Key Takeaways
Quality Score is still relevant and impactful in Google Ads campaigns.
Case Study: Charity Client with Google Ads Grant Account
Initial Situation (January 2024):
- Up to $10,000 Google Ads Grant account
- Goal: Increase traffic
- Average CPC: $5.20
- 55% of ads with 'Poor' Ad strength
- Ad groups with 25+ keywords
- Initial Quality Score: 3.4
Actions Taken (February-March):
- Split congested ad groups into themes
- Matched ad text to keywords
- Experimented with different CTAs from landing pages
- Paused zero impression keywords with QS <= 5
- Paused keywords with QS < 4 and 'Below average' Ad Relevance
Results (April-July):
- Only 19% of ads with 'Poor' Ad strength
- Average CPC lowered by 3x to $1.76
- Increased traffic and potential donors
- Final Quality Score: 8.2
Action Items
Audit your Google Ads account for ad groups with a high number of keywords (25+).
Review and improve Ad strength for ads marked as 'Poor'.
Analyze and split congested ad groups into more focused, themed groups.
Ensure ad text closely matches the keywords in each ad group.
Experiment with different CTAs from your landing pages in your ad copy.
Regularly review and pause zero impression keywords with low Quality Scores (<=5).
Identify and pause keywords with very low Quality Scores (<4) and 'Below average' Ad Relevance.
Monitor your average CPC and overall traffic after implementing these changes.
Continuously work on improving your Quality Score to potentially lower costs and increase ad performance.
For Google Ads Grant accounts, pay special attention to these metrics to maximize the impact of the grant.
Remember: Quality Score is not dead. It remains a crucial factor in determining ad performance and cost-efficiency in Google Ads campaigns. Regular optimization focusing on Quality Score can lead to significant improvements in campaign performance and ROI.