3 that aren't critical

Phase 3: Landing Pages (Week 2-4)

1. Create dedicated landing pages for your highest-spend ad groups
2. Improve page speed to meet Core Web Vitals thresholds
3. Add relevant content, reviews, and FAQs to thin landing pages
4. Ensure mobile optimization across all landing pages

Phase 4: Ongoing (Monthly)

1. Review Quality Score trends
2. Test new ad copy and measure CTR impact
3. Monitor search terms and reorganize ad groups
4. A/B test landing page variations

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What Quality Score Can and Can't Do

Quality Score Helps You:

• Pay less per click (up to 50% less at QS 10 vs QS 5)
• Appear in higher ad positions
• Win more auctions you're eligible for
• Identify relevance gaps in your account

Quality Score Doesn't:

• Guarantee conversions (a 10/10 QS ad can still have a bad offer)
• Measure post-click experience beyond landing page basics
• Account for audience targeting quality
• Replace the need for conversion optimization

Quality Score gets people to click at a lower cost. Conversion rate optimization turns those clicks into customers. You need both.

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Benchmark: What Quality Score Should You Target?

Keyword Type	Target QS
Branded keywords (your company name)	8-10
High-intent commercial keywords	7-9
Broad informational keywords	5-7
Competitor keywords	3-5 (expected and acceptable)

Don't obsess over getting every keyword to 10. Focus your optimization energy on high-spend, high-intent keywords where Quality Score improvements will have the largest dollar impact.

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Final Thoughts

Quality Score isn't a vanity metric — it's a direct multiplier on your advertising efficiency. A systematic approach to improving Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, and Landing Page Experience will compound over time, lowering your costs while improving your results.

The advertisers who treat Quality Score as an ongoing practice — not a one-time fix — consistently outperform those who don't. Combine your Google Ads Quality Score work with strong cross-platform campaign management. Try Adship free to manage your Meta and TikTok campaigns while you optimize your Google Ads Quality Scores.