updated 29th November 2025
If you’ve run Google Ads for more than five minutes, you’ve probably heard the term Quality Score. Most advertisers ignore it. Big mistake.
Quality Score quietly determines:
In short:
Get Quality Score wrong, and Google Ads becomes more expensive than it should be. Get it right, and you instantly gain an edge over your competitors.
Let’s break it down in simple terms.
Google’s Quality Score is a rating (1–10) that measures the relevance and experience of your keywords, ads, and landing pages. It’s Google’s way of deciding whether your ad deserves premium placement — or the leftovers.
A higher Quality Score =
✔ Lower CPC (sometimes dramatically lower)
✔ Higher ad positions
✔ More impressions for the same budget
✔ Better overall performance
A lower Quality Score =
❌ Higher costs
❌ Lower visibility
❌ Lower click-through rate
❌ Less control over your targeting
This is why advertisers with great Quality Scores often outperform competitors even when spending less.
Google isn’t secretive about this — they tell us exactly what matters.
This is Google’s prediction of how likely someone is to click your ad.
Google rewards ads that get clicked.
If your ads historically draw attention, Google pushes you up the page — and charges you less.
How to improve it:
Google checks how closely your keyword matches your actual ad text.
If someone searches “emergency plumber Brisbane” and your ad says “Affordable Plumbing Brisbane — Same Day Service,” that’s relevant.
When relevance drops, Quality Score tanks.
How to improve it:
This is where many advertisers fail.
If your page:
…Google will penalise you.
How to improve it:
The goal is continuity – ad to page must feel seamless.
Here’s the truth:
Quality Score is Google’s way of deciding who deserves to pay less for better traffic.
Advertisers with a high QS can often pay:
Meanwhile poor Quality Score is like carrying a 20kg backpack up a hill — you can still get results, but you’ll pay more and struggle for visibility.
If you want cheaper leads, better ROI, or to stretch a small budget further, improving Quality Score is one of the fastest ways to get there.
One of the most overlooked contributors?
Negative keyword hygiene.
When irrelevant searches trigger your ads:
By cleaning up your search terms regularly, you train Google to show your ads only to people who actually want what you offer.
This is exactly why I built the Negative Keyword List Builder — to automate the painful, time-consuming part of maintaining Quality Score.
Regular negative keyword cleanup leads to:
✔ Higher CTR
✔ Higher relevance
✔ Better landing page matching
✔ Lower wasted spend
✔ Higher Quality Scores
✔ Lower CPCs
It’s one of the few Google Ads improvements that ripple through your entire campaign.
Quality Score isn’t everything – but it affects everything.
If you want cheaper clicks, better leads, and a campaign that grows stronger over time, Quality Score should be a priority, not an afterthought.
Start with relevance.
Clean your search terms.
Match your ads to your keywords.
Match your landing pages to your ads.
And protect your budget with strong negative keyword lists.
If you want help improving Quality Score or cleaning your account efficiently, try the tool I use daily:
👉 Negative Keyword List Builder
https://negativekeywordlistbuilder.com
Or if you prefer one-on-one guidance:
👉 Book a Google Ads Coaching Session
https://ianredford.com/google-ads-training
