Quality Score Clinic

Quality Score Diagnostics & Improvement

Why Quality Score Is Your Silent Budget Multiplier

Google Ads is an auction, but the highest bidder doesn't always win. The winner is determined by Ad Rank = Bid × Quality Score.

This means:

QS 10 with a $2.00 bid beats QS 5 with a $3.50 bid

Improving QS from 5 to 8 can reduce your CPC by 30-40% with the same ad position

A 1-point QS improvement across 1,000 keywords can save thousands per month

Quality Score is free money. Every point you improve reduces what you pay per click without reducing your ad position.

The problem: Most advertisers see QS as a number from 1-10 with no idea how to improve it. The Quality Clinic breaks QS into its 3 components, diagnoses which one is the bottleneck, and prescribes the exact fix.

1. The Three QS Components

Component 1: Expected CTR

Google's prediction of how likely your ad is to be clicked when shown for this keyword.

Above Average: Your ad gets clicked more than competitors for this keyword. ✅

Average: Normal click rate. Acceptable but improvable.

Below Average: Users ignore your ad. 🔴 Fix: Improve headlines in Creative Lab.

Component 2: Ad Relevance

How closely your ad copy matches the intent behind the keyword.

Above Average: Strong keyword-to-ad alignment. ✅

Average: Acceptable but could be tighter.

Below Average: Your ad doesn't match the keyword. 🔴 Fix: Create tighter ad groups with keyword-specific copy.

Component 3: Landing Page Experience

How useful and relevant your landing page is to someone who clicked your ad.

Above Average: Fast, relevant, good UX. ✅

Average: Meets basic standards.

Below Average: Slow, irrelevant, or poor mobile experience. 🔴 Fix: Improve page speed, content relevance, and mobile responsiveness.

The Diagnostic Table:

Keyword	QS	Expected CTR	Ad Relevance	LP Experience	Priority
crm software	4	Below Avg	Average	Below Avg	🔴 High
best crm	7	Above Avg	Average	Average	🟡 Medium
enterprise crm	9	Above Avg	Above Avg	Above Avg	✅ None

2. The QS Tax Calculator

What it calculates: How much extra you pay annually because of poor Quality Scores.

The math:

Google doesn't publish the exact QS-to-CPC relationship, but industry data shows approximate CPC multipliers:

Quality Score	CPC Multiplier (vs QS 10)
10	0.50x (cheapest)
8	0.75x
7	1.00x (baseline)
6	1.25x
5	1.50x
4	2.00x
3	2.50x
2	3.50x
1	4.00x+

Example:

You have 200 keywords with QS 5, spending $50K/month on those keywords.

At QS 5, you're paying 1.5× what you'd pay at QS 7.

QS Tax = $50K × (1.5 - 1.0) / 1.5 = ~$16,700/month overpayment

Improving those 200 keywords from QS 5 → QS 7 saves ~$16,700/month = $200K/year.

The QS Tax Summary Card:

💰 Annual QS Tax: ~$200K

Keywords with QS ≤5: 200 (28% of account)

Average QS (account): 6.2

Target QS: 7.0+

Potential Savings: ~$200K/year

This single metric often justifies the entire optimization effort.

3. Fix Protocols (The Prescription Pad)

Each QS component has a specific fix protocol. The Clinic prescribes the right one based on your diagnostic results.

Protocol A: Fix Expected CTR (Below Average)

Open Creative Lab → Headline Performance Matrix

Identify headlines with highest CTR for similar keywords

Create new RSA variants using winning headline patterns

Test for 14 days, measure CTR improvement

If CTR improves but QS doesn't update → Wait. Google re-evaluates QS periodically (not instantly).

Protocol B: Fix Ad Relevance (Below Average)

Check ad group structure: Is this keyword in the right ad group?

If the ad group has 20+ keywords → It's too broad. Split into tighter themed groups.

Ensure the keyword's core phrase appears in at least one headline

Create a dedicated RSA with the keyword in Headline 1 (pinned)

Match the ad's description to the keyword's search intent

Protocol C: Fix Landing Page Experience (Below Average)

Page Speed: Test with Google PageSpeed Insights. Target: <3 seconds load time on mobile.

Mobile UX: Test on actual mobile devices. Forms should have <5 fields. CTA must be visible without scrolling.

Content Relevance: Does the landing page address the keyword's intent? If keyword is "CRM for small business" but LP talks about "enterprise features," there's a mismatch.

Trust Signals: Add reviews, testimonials, security badges, privacy policy.

No Intrusive Interstitials: Remove popup ads, aggressive email capture modals.

Timeline: LP Experience changes take 2-4 weeks to reflect in QS. CTR and Relevance changes can reflect in 1-2 weeks.

4. Prioritization Framework

Not all QS improvements are equal. Fix the keywords that matter most first.

Priority Score = QS Gap × Monthly Spend × Improvement Feasibility

QS Gap: Difference between current QS and target (7). A keyword at QS 3 has a gap of 4; QS 6 has a gap of 1.

Monthly Spend: Higher-spend keywords save more money per QS point improvement.

Improvement Feasibility:

Expected CTR (Below Average) → Medium effort (creative changes)

Ad Relevance (Below Average) → Low effort (restructure ad groups)

LP Experience (Below Average) → High effort (dev work needed)

The Priority Queue:

Priority	Keyword	QS	Gap	Spend	Bottleneck	Fix
1	crm software	4	3	$8K/mo	LP + CTR	Protocol C then A
2	project mgmt tool	5	2	$5K/mo	Ad Relevance	Protocol B
3	workflow automation	5	2	$4K/mo	CTR	Protocol A

Start at the top. Fix #1 first. The highest-priority keyword generates the most savings per hour of optimization effort.

5. QS Trend Monitoring

What it tracks: Quality Score changes over time for each keyword.

Visual: Sparkline per keyword showing QS over 90 days.

Alert triggers:

🔴 QS Drop Alert: Keyword QS decreased by 2+ points in 14 days

Possible causes: Competitor improved their ads, your LP broke, ad fatigue lowered CTR.

Action

Check which component dropped and apply the corresponding fix protocol.

🟢 QS Improvement: Keyword QS increased by 2+ points

Confirmation that your optimization is working. Document what you changed for replication.

⚠️ QS Stagnation: Keyword QS unchanged for 60+ days despite optimization efforts

Possible causes: Google hasn't re-evaluated yet (normal), or your changes weren't impactful enough.

Action

Give it 2 more weeks. If still stagnant, try a more aggressive intervention (new landing page, new ad group structure).

Monthly QS Summary:

Average QS (account-wide): 6.2 → 6.8 (improving ✅)

Keywords with QS ≤5: 200 → 142 (decreasing ✅)

Estimated monthly savings from QS improvements: ~$8,400

Recommended Monthly Workflow

Quality Score optimization is a monthly effort with compounding returns.

Last Monday of Every Month (45 minutes):

Step 1: QS Tax Check (5 min)

Open the QS Tax Calculator. Has the total tax decreased since last month? If yes, your optimizations are working.

Step 2: Priority Queue Review (15 min)

Check the top 10 keywords in the Priority Queue. Pick the top 3 to fix this month.

Step 3: Apply Fix Protocols (20 min)

Ad Relevance fixes: Restructure ad groups (15 min)

Expected CTR fixes: Create headline variants in Creative Lab (15 min)

LP Experience fixes: File tickets with dev team (5 min, actual fix happens separately)

Step 4: Trend Check (5 min)

Review sparklines for keywords you fixed last month. Any improvements? Document wins.

Success Metrics:

Account average QS improves 0.5 points per quarter

QS Tax decreases 15-25% per quarter

Zero high-spend keywords ($1K+/month) remain at QS ≤4 for more than 60 days

When to Use This Dashboard (vs. Other Tools)

Use Quality Clinic when you want to:

Diagnose and fix Quality Score issues

Calculate CPC savings from QS improvements

Prioritize which keywords to optimize first

Track QS trends over time

Don't use Quality Clinic when you want to:

Review search terms (use Search Hygiene or N-Gram Analysis)

Optimize ad creative broadly (use Creative Lab)

Manage budgets (use Budget Balancer)

Who Should Use This:

✅ PPC specialists (keyword-level optimization)

✅ Campaign managers (ad group restructuring)

✅ Landing page developers (LP Experience fixes)

❌ Executives (too granular)

❌ Beginners (start with PCC and Creative Lab)

How Often: Monthly. The compounding savings from QS improvement make this one of the highest-ROI activities in PPC.

Technical FAQ

Q: Does Quality Score directly affect CPC?

Yes. QS is a multiplier in the Ad Rank auction. Higher QS = lower CPC for the same ad position. A QS improvement from 5 to 8 typically reduces CPC by 30-40%.

Q: How quickly does QS update after I make changes?

Ad Relevance and Expected CTR changes can reflect in 1-2 weeks. Landing Page Experience changes take 2-4 weeks. Google re-evaluates QS periodically, not in real-time.

Q: Should I pause keywords with QS ≤3?

Not automatically. Check spend first. A QS 3 keyword spending $50/month isn't worth worrying about. A QS 3 keyword spending $5K/month is a top priority fix. Use the Priority Queue to decide.

Q: Can I improve QS without changing my landing page?

Yes, if LP Experience is already Average or Above Average. Focus on Expected CTR (better headlines) and Ad Relevance (tighter ad groups). But if LP Experience is Below Average, the other components alone won't get you to QS 7+.

Q: What's the relationship between QS and Ad Rank?

Ad Rank = Bid × Quality Score × Expected Impact of Extensions. You can compete with higher-bidding competitors by having better QS. A $2 bid with QS 9 beats a $4 bid with QS 4.

Q: How accurate is the QS Tax Calculator?

The CPC multipliers are industry estimates based on published research, not exact Google data (Google doesn't publish exact formulas). Consider the QS Tax as directional—useful for prioritization and justifying optimization effort, not as an exact figure.

Q: Does QS affect Display or Shopping campaigns?

Not directly. Quality Score as a visible 1-10 metric only applies to Search keywords. Display uses a different quality assessment (not visible to advertisers), and Shopping uses product listing quality signals.

Q: My LP Experience is 'Below Average' but my page loads in 2 seconds. Why?

LP Experience isn't just speed. Google also evaluates content relevance (does the LP match the keyword?), mobile usability, ease of navigation, and trust signals. A fast page with irrelevant content still scores poorly.