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Google Ads Quality Score — Cut CPC by 50%

How Quality Score components work in 2026 and actionable fixes for search campaigns.

2026-05-20 · 1 min read

Quality Score (QS) still influences auction rank and CPC. A QS 8 vs 4 can mean paying half as much for the same position on identical keywords — especially in competitive ecommerce and local service verticals.

The three components

  1. Expected CTR — historical and query-level relevance
  2. Ad relevance — alignment between keyword, ad copy, and landing page promise
  3. Landing page experience — speed, mobile usability, transparency, policy compliance

Quick wins (any market)

  • Single theme ad groups: one intent per group, not «mega lists»
  • Dynamic keyword insertion only where it reads naturally
  • Landing page headline matches top keyword within 5 words
  • Core Web Vitals in green on mobile (LCP under 2.5s)
  • Conversion tracking verified — broken tags destroy Smart Bidding and QS signals

Audit sequence

  1. Export keywords with QS < 6 and impression share lost to rank
  2. Map each to landing URL — fix mismatches first
  3. Rewrite RSAs: pin one headline with primary keyword
  4. Add exact/phrase negatives from search term reports weekly

Measurement

Track CPC trend and impression share after changes — QS updates lag 7–14 days.

FlatReklam Google Ads+ surfaces Quality Score, impression share, and search term waste in one workflow with optional AI coach summaries.


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