Definition of Quality Score

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Author: Matt Commins, Co-Founder of Fish Tank Media

Last night I saw AJ Griffin get lit up by the Detroit Tigers. Saw is the wrong verb. Listened is the actual verb. I would have watched the game but, MLB TV does not allow me to watch local games until the next day. Prior to the game he had a 1.94 ERA, which was insanely low and unsustainable. Some of my buddies have been giving me a hard time for my initial “scouting report” on him. If you want to read the full report go here. Basically I wrote that he is a fringe #5 starter with average (50s) pitches and possibly above average control (60). As I was listening to game I had mixed feelings because I wanted the A’s to win but like most people I have an ego, whose fragility level depends on the eye of the beholder, but it feels good to be proven correct too.

It has been awhile since any one on the Fish Tank Team has posted a new article (frankly too long). All of us have been extremely busy working business development, potentially partnering ourselves with paid search and SEO platforms, servicing our client base and the list goes on. On the bus ride to the office I was thinking of potential article ideas to write about. I couldn’t think of anything, but I did remember the article I recently submitted to Search Engine Journal (I got my fingers crossed that this one will get approved), which talked about how to minimize the impact on quality score during a paid search restructure. Then I had my Eureka moment. I could describe my definition of quality score. You may be asking yourself “What does AJ Griffin have to do with quality score?” It doesn’t. I just wanted to inflate my fragile baseball ego some more.

What is Quality Score? It is a numerical representation of how relevant advertiser’s ads are. The range is from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most relevant and one meaning you shouldn’t be advertising anymore. Quality score is made up of several factors not visible to advertisers. The common version of quality score is the one that is visible to advertisers. The visible quality score represents the symbiotic relationship between the keyword and the ad(s) in the ad group. However, the visible quality score metric is only one factor in the true quality score calculation. The quality score I will elaborate on is the one not seen by advertisers and is responsible for the costs advertisers pay. Quality score is an aggregated blend of several factors, which are bucketed into two categories: Performance and Relevancy factors.

Performance factors sound like the name implies, how well does an account perform against the competition. The primary performance factor is click through rate (CTR), which makes a lot of sense because this is the easiest and simplest way to gauge how much users “like” something. Before I go on, I want to establish the CTR metric is only from Google.com and not any of their search partners. Also, no one knows for sure how each factor (performance or relevancy factor) is weighted. I’ve ordered both lists from the most important to least important.

  • Exact match CTR: Calculation of CTR for every keyword is based on the exact version of the keyword, even if the exact match version is not in the account. For example, if “red shoes” has a CTR of 5%, but the exact version has a CTR of 2%; Google will use the 2% CTR in its quality score calculation.
  • Display URL CTR: The display URL is treated as a unique entity when calculating quality score. I use the display URL to add another iteration of the keyword, thereby making the ad more keyword dense. In upcoming article we will provide a few quality score tips using the display URL.
  • Account CTR: As the name sounds. Think of this as a way of rewarding advertisers who follow all of the paid search best practices and work the hardest (#WANT).
  • Bounce Rate: Bounce rate is how often visitors enter and leave (bounce) a website from a particular page. This is the most underrated and least talked about factor. Suppose an advertiser has 50% bounce rate compared to another advertiser with 10% bounce rate. Based on that data, which advertiser would you feel provides the best customer experience? You may be asking how does Google know this? Does your website use Google Analytics? If not, Google can track bounce rates from the users who are logged into Gmail accounts.
  • Geographic CTR: Google shows different search results pages (SERPs) based on geographic location. A search for “pizza” in San Francisco will look completely different than someone in Chicago. If a campaign is targeting the United States, the CPC for one keyword could be higher or lower depending on the geographic region.
  • Historical CTR: Knowing the past gives you a better likelihood of predicting the future. This factor is similar to Account CTR, but this is calculated from an historical perspective. Of all the performance factors this factor carries the least amount of weight.

Unlike performance factors, relevancy factors are subjective and cannot be quantified, which inherently makes it more difficult to evaluate.

  • Domain Authority/Page Rank: The most intriguing factor is domain authority. Another common name is Page Rank (not the number you see in the Google Toolbar), either word works. Working in the industry for eight years has allowed me to become privy to data of clients of all budget sizes. Normally clients who spend more tend to have better quality scores compared to advertisers with smaller budgets. Critics are quick to point out this creates an unfair advantage and creates barrier to entry for the smaller advertisers. That opinion is extremely reductive and doesn’t seek to explain why this behavior is happening. Advertisers who spend more usually have more brand recognition and probably have higher link value, which is the biggest contributor to the Page Rank calculation. Suppose an advertiser has a lower quality score. That will lead to lower costs and a better ROI, which allows the advertiser to spend more. And the cycle continues.
  • Keyword Relevance: How well does a keyword relate to the other keywords in the ad group? Best practice states having tightly themed ad groups with keywords that are very similar. If this best practice is followed correctly you’re good to go.
  • Landing Page Quality: This is the simplest to describe and the hardest to evaluate. A current trend I’m seeing is the application of the SEO keyword density best practice to paid search. For reference, we recommend 5% keyword density.  Paid search landing pages should be treated differently than SEO pages. I advocate creating pages that guide visitors to take the action you want them to take.

Too much is made about quality score. More should be made about improving the user experience and making sure every click is maximized. One of the most common questions I hear from advisers is what strategies would I implement to maximize quality score? Advertisers are consumed by quality score because there is tangible with a number associated to it. This hubbub about quality score is very similar to all the attention SEOs are giving to the Penguin and Panda updates. SEOs are asking how do we avoid penalties for these algorithm changes. Instead they should be asking how do we provide the best user experience possible. Do we have great content? Is the content easy to consume? How do we maximize ROI?

If a paid search advertiser follows paid search best practices ad groups will be tightly themed and hopefully your ad reflect the keyword theme, which will increase the CTR and if your landing page is appropriate, visitors will stay on the website and will be more likely to do the action you want them to take.

Also, at the end of all my posts I will share a band I like. The inaugural band is The Bear Coat. If you like mid 60s Beach Boys and the lyrical harmony of The Beatles, this is the band for you.