Glossary /
Quality Score
Efficiency & cost
Quality Score
Google Ads' 1–10 diagnostic of how relevant and useful your ad is—and the rough idea other platforms reach for in their own way.
Attribution & Measurement
Unit Economics
Data Governance & Nomenclature
Creative & Delivery
Audiences & Targeting
Mobile & Privacy
Quality Score is Google Ads' 1–10 diagnostic rating of your ad's quality, built from three components: expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. Higher quality can mean better positions at lower cost.
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What is Quality Score?
Quality Score is a Google Ads concept reported on a 1-to-10 scale per keyword. It combines three signals: expected click-through rate (how likely people are to click), ad relevance (how well your ad matches the search), and landing page experience (how useful and relevant the page is after the click). It's a diagnostic, not a live bidding input you set. Google computes actual ad rank in real time using related but separate signals; Quality Score is the readout that tells you where your ads are weak. A low score points you at which of the three components to fix—usually the ad copy, the keyword-to-ad match, or the landing page. Other platforms have analogs, not copies. Meta reports ad relevance and quality ranking diagnostics that gauge how well an ad resonates with its audience. TikTok has its own ad-quality signals. The shared idea—reward relevant ads, penalize poor ones—shows up everywhere, but the scale, inputs, and labels differ by platform.
How Quality Score differs across ad platforms
Google Ads
Reports a 1–10 Quality Score per keyword from expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience—a diagnostic, not the live ad-rank input.
Meta
Uses ad relevance / quality ranking diagnostics—how an ad's quality compares to others competing for the same audience—rather than a single 1–10 number.
TikTok
Applies its own ad-quality and relevance signals in delivery, with different inputs and reporting from Google's Quality Score.
Common Quality Score misconceptions
Quality Score is the exact number Google uses to rank your ad in the auction.
It's a 1–10 diagnostic readout. Actual ad rank is computed in real time from related but separate, more granular signals—Quality Score just tells you where to improve.
Quality Score works the same across every ad platform.
Only Google Ads reports a 1–10 Quality Score. Meta's relevance/quality rankings and TikTok's quality signals are analogs with different scales, inputs, and meanings.
Related Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Quality Score in simple terms?
Quality Score is Google's 1-to-10 grade for how good and relevant your ad is for a given keyword. It blends how likely people are to click, how well your ad matches the search, and how useful your landing page is. A higher score generally earns better positions for less money.
How does Quality Score work?
Why does Quality Score differ across ad platforms?
How does Clarisights report on Quality Score?
Attribution & Measurement
Unit Economics
Data Governance & Nomenclature
Creative & Delivery
Audiences & Targeting
Mobile & Privacy
Quality Score is Google Ads' 1–10 diagnostic rating of your ad's quality, built from three components: expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. Higher quality can mean better positions at lower cost.
?
?
What is Quality Score?
Quality Score is a Google Ads concept reported on a 1-to-10 scale per keyword. It combines three signals: expected click-through rate (how likely people are to click), ad relevance (how well your ad matches the search), and landing page experience (how useful and relevant the page is after the click). It's a diagnostic, not a live bidding input you set. Google computes actual ad rank in real time using related but separate signals; Quality Score is the readout that tells you where your ads are weak. A low score points you at which of the three components to fix—usually the ad copy, the keyword-to-ad match, or the landing page. Other platforms have analogs, not copies. Meta reports ad relevance and quality ranking diagnostics that gauge how well an ad resonates with its audience. TikTok has its own ad-quality signals. The shared idea—reward relevant ads, penalize poor ones—shows up everywhere, but the scale, inputs, and labels differ by platform.
How Quality Score differs across ad platforms
Google Ads
Reports a 1–10 Quality Score per keyword from expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience—a diagnostic, not the live ad-rank input.
Meta
Uses ad relevance / quality ranking diagnostics—how an ad's quality compares to others competing for the same audience—rather than a single 1–10 number.
TikTok
Applies its own ad-quality and relevance signals in delivery, with different inputs and reporting from Google's Quality Score.
Common Quality Score misconceptions
Quality Score is the exact number Google uses to rank your ad in the auction.
It's a 1–10 diagnostic readout. Actual ad rank is computed in real time from related but separate, more granular signals—Quality Score just tells you where to improve.
Quality Score works the same across every ad platform.
Only Google Ads reports a 1–10 Quality Score. Meta's relevance/quality rankings and TikTok's quality signals are analogs with different scales, inputs, and meanings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Quality Score in simple terms?
Quality Score is Google's 1-to-10 grade for how good and relevant your ad is for a given keyword. It blends how likely people are to click, how well your ad matches the search, and how useful your landing page is. A higher score generally earns better positions for less money.
How does Quality Score work?
Why does Quality Score differ across ad platforms?
How does Clarisights report on Quality Score?
See Viewable Impression across every channel in one report
See Viewable Impression across every channel in one report
See viewability and vCPM across every platform—display, video, programmatic— in one normalized report, instead of reconciling vendor numbers by hand.
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