A Quality Score of 10 cuts your cost-per-click in half. A score of 1 makes you pay 4x the baseline. The three components, Ad Relevance, Expected CTR, and Landing Page Experience, are each improvable with specific, repeatable actions.
Why It Matters
Quality Score directly determines your CPC[1]. At a $50,000/month budget, the difference between a Quality Score of 4 and a Quality Score of 8 translates to roughly $20,000/month in wasted spend.
Diagnose Your Current Score
In the Google Ads Keywords tab, add the Quality Score, Landing Page Exp., Ad Relevance, and Exp. CTR columns, then sort ascending. Keywords with the lowest scores and highest impression volume are your top priorities[2].
Improve Ad Relevance
Start by restructuring into tighter ad groups using SKAGs or tight thematic clusters. Use the keyword in your first headline and audit broad match terms regularly with the Search Terms report.
Improve Expected CTR
Fill all 15 Responsive Search Ad headline slots and add sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets[3]. Test systematically and let RSAs run for two to four weeks before reading results.
Improve Landing Page Experience
Target LCP under 2.5 seconds and fix CLS to stay under 0.1. Ensure mobile-friendly tap targets (44px minimum) and match the landing page headline to your ad copy[4].
Prioritization Framework
When multiple components show "Below Average," work through them in this order:
- Landing Page Experience: fix first because it affects every ad pointing to that URL
- Ad Relevance: fix second by restructuring ad groups and rewriting headlines
- Expected CTR: fix third, as it is the hardest to move and driven largely by historical data
How Site Scanner Helps
Site Scanner checks 40+ signals that map to what Google evaluates for Landing Page Experience. Run an audit on your top 10 ad landing pages to surface the specific issues dragging your scores down.