Policies and Ad Quality Topics

Ad and Site Quality

Introduction to Ad Quality

How Ad Quality Is Defined

People use Google because they find what they're looking for fast - whether it be the latest news, best candy bar, or closest pizzeria. This is the essence of relevance: Google provides users with the most relevant search results based on their search.

Relevance doesn't end with our search results. We also work to show the most relevant ads for every search query.

This model works for advertisers as well as users: The more relevant the ads are, the more likely users are to click on them.

We measure relevance for search and ads differently.

• For search results, relevance is automatically determined by many factors, including Google's patented PageRank algorithm. The more relevant a search result, the higher it will be ranked. Learn more about how google search results are ranked

• For AdWords ads, the most important factor in relevance is the ad's quality, which we measure with a metric called "Quality Score." The higher your Quality Score, the higher your ad will be ranked and the lower your costs will be. Learn more about how AdWords ads are ranked below.

Introduction to Quality Score

Quality Score is based on your keyword's click-through rate (CTR); the relevance of your ad text, keyword, and landing page; and several other factors.

A Quality Score is calculated every time your keyword matches a search query -- that is, every time your keyword has the potential to trigger an ad. Quality Score is used in several different ways, including influencing your keywords' actual cost-per-clicks (CPCs) and ad position. In general, the higher your Quality Score, the lower your costs and the better your ad position. This rewards you for having relevant ads.

Check out our video explaining quality score

Introduction to Landing Page Quality

One of the factors that makes up Quality Score is the quality of your landing page. Landing page quality is influenced by the usefulness and relevance of information provided on the page, ease of navigation, load time, how many links are on the page, and more.

Improving landing page quality can help you gain the trust of your customers and, therefore, keep them coming back to your site. You'll also make it easier for visitors to make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, or perform any other desired action.

About Quality Scores

Quality Score is used in several different ways, including:

• influencing your keywords' cost per click
• determining whether a keyword is eligible to enter the ad auction that occurs when a user enters a search query
• affecting how high your ad will be ranked 
• estimating the first page bids  that you see in your account

In general, the higher your Quality Score, the lower your costs and the better your ad position. After each auction is run and your ad is ranked, the AdWords Discounter adjusts your actual CPC so you pay the minimum amount required to exceed the rank of the next ranked ad.