Google Ads Quality Score: What It Is and How to Improve It

What Google Ads Quality Score actually is

Quality Score is Google's own prediction of how likely a person who typed a specific query is to find what they need in your ad and on your website. It is assigned to keywords, not to the whole campaign.

For a business owner, this is about money. Google does not decide which ads to show based on bids alone; quality is part of the auction. Higher quality can mean better positions at a lower cost per click. Lower quality means paying more for the same visibility, or not appearing at all. Most small companies in Tashkent and the regions work with tight budgets, so every extra som spent per click means fewer enquiries.

Treat the score as a diagnostic, not a goal. It tells you where your advertising drifts away from what the customer wants, and it helps you find the weak spot instead of guessing.

The three components behind the score

Google breaks the score into three parts. You can add them as separate columns in your keyword table, and each is labelled above average, average or below average.

The weakest part is usually obvious at a glance, so work on that one first rather than trying to fix everything at once.

• Expected click-through rate: how likely your ad is to be clicked for that query.
• Ad relevance: how closely the ad text matches the meaning of the search.
• Landing page experience: whether the page is useful, delivers on the ad's promise, loads quickly and works well on a phone.

Quality Score is not the same as Ad Strength

Responsive search ads have a separate indicator called Ad Strength, ranging from Poor to Excellent. It reviews your set of headlines and descriptions: whether there are enough options, whether they are varied and whether key phrases appear.

Ad Strength helps you build the ad, but it does not guarantee cheaper clicks. Quality Score belongs to the keyword and also takes your landing page into account. You can have an Excellent ad and still get a weak Quality Score if the page does not answer the query. Watch both, and do not confuse them.

How to improve your Quality Score step by step

Start with the weakest of the three components. These actions usually help the most.

• Split campaigns into tight ad groups: one search intent, one group, its own ads.
• Use the wording of the query in your headlines, as long as the copy still reads naturally.
• Add negative keywords such as free, download or DIY to cut off the wrong audience and protect your click-through rate.
• Turn on assets like sitelinks, callouts, phone number and address so the ad takes up more space.
• Send people to the page that answers that exact query, not to the home page.
• Check the mobile version: most people in Uzbekistan search on a phone, so speed, a clear enquiry button and an easy way to call or message on Telegram matter.
• Test headline variants and keep the ones that bring enquiries, not just clicks.

Example: a dental clinic in Tashkent

Imagine a clinic advertising for the query dental implants in Tashkent. The ad is well written, but it leads to a general page listing every service. The visitor does not see an answer straight away, leaves, and the landing page experience rating suffers.

The fix is straightforward: a dedicated implant page with the stages of treatment, information about the doctor, an enquiry form and a Telegram button. Now the ad and the page talk about the same thing. The same logic applies to an online shop. An ad for wedding dresses should lead to a specific category showing sizes, delivery and payment through Click or Payme, not to a home page with thousands of products.

Common mistakes to avoid

The first mistake is chasing a perfect 10. A score of 10 with no enquiries is worthless. Look at cost per enquiry and lead quality, which requires goals in your analytics: form submissions, phone calls and clicks to Telegram.

The second is dumping dozens of unrelated keywords into one group with a single ad. The third is changing everything at once, then not knowing what worked. Make changes in small batches and compare results once enough impressions have accumulated.

At markdev, when we set up Google Ads, we begin with account structure and landing pages and leave bids for later. If your clicks cost more than they should, describe your task and we will review the account and suggest a plan for improvement.