Measurement-first Google & YouTube for 8 & 9-figure brands
Measurement-first Google & YouTube for 8 & 9-figure brands
There are many ways to improve the Google Ads Quality Score for your ecommerce campaigns, including tightening your ad groups, sharpening your ad copy, fixing your landing pages, and cleaning up your product feed.
The problem we see is that while many advertisers can correctly diagnose what’s behind their low Quality Scores, they fail to fix them correctly. They raise bids or rewrite ads that were never the issue, which increases their ad spend without improving the score.
Google Ads Quality Score is a 1 to 10 rating that Google gives each Search keyword based on how your ads and landing pages compare with other advertisers on the same searches. If you’re facing low scores (e.g., a 3 or 4), the critical thing to do is find out which component is dragging each score down before you change a single bid or ad.
After working with 150+ 7- to 9-figure ecommerce brands, we have a tested process for fixing low Quality Scores in ecommerce accounts. We’ll show you how to diagnose what’s dragging each score down and prioritize the keywords worth fixing first. Most importantly, we’ll walk you through the highest-impact fixes for ecommerce accounts to help you win better ad positions at a lower cost per click.
To improve your Google Ads Quality Score, first identify which component Google rates Below average, and fix the issue behind it. For ecommerce campaigns, this could mean making your ads more relevant to product searches or sending shoppers to landing pages that match what they searched for. Start with keywords that have meaningful ad spend, then measure whether your changes improve Quality Score and campaign performance.
Google Ads Quality Score is a 1-to-10 rating that shows how your Search ads compare with other advertisers appearing for similar searches.
According to Google, the score is based on three components, each rated Above average, Average, or Below average against advertisers appearing for the same exact search over the previous 90 days.
Here’s what each component measures and the common problems ecommerce advertisers face:
Component | What Google measures | Common ecommerce problem |
Expected CTR | How likely someone is to click your ad | Generic headlines that give shoppers little reason to click |
Ad relevance | How closely your ad matches the search | Using the same ad for different product types |
Landing page experience | How relevant and useful the destination is | Sending product searches to an unrelated category |
When you check Quality Score in your keyword report, some keywords may show a dash where the number should be. That means Google doesn’t have enough exact-search data to calculate a score yet, which is common for new keywords and low-volume product searches.
Whether a keyword shows a number or a dash, the score itself works as a report on past performance. While Quality Score isn’t directly used in the ad auction, the related quality factors contribute to Ad Rank, which influences ad position and cost per click. That’s why the component ratings matter more than the overall number when deciding what to improve.
To diagnose a low Quality Score, make sure to pull every keyword’s score and component ratings into one view before changing anything. If you make changes before this, you can end up wasting budget on fixes aimed at the wrong component. This process only takes about ten minutes and stops you from rewriting ads that were never the problem.
Follow these steps to review your account:
Once you’ve identified the biggest issues, work through them based on their potential impact on your business. As Google recommends, use Quality Score alongside your campaign performance data to decide where to make changes.
We’ve compiled these 18 ways to improve Google Ads Quality Score for ecommerce into four groups: ad relevance fixes, expected CTR fixes, landing page fixes, and fixes for campaigns that run on your product feed. Since each one targets a specific component, you can start with the group your diagnosis flagged, beginning with the low-scoring keywords that spend the most.
Separate keywords with different search intentions into more focused ad groups. Shoppers looking for different features need different ads, even when they’re shopping in the same category.
Why it works: One ad can’t address every keyword in a mixed group, so splitting the group lets each ad match its searches more closely, which lifts ad relevance.
How to do it:
What good looks like: If you sell running shoes, a search for trail shoes shows an ad about grip on wet terrain, while a search for wide-fit shoes shows an ad about extra-width sizing.
Build your ad headlines around the product the shopper searched for and the reason they’d want it.
Why it works: Ad relevance measures how closely your ad matches the search. Headlines that stay closely related to your keywords make that match obvious to both Google and the shopper.
How to do it:
What good looks like:
If you sell skincare, a shopper searching “vitamin c serum” might see these headlines:
Create keywords and ads for the exact product names, model numbers, or SKUs that shoppers search for. People who search this way usually know exactly what they want and are close to buying.
Why it works: Ad relevance measures how closely your ad matches the intent behind a search. Using the product name the shopper typed in your headline is the most direct way to match your ad text to their search.
How to do it:
What good looks like:
If you sell electronics, a shopper searching “sony wh-1000xm5 black” might see this:
Review your search terms report every week to see the real searches that triggered your ads. Even well-built ad groups pick up searches you never planned for, especially on broad match.
Why it works: The search terms report shows the actual searches behind your clicks, so you can block poor matches or give new intents their own keywords and ads to lift ad relevance.
How to do it:
What good looks like: Fewer of your top-spending search terms need action each week, and the ones at the top read like your product list.
Use negative keywords to stop your ads from showing for searches that don’t match what you sell. Clicks from people looking for repairs or jobs cost you money with no chance of a sale.
Why it works: Negative keywords block unwanted searches and reduce wasted clicks. Their effect on Quality Score is indirect, through more relevant traffic and less wasted spend.
How to do it:
What good looks like:
If you run a coffee equipment store, a well-organized negative keyword list might look like this:
Put your strongest real offer in your headlines, as long as you can deliver it today. A shopper who clicks for free shipping and can’t find it on your site will leave.
Why it works: Expected CTR predicts how likely shoppers are to click, and a specific offer gives them a reason to pick your ad.
How to do it:
What good looks like: Your ad names a specific offer, like “Free Shipping Over $50,” that competing ads don’t match.
Replace generic ad lines with the specific reasons people choose your product. Phrases like “Great Prices” appear in so many ads that shoppers skim right past them.
Why it works: Expected CTR depends on how your ad compares with the others on the page, and a specific benefit gives shoppers a real reason to pick yours.
How to do it:
What good looks like:
If you run an insulated water bottle brand, the difference between a generic line and a specific one looks like this:
Test whether shoppers respond better to discounts or product benefits. Some care about saving money, while others care more about what the product offers.
Why it works: Testing helps identify messaging that can improve expected CTR. However, Google notes that more specific ads may get fewer clicks but convert better.
How to do it:
What good looks like: You have a clear winner based on conversion rate and ROAS, and CTR only comes into play to break a tie.
Add every asset type that fits your store, from sitelinks and callouts to price, promotion, and image assets. Assets give your ad more space on the results page and more places for shoppers to click.
Why it works: Assets count toward Ad Rank and often increase your total clicks. Quality Score may not reflect them, so treat assets as a way to win visibility.
How to do it:
What good looks like: Your ad takes up more space on the page, and each sitelink lands on a page that matches its text.
Judge every CTR change by what happens after the click, since clicks that don’t buy only add to your costs.
Why it works: Expected CTR feeds Quality Score, but your profit depends on the full path from click to sale that ecommerce performance marketing measures.
How to do it:
What good looks like:
If you run a candle brand, two ads with 1,000 impressions each might compare like this:
Point keywords to pages that closely match what shoppers searched for. Sending them to a broad page like your homepage makes them search again.
Why it works: Landing page experience considers how useful and relevant your page is to the shopper. A matching page helps meet their expectations.
How to do it:
What good looks like:
If you run a pet supply store, each search lands on its own page:
Search | Best page |
“kong classic dog toy large” | Product page with large size selected |
“grain free puppy food” | Grain-free puppy food collection |
“dog food” | Dog food category |
Show the offer from your ad near the top of the landing page so shoppers can confirm it the moment they arrive.
Why it works: Landing page experience depends on whether the page delivers what the ad promised. An offer the shopper can’t find makes the click feel like a bait-and-switch, and they leave.
How to do it:
What good looks like: If your ad says “25% Off Sitewide” or “Free 2-Day Shipping,” shoppers see that offer the moment they land, without having to hunt for it.
Test your high-spend landing pages on a phone and fix anything that makes shopping difficult. A page that looks fine on desktop can hide the add-to-cart button or squeeze size options into tiny menus on a small screen.
Why it works: Google considers mobile usability when assessing ad quality. A difficult mobile experience can hurt your landing page experience rating.
How to do it:
What good looks like: If a shopper taps your ad on their phone, they can pick a size or color and add it to the cart in a few taps, with no pop-up in the way.
Check the full path from your ad to checkout. Even a relevant landing page can lose sales if shoppers hit broken links or unavailable products.
Why it works: Google considers landing page usability when assessing ad quality. Checkout problems mainly affect conversions, so fixing them won’t necessarily increase Quality Score.
How to do it:
What good looks like: If a shopper clicks your ad, they land on a live, in-stock page and pay the price they expected.
Check how quickly your high-spend landing pages load, especially on mobile. Slow pages can lose shoppers before they even see your products.
Why it works: Google includes load speed in its landing page guidance without saying how much it counts, and a Google-commissioned Deloitte study found that a 0.1-second faster mobile site came with an 8.4% lift in retail conversions.
How to do it:
What good looks like: If you open a top landing page on your phone, the main product image and price appear within about 2.5 seconds.
Give shoppers the information they need to decide whether to buy. Repeating search keywords won’t help if your page leaves important product questions unanswered.
Why it works: Google evaluates landing page relevance and usefulness. Clear product information helps shoppers find what they’re looking for.
How to do it:
What good looks like: If a shopper lands on your product page with a question about sizing or delivery, the answer is already on the page.
Treat your Merchant Center feed as the relevance engine for Google Shopping ads and Performance Max, since Quality Score only covers Search keywords.
Why it works: Shopping ads match searches using your product data, so your feed does the job that keywords and ad copy do in Search. A weak feed weakens every match.
How to do it:
What good looks like: If you sell clothing, your Shopping listings show the correct sizes and prices, while your Performance Max assets accurately represent the products advertised.
Prioritize low-scoring keywords that consume the most budget instead of trying to improve every poorly rated keyword.
Why it works: Quality Score shows where ad quality needs attention, but Google recommends considering business performance when deciding what to improve.
How to do it:
What good looks like:
If you’re reviewing several low-score keywords, your priority list might look like this:
Keyword | Score | Monthly spend | Conversions | Priority |
Keyword A | 4 | $30,000 | 120 | High |
Keyword B | 5 | $8,000 | 35 | Medium |
Keyword C | 3 | $300 | 0 | Low |
Several popular tactics leave Quality Score unchanged because they don’t touch how relevant your ad and page are to the search. These are the five we see stores try most:
Use this table to find out what needs fixing based on your keyword’s Quality Score and component ratings. Make sure to check the problem against your spend before making changes, since a low score doesn’t always mean the keyword needs immediate attention.
What you see | Possible cause | What to check | Next step |
Score of 3 with Below average ad relevance | Different product intents mixed in one ad group | Keyword themes and ad copy | Split keywords by intent where needed |
Score of 4 with Below average expected CTR | Generic or unappealing ad message | Headlines and competing offers | Test more compelling ad copy |
Score of 5 with Below average landing page experience | Page doesn’t meet the searcher’s needs | Final URL and page content | Send traffic to a more relevant page |
Score of 6 with Average components | No obvious weak component | Spend and conversions | Prioritize only if there’s meaningful upside |
Score of 7 or higher with weak ROAS | A problem beyond the Quality Score rating | Click costs and profitability | Investigate what’s making sales unprofitable |
Sudden drop in score | Possible change in ads or landing pages | Historical ratings and change history | Identify what changed before making fixes |
A dash instead of a score | Insufficient exact-search data | Historical impressions | Use other performance data until a score appears |
Here’s our recommended 30-minute Quality Score audit that gives you a ranked list of which keywords need work and which can wait. Block out half an hour and work through these steps in order:
A better Quality Score starts with finding out why your ads are underperforming and fixing the issues behind them. Focus on keywords with the biggest impact on your budget, then use their component ratings to guide your next steps. A higher score is a good sign, but you should also see improvements in your overall campaign performance.
If your campaigns are struggling with low Quality Scores and you want to generate more profitable sales from Google Ads, book a Google Ads Account Audit with Vysta. We’ll identify what’s holding your campaigns back and show you where to focus your budget for better results.
A good Quality Score in Google Ads is generally 7/10 or higher, although Google doesn’t set an official target. Scores of 5 or 6 can still work well on keywords that generate profitable sales. We recommend fixing low-scoring keywords with significant spend first, since chasing a 10/10 on every keyword wastes time and budget.
No, Quality Score doesn’t affect CPC directly, since Google keeps the visible 1–10 score out of its auctions. The ad quality signals behind the score do count, alongside your bid and the competition, when Google calculates Ad Rank. Improving ad relevance and landing page experience can lower your CPC, although a higher score won’t guarantee cheaper clicks.
It usually takes two to four weeks to improve Quality Score, depending on how much traffic the keyword gets. Ad copy changes tend to show up first, while landing page fixes take longer to reassess. Google compares your keyword with competitors over a rolling 90-day window, so track the historical Quality Score columns by day to confirm progress.
Your Google Ads Quality Score is 3 because at least one component rates Below average against advertisers on the same searches. In ecommerce, the usual culprits are ad groups that mix different products and ads that send shoppers to the homepage or a sold-out product. Check which component is flagged, and fix it first if that keyword carries real spend.
No, Performance Max doesn’t have a Quality Score, because Google only reports the score for Search keywords. For ecommerce brands, your Merchant Center feed does most of the matching, so product titles, GTINs, and accurate pricing matter more than any rating. Ad Strength grades your asset group’s creative, but Google doesn’t use it to calculate Ad Rank.
Book a call with Nate Schneider to explore how Google and YouTube ads can drive scalable, measurable growth.
