10 Facts About Ads Quality Straight From Google

In the SEM world, there are constant discussions taking place on how to improve Quality Scores. Although we’ll never receive the Quality Score algorithm, we’ll take what we can get when Google gives us tidbits of information.

Here are 10 things you should know about Ads Quality – straight from Google’s mouth:

1. There might not be ads on all search results, even for queries that advertisers are bidding on.
2. Just because there is low competition for a keyword doesn’t mean that it will be inexpensive.
3. Your ad position is not a factor in your Quality Score.
4. Your bid primarily impacts your rank, not your Quality Score.
5. Quality is given extra consideration when determining which ads appear in the top slots.
6. Your ad conversion rate doesn’t affect your Quality Score.
7. A few bad days of performance will not ruin your Quality Scores.
8. Quality Score doesn’t suffer when your ads are showing infrequently or not showing due to pausing or budgeting.
9. Restructuring your account doesn’t cause you to lose your historical Quality Score information.
10. Google doesn’t keep track of your landing page experience history.

You can find Google’s details about the above list here. Additionally, I recommend you watch this introductory video explaining the ad auction by Chief Economist at Google, Hal Varian.

It’s important that you digest Quality Score information with caution. There are many more details that are factored into Quality Score that are not reflected here. Need a couple of tips to get you heading in the right direction? First, be sure to construct your account structure so that campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads are tightly themed and created in an organized and logical manner. Also, it’s important that your ads, keywords and landing pages are of quality and highly relevant.

We are barely scratching the surface with this topic. What are some high-level tips you have for improving Quality Scores?

Like this post? Connect with Erika Barbosa on Google+.

Image credit: North Charleston

New Ratings for Google Quality Scores

You may have missed this update due its subtleness, but Google has increased its transparency in Google AdWords Quality Scores.

Now advertisers can get feedback directly from Google on an expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. This feedback is provided as “average”, “above average”, or “below average”, in comparison to other advertisers.

By way of a status hover (speech bubble icon) over a specific keyword, you will now find this additional feedback to the right of the numeric quality score.

As an advertiser, it is critical that you evaluate and improve your Quality Scores. Not only will you save money in the end, but the visitor has a more positive user experience. This way, everyone is happy! The higher your Quality Score means that your keywords, ads, and landing pages are more tightly woven.

Your Quality Score will affect the following things in your account:

• Ad auction eligibility
• Your keyword’s actual cost-per-click
• Your keyword’s first page bid estimate
• Your keyword’s top of page bid estimate
• Ad position

How are you using this feature to improve your campaigns?

Like this post? Connect with Erika Barbosa on Google+.

Image credit: Images_of_Money