Starting October 10th, 2016, Google Adwords will begin showing null (“–“) Quality Scores when ads aren’t showing enough impressions and/or clicks. These changes will affect both new keywords and current keywords that lack impression and click data.
What Does The Quality Score Reporting Update Mean for Google Adwords Users?
If Adwords users have filters set up or use reporting features that include filters for Quality Scores, all data that shows as null will now be excluded from that report. If users would like to include all Quality Scores in their reports, they simply need to apply the option “Include quality scores of ‘–‘” to their report filter or rule.
What Is A Quality Score?
Quality Score is measured on a 1-10 scale where 1 is the lowest score and 10 is the highest score. It measures the quality of your ads using three variables, all of which is based on past performance data.
- Expected Clickthrough Rate
- Ad Relevance
- Landing page Experience
For users that have no past performance data to determine their ads quality scores, Google automatically applies a quality score of 6 (ie. “average”). Over time, users will accumulate enough data that could change the quality score over time, providing more accuracy, so that users can take this actionable data to optimize future ads.
How Do You Get a High-Quality Score?
Let’s say you are an e-commerce website trying to sell a specific product. High-quality ads normally answer the following set of questions using this scenario.
- Does your ad text have the product name and/or description in it?
If not, try using the Keyword Insertion add-on feature where your ad has “[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][product name]” as a keyword in the ad text. This will help drive potential customers to click on your ad when they see the term they’ve searched on your ad’s title and/or description. - When someone clicks on your ad, are they redirected to the page that was described in your ad?
For example, did the potential customer get redirect to that product page? This will help customers get to what they are looking for faster. - When someone clicks on your ad, does the page load quickly and are they able to easily navigate your website?
You don’t want to send a potential customer to a website that doesn’t function well, isn’t responsive, and is hard to navigate. Help your customers by giving them a great user experience. - When someone clicks on your ads and reaches your landing page, did they end up buying that product?
Let’s say the potential customer went through the buying funnel, purchased multiple products, and converted. The longer someone stays on your website the better. You can find out if they’ve converted by setting up Google Conversion Funnels on your Google Analytics and linking them to your Google Adwords account.
Ready to Create High-Quality Ads? Start by checking your current Quality Score here >[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
