How-to · Updated October 11, 2026
Improve a low Quality Score in Google Ads
Updated October 11, 2026
30 minutes
To improve a low Quality Score, add the Quality Score, Exp. CTR, Ad Relevance and Landing Page Exp. columns to your keywords, find the part marked Below average, and fix that part: closer ad text, a sharper offer, or the page that delivers what was searched. Changing match types or bids does not move the score.
Before you start
- Standard or Admin access to the Google Ads account. Read-only access can view the columns, but editing ads, ad groups and final URLs is a campaign edit.
- Keywords with traffic. A dash in the Quality Score column means there are not enough searches that exactly match the keyword to give it a score. That is missing data, not a low score.
Find the part that drags the score down
The score combines three parts, each rated Above average, Average or Below average. Start with any part marked Below average; Google says Average can also leave room to improve.
- In Google Ads, select the Campaigns icon, open Audiences, keywords, and content in the section menu, and select Search keywords.
- Select the columns icon at the upper right of the table.
- Under Modify columns for keywords, select the drop-down arrow beside All columns and open the Quality score section.
- Tick Quality Score, Exp. CTR, Ad Relevance and Landing Page Exp., then select Apply.
- Sort by Cost and look at the keywords with a score of 1 to 4 near the top. Calling 1 to 4 low and starting where the money goes are judgments, not Google's rules; Google calls the score a diagnostic, not a number to optimize.
Fix the part marked Below average
Google gives separate fixes for each part; use the ones for the part marked Below average, then Average.
- Ad Relevance: if one ad group holds keywords that one ad cannot answer, split it into ad groups by theme. A dental office with "teeth whitening" and "emergency dentist" in one ad group needs two, each with ad text that uses the language of its own searches.
- Landing Page Exp.: set the ad's final URL to the page that delivers what was searched, such as the service page instead of the home page, and keep the page's message consistent with the ad's offer. Google also names mobile friendliness and loading speed; the search's exact words need not appear on the page.
- Exp. CTR: make the offer more specific and name a benefit that sets the business apart, such as a free first consultation for a law firm. Google warns that a more specific ad can get fewer clicks but a higher conversion rate, so judge the change on leads, not clicks alone.
Ad strength is a different rating from Quality Score; the related how-tos cover rewriting the ad itself.
Skip the fixes that do not move it
Match types, bids, moving an unchanged ad group and reported conversions do not change Quality Score.
- Do not change match types to raise the score. The score rests on past impressions for exact searches of the keyword, so Google says changing match types will not change it.
- Do not raise the bid to fix the score. Google says the bid may affect Ad Rank but does not change its assessment of ad quality.
- Do not move an unchanged ad group to another campaign or account. Google says that does not change ad quality; moving a keyword into a new ad group with new ad text can.
- Do not expect better conversion tracking to lift it: reported conversions do not affect ad quality.
Check it worked
Each part is rated against other advertisers whose ads showed for the same search over the last 90 days, so a fix can take weeks to show fully. To watch it change, add Quality Score (hist.) and the matching (hist.) columns from the same Quality score section, then segment the table by day.
Read clickthrough rate and conversion rate beside it. A part moving up from Below average while leads hold or rise is the goal; a higher score with fewer leads is not.
If Quality Score is not used in the auction, why fix it
Google says the 1 to 10 score itself is not an input in the ad auction. The ad quality behind it is: Google considers ad quality when setting Ad Rank, and says higher quality ads typically cost less per click. With low quality ads, the actual cost per click can sit close to the maximum bid even when competition is low.
For other reasons a cost per click rises, see the FAQ on that question.
What to do about a dash
A dash means too few exact searches. Google suggests Keyword Planner to find keywords with more search volume, and broader match types so the keyword enters more auctions and gathers enough exact-match data for a score.