The Real Way to Improve Google Ads Quality Score
Ad costs climb, leads get worse, and dashboards still insist campaigns are “learning.” That pattern isn’t random. In 2025, most industries saw cost-per-click jump while conversion rates fell, a painful combination that punishes sloppy accounts and rewards advertisers who obsess over Quality Score. North Country Consulting found that 87% of industries faced a 13% CPC increase while 91% saw a 14% drop in conversion rates. That gap is exactly where Quality Score does its work.
Quality Score is the closest thing Google gives to a “trust rating.” Raise it and clicks get cheaper, better, and easier to scale. Ignore it and the auction makes you pay for every mistake. The real challenge is that most advice about Quality Score is either vague (“write better ads”) or outdated.
This guide cuts through that. It breaks down how Quality Score really works now, why it matters more than ever in 2025, and what specific actions actually move the number instead of just rearranging your account.
What Google Ads Quality Score Actually Measures
Quality Score is Google’s 1–10 rating of how useful and relevant your ad experience is for a specific keyword. That rating blends three main ingredients: expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. Each one is judged at the keyword level, which is why the same ad can perform brilliantly on one term and fall flat on another.
It isn’t a vanity metric. Google uses this score inside the ad auction to help decide which ad shows and what you pay per click. A higher score means Google expects users to like your result. As a reward, you often get a discount. A lower score means users probably won’t like it, so Google charges more to make room for better options.
According to industry analysis, poor-performing advertisers can end up paying two to three times more per click than advertisers with well-optimized Quality Scores, purely because of this rating difference. That insight from Rocking Web’s breakdown of Quality Score economics highlights just how expensive “average” can be.
Why Quality Score Matters More in 2025
Google Ads is no longer a niche performance channel. In 2025 it reached 4.77 billion users, touching roughly 90% of internet users worldwide, according to global stats compiled by TwinStrata. That scale means almost every serious business has competitors in the auction. The days when a lightly managed account could coast on cheap clicks are gone.
At the same time, auction dynamics are changing. Industry reporting shows that in 2024, 70% of industries enjoyed higher click-through rates with an average 5% year-on-year CTR lift. That sounds positive, yet North Country Consulting’s research shows rising CPCs and falling conversion rates at the same time. When clicks get easier to win but harder to convert profitably, Quality Score becomes a survival tool. It’s the lever that protects margins while others bid blindly just to maintain volume.
There’s also the search results page itself. AI Overviews started appearing on a large share of queries and, by August 2025, they showed up on more than half of all Google search results, up from about a quarter in late 2024. As more answers appear directly in the SERP, organic real estate shrinks and paid spots shoulder more of the commercial intent. In that environment, Google needs ads that users actually appreciate. Quality Score is the algorithm’s shorthand for who earns that trust.
The Three Levers of Quality Score, Deconstructed
Quality Score may look like a single number, but it behaves more like a three-part system. Each component-expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience-has its own set of problems and fixes. Attack them separately and the overall score starts to move.
Think of it this way: expected CTR answers “will they click?”, ad relevance asks “is this the right message for that query?”, and landing page experience asks “did they land in the right place and feel good about it?” Optimizing only one of these is like fixing one tire on a flat car. It helps, but the ride is still rough.
Lever 1: Expected CTR
Expected CTR is Google’s prediction of how likely someone is to click your ad when it appears for a specific keyword. It leans heavily on historical performance. If similar queries have gotten strong engagement, Google assumes future impressions will too.
Improving this lever starts with alignment and clarity, not clickbait. Searchers reward ads that feel made for their exact intent. Several strategies consistently raise expected CTR without sacrificing lead quality:
Tight keyword theming: Group keywords by a single intent, not broad topics. “Emergency plumber near me” should not live beside “water heater installation cost.” Different problems, different expectations.
Mirrored language: Use the core phrasing of the keyword in your headlines and paths. If the user types “B2B PPC audit,” the ad should say “B2B PPC Audit,” not just “Digital Marketing Services.”
Clear, concrete offers: “Free 20-minute strategy call” beats “Talk to an expert.” People click on specifics, not slogans.
Systematic testing: Rotate headlines and descriptions with a real hypothesis behind them-speed vs. price vs. credibility, for example-rather than random wording tweaks.
One subtle but critical point: expected CTR is measured against ad position. Google doesn’t expect the same CTR from a bottom-of-page ad as it does from the top slot. Chasing artificially high CTR with ultra-broad keywords may raise surface-level metrics while quietly poisoning conversion rates, which eventually drags Quality Score back down.
Lever 2: Ad Relevance
Ad relevance measures how closely your ad matches the meaning and intent of the keyword. This isn’t just about repeating the keyword in your copy. It’s about whether the offer, angle, and value proposition logically follow from what the person searched.
Quality Score tanks when campaigns try to be everything at once. A SaaS company running one generic “platform” ad across awareness, competitor, and high-intent keywords leaves Google guessing. The fix is to design campaigns around distinct user journeys:
Intent-based campaign structure: Separate non-brand, brand, competitor, and retargeting into different campaigns. Inside search, split “problem-aware” queries from “solution-aware” and “ready-to-buy.”
Message hierarchies: For early-stage queries, lean on education and authority. For bottom-of-funnel queries, emphasize pricing clarity, guarantees, and proof.
Negative keywords as a relevance tool: Block irrelevant sub-intents-jobs, DIY, student research, or free-only seekers-so they don’t tank ad performance and pollute Quality Score.
When ad relevance is fixed at the root, expected CTR improves in a more sustainable way, and landing page experience is easier to match. The three levers reinforce one another instead of fighting.
Lever 3: Landing Page Experience
Landing page experience is where Quality Score meets real business results. Google looks at how quickly the page loads, how well it works on mobile, how clearly it answers the query, and whether users seem to stick around or bounce.
In practice, landing pages drag down Quality Score for predictable reasons: generic homepages, cluttered layouts, slow load times, and forms that demand too much too soon. Fixing this isn’t about adding more copy; it’s about reducing friction.
Message match: The headline should echo the search term and ad promise almost exactly. If the ad says “24/7 Emergency AC Repair,” the page header should not pivot to “Residential & Commercial HVAC Solutions Since 1994.”
Single dominant action: Every scroll depth should make the primary conversion goal obvious. Secondary links can exist, but they should never compete visually with the main CTA.
Mobile-first design: Test forms, buttons, and key content on a mid-range smartphone, not just a retina MacBook. If it’s irritating or cramped on a phone, Quality Score usually feels that pain.
Proof near the top: Ratings, review snippets, recognizable client logos, or short testimonials right after the headline give anxious users a reason to stay.
Since landing page experience is shared across multiple keywords, lifting it often improves Quality Scores account-wide. That’s why serious advertisers treat CRO and Google Ads as a single system, not separate projects.
Using AI and Automation Without Wrecking Quality
Google’s AI features-Performance Max, broad match with smart bidding, and Demand Gen-are no longer experimental. They’re central to how the platform wants accounts to run. When used carelessly, they can flood campaigns with irrelevant queries and thin intent, which drags Quality Scores and profitability down.
Used correctly, though, these tools can amplify good account fundamentals. Experts at WordStream point out that AI-driven features can streamline management and drive strong results when they’re fed with high-quality data and guardrails. WordStream’s benchmarks for 2024 Google Ads performance stress that the quality of inputs-creative, audience signals, conversion data-dictates how well automation behaves.
There are a few key principles that keep AI from crushing Quality Score:
Define allowed and blocked traffic clearly: Use robust negative keyword lists, placement exclusions, and geo controls. Teach the system where it’s not allowed to search for conversions.
Feed it clean conversion signals: Track only the actions that correlate with real revenue (qualified leads, purchases, booked demos). Don’t optimize for weak signals like time on site or PDF downloads.
Segment by business model, not just asset type: Separate lead gen vs. ecommerce, high-ticket vs. low-ticket products, and repeat vs. one-off purchases so the algorithm isn’t solving conflicting goals in one place.
Audit search term and placement reports weekly: Even with automation, human reviews are non-negotiable. Remove junk before it gets “baked in” to the model’s understanding.
Automation amplifies whatever it’s given. Strong relevance, clear intent boundaries, and clean conversion data push Quality Score in the right direction. Sloppy inputs make the machine very efficient at wasting budget.
Landing Pages: The Hidden Quality Score Multiplier
Most accounts spend 90% of their time tweaking bids and only 10% fixing where the click actually lands. That ratio should be reversed. With CPCs climbing and conversion rates slipping in many industries, a landing page that converts even modestly better can be the difference between a campaign that scales and one that quietly drains profit.
Landing page experience feeds directly into Quality Score, but its impact extends beyond the Google Ads interface. When visitors stay longer, scroll deeper, and convert more, Google’s engagement signals improve. That lifts Quality Scores, which in turn lowers CPC and brings in more traffic at the same budget.
To use landing pages as a Quality Score multiplier, three priorities matter most:
Intent-specific pages: Create different pages for high-intent bottom-of-funnel queries, research queries, and competitors’ brand terms. A one-size-fits-all service page forces every visitor into the same conversation, which degrades both UX and Quality Score.
Frictionless forms: Ask for the minimum information needed to qualify and follow up. Businesses often see sharp gains when they remove non-essential fields like “How did you hear about us?” or large text areas that feel like homework.
Visual clarity and hierarchy: Short paragraphs, meaningful subheadings, bullet points, and obvious CTAs help users understand value quickly. Confused visitors leave; Quality Score notices.
Adding simple reassurance elements-“no spam” notes under forms, visible privacy policies, contact details in the footer-also supports landing page quality. These touches reduce anxiety, which increases both conversions and the engagement metrics Google uses to infer satisfaction.
Ad Relevance and Creative That Actually Deserves the Click
Quality Score punishes lazy, generic ads. The fix isn’t just plugging in the keyword everywhere. It’s writing messages that feel personal and specific to the user’s situation. That takes more thought but pays off in both CTR and conversion rate.
Research on ad performance in 2024 found that personalized ads outperformed generic ones by 50% in engagement rates. A study documented by MoldStud highlighted how tailoring copy and offers to audience segments dramatically lifted interaction. That principle carries directly into Google Ads.
Here’s how to bring that level of relevanceinto paid search creative:
Mirror the user’s role or segment: Speak directly to “IT leaders,” “agency owners,” “multi-location clinics,” or “first-time homebuyers” when you can infer that context from keywords or audience lists.
Call out specific pains, not generic benefits: “Stop losing leads to slow follow-up” hits harder than “Improve sales performance.” It acknowledges a real frustration.
Use your assets to prove claims: If you mention fast onboarding, show how long it takes. If you boast about support, reference response times or ratings-as long as any numbers come from credible, documented data.
Design CTAs around the lowest-friction next step: “Calculate your cost savings,” “Check availability in your area,” or “See sample pricing” often outperforms “Get started” for cold traffic.
Responsive search ads give multiple slots to test variations, but thoughtful structure still matters. Group similar messages (speed-focused, price-focused, proof-focused) and rotate them in blocks so patterns are obvious in the data. Randomly mixing everything together makes it harder to learn why Quality Score is moving.
Account Structure, Match Types, and Query Control
A messy account structure is one of the fastest ways to poison Quality Score. When dozens of unrelated queries flow through the same ad group, Google struggles to figure out what experience users are actually getting. That confusion shows up as weak relevance and depressed expected CTR.
A healthier structure doesn’t have to be complicated; it just needs to reflect how people actually search:
Split by query intent, not just product line: Within a given offering, separate campaigns for research-level, solution-aware, and high-intent transactional searches. Each should have its own ads and landing pages.
Use match types deliberately: Broad match paired with smart bidding can work well when backed by excellent negatives and conversion data. Phrase and exact still have a place for high-value keywords where tight control is essential.
Protect brand terms: Run brand campaigns separately with strict negatives to avoid polluting them with non-brand traffic. Brand queries usually earn very high Quality Scores; mixing in unrelated intent wastes that advantage.
Make search term reviews a ritual: Weekly or bi-weekly audits of search term reports reveal which queries deserve their own ad groups, which need negatives, and which should be excluded at the campaign level.
Quality Score improves naturally when each ad group covers a small, coherent set of queries, with ads and landing pages tailored to that set. That’s why account restructures often lead to better CPCs and more stable performance even before bids or budgets change.
How We at North Country Consulting Fix Quality Score Problems
When businesses come to North Country Consulting, they’re usually not asking for help with “Quality Score” as a concept. They’re asking why leads got worse, why costs shot up, or why campaigns that used to work suddenly don’t. Under the hood, Quality Score problems almost always play a starring role.
We start with a layered audit. First, we map Quality Scores by campaign, ad group, and keyword, looking for patterns: low scores concentrated in certain intents, devices, or geographies. Then we compare that map against lead quality and revenue, not just form fills. It’s common to find that the worst Quality Scores cluster around low-intent or irrelevant queries that never should have been targeted in the first place.
From there, we build a roadmap that tackles all three levers in realistic stages:
Phase 1 – Stop the bleeding: Shut off or heavily restrict traffic that is clearly misaligned-job seekers, DIY queries, obvious non-buyer intent. Introduce negative keyword sets, tighten geos, and protect brand terms.
Phase 2 – Rebuild relevance: Restructure campaigns around clear intents, rewrite ads to mirror how ideal buyers speak, and design or assign landing pages that match each journey.
Phase 3 – Optimize with AI, not for AI: Once the account is structurally sound, we layer in automation-Performance Max, smart bidding, and broad match-inside well-defined boundaries, using only high-quality conversion signals.
Because we operate as a performance-focused partner, not just an execution vendor, we also work with clients on the parts of the funnel outside Google Ads: CRM routing, sales follow-up speed, and offer design. That holistic view is what lets us use Quality Score as both a diagnostic tool and a growth lever. When prospective clients want a team that can own the entire journey from click to revenue, we position ourselves as the top agency to manage that transformation.
90-Day Action Plan to Raise Quality Score
Quality Score will not jump from a 3 to a 10 overnight, and chasing the number itself is less important than fixing what it represents. Still, a clear 90-day plan helps turn theory into measurable progress.
Here’s a practical roadmap that many accounts can follow without rebuilding everything from scratch:
Days 1–7: Diagnose
Pull current Quality Scores by keyword and tag them by intent: research, solution-aware, brand, competitor, and bottom-of-funnel.
Identify keywords with high spend, low conversion rates, and weak Quality Scores. These are your priority fixes.
Export search term reports and flag obviously irrelevant themes (careers, DIY, student research, unrelated industries).
Days 8–21: Clean up query intent
Pause or limit keywords that drive poor-quality traffic, even if their surface-level CTR looks decent.
Build robust negative keyword lists for job seekers, free-only searches, and non-buyer intent discovered in your audit.
Separate brand campaigns from non-brand, and ensure competitors’ brand terms have their own structured campaigns.
Days 22–45: Rebuild relevance
Restructure key campaigns around narrower thematic ad groups with clearly defined intent.
Rewrite ads so headlines and paths mirror top queries and clearly state offers, proofs, and next steps.
Create or assign dedicated landing pages for your highest-value keyword clusters, improving message match and clarity.
Days 46–70: Fix landing page experience
Measure page speed and mobile usability, then prioritize fixes on pages that handle the most paid traffic.
Shorten forms where possible and move critical proof elements (testimonials, ratings, guarantees) higher on the page.
Set up simple A/B tests on headlines and CTAs that align tightly with searcher intent.
Days 71–90: Layer in smart automation
Enable smart bidding strategies on campaigns with enough clean conversion data, focusing on realistic CPA or ROAS targets.
Test broad match in tightly controlled campaigns with strong negatives and high-performing creatives.
Monitor Quality Score trends weekly, alongside lead quality feedback from sales or CRM data.
While all this is happening, keep an eye on the broader search landscape. AI Overviews are appearing on a large and growing share of queries, and a study cited by PPC Land found that these overviews can reduce click-through rates for top-ranking pages by roughly a third, with some sites seeing traffic drops of 20–40%. PPC Land’s coverage of AI Overview impacts underlines why ads with strong Quality Scores are becoming a critical backstop when organic visibility shrinks.
For businesses that want to move faster or avoid the learning curve entirely, partnering with a specialist matters. At North Country Consulting, we build and manage Google Ads programs with Quality Score at the core, aligning campaigns, messaging, and landing pages so clicks turn into real revenue instead of just traffic. That’s the real way to improve Quality Score: treat it not as a number to game, but as a direct reflection of how well the business serves the people who are searching.
Ready to transform your Google Ads performance and see tangible results in your revenue? At North Country Consulting, our expertise is deeply rooted in our founder's extensive experience at Google and leading revenue teams at major startups like Stripe and Apollo.io. We specialize in elevating ecommerce and leadgen campaigns to new heights of success. Don't miss the opportunity to leverage our proven strategies—book a free consultation with us today and start your journey towards optimized Quality Scores and cost-effective leads.