Which column says what to fix?
It is the one column in Google Ads that tells you what to fix. Each keyword shows the score and the three parts, each rated above average, average or below average. A below-average landing page experience points at the page. Below-average ad relevance points at the ad text. Below-average expected click-through rate points at the keyword itself, or an ad that nobody wants to click.
Google says the score is not used directly in the auction, which runs on live signals each time a search happens, so chasing a 10 for its own sake is wasted effort. Google also says that higher quality ads can mean lower prices and better positions. Read the score the way you read a thermometer: it tells you something is wrong and roughly where. The fix is on the page or in the ad, never in the score.
Where do you find it in Google Ads?
In Google Ads, open Campaigns, then Keywords. The Quality Score columns are hidden by default: click Columns, then Modify columns, open Quality Score and tick Quality Score, Expected CTR, Ad relevance and Landing page experience. The table then shows the score and its three parts for every keyword that has enough history to be rated.
What does a plumber's keyword at 4 tell you? (example figures)
A plumber's keyword "emergency plumber brisbane" has a Quality Score of 4. Expected click-through rate: average. Ad relevance: average. Landing page experience: below average. The keyword costs $5.80 a click, and 260 clicks a month is $1,500.
The ad sends every click to the homepage, which opens with the company's history and shows the phone number in the footer. The fix is a page for emergency plumbing: the phone number at the top, the suburbs served, the call-out fee, and nothing else. After the change, the landing page part reads average, the score moves to 7, and the page converts more of the same clicks because the number is where a person with a burst pipe is looking. Whether the click price falls as well is Google's call, and it often does, but the booking rate is the reason to do it.
What happens to Quality Score in a session with Gage?
During a session, Cora sees the keywords table on your screen, with the score and its three parts, and Gage, the Google Ads specialist, talks you through the change in pill mode while you make it. CoraVision reads your campaigns, spend, clicks and conversions every night once Google Ads is connected, so the effect of the fix shows up in the numbers the following week.
Questions
Does Quality Score change what I pay per click?
Not as a direct multiplier. Google says the auction uses live quality signals, and that higher quality ads can get lower prices and better positions. Treat a better score as a sign the live signals improved too, not as a discount.
What is a good Quality Score?
Google publishes no target. A score of 7 or above means none of the three parts is below average, which is the useful state. Anything at 5 or below has a part marked below average, and that part is your to-do list.
Why does a keyword show no score?
Google needs enough searches and clicks on the exact keyword before it rates it. New keywords and rarely searched ones show nothing until then.