How to Audit Quality Score in Google Ads: A Step-by-Step Guide

TL;DR: A Quality Score audit means pulling your keyword-level QS data, breaking it into its three components (Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, Landing Page Experience), identifying which component is dragging your scores down, and fixing the root cause—not just the symptom. This guide walks you through exactly how to do that, step by step.

If you've ever wondered why your CPCs are higher than they should be, or why competitors seem to outrank you even with smaller budgets, Quality Score is often the culprit. Google uses QS (scored 1–10 per keyword) as a key input into Ad Rank, which directly affects what you pay per click and where your ad shows up.

The frustrating part? Most advertisers glance at QS numbers and move on without understanding what's actually broken. A score of 4/10 doesn't tell you whether your ad copy is off, your landing page is weak, or your keyword targeting is too broad. You have to dig into the three sub-components to know where to focus.

This guide is for marketers, freelancers, and agency owners who want a repeatable process for auditing Quality Score—not just checking a number. Whether you're doing a one-time account audit or building this into a regular optimization workflow, these steps give you a clear, actionable framework. Expect to spend 30–60 minutes on a first audit, less once you've done it a few times.

Step 1: Pull Your Quality Score Data at the Keyword Level

Before you can audit anything, you need the right data in front of you. Navigate to Keywords > Search Keywords in your Google Ads account. By default, the columns shown won't include Quality Score—you have to add them manually.

Click the columns icon, then search for and add these columns:

Quality Score: The overall 1–10 score for each keyword.

Expected CTR: Google's prediction of how likely your ad is to be clicked when shown for that keyword.

Ad Relevance: How closely your ad copy matches the keyword and the intent behind it.

Landing Page Experience: Google's assessment of how relevant and trustworthy your landing page is for that keyword.

Also add the historical variants: Hist. Quality Score, Hist. Expected CTR, Hist. Ad Relevance, and Hist. Landing Page Experience. These matter because QS is calculated in real time at each auction, so the live column shows a recent snapshot that can fluctuate day to day. The historical columns give you a more stable baseline—they show the score recorded at the end of each day—which makes trend analysis more reliable.

Once your columns are set up, download the report as a CSV for analysis, or use Google Ads Editor if you're auditing across multiple ad groups or accounts at once. Editor makes it easier to sort, filter, and compare data in bulk without losing your place in the interface.

Here's a practical filter to apply before you start: limit your audit to keywords with at least 100–200 impressions. Keywords with very low impression volume have unreliable QS data because Google hasn't collected enough signal to make a confident assessment. Auditing a keyword with 12 impressions is a waste of time—the score might shift dramatically with another 50 impressions.

One more thing to check before diving in: impression share. If a keyword has very low impression share, fix that first. Low impression share often means budget or bid constraints are limiting delivery, which means QS data is based on a small, potentially unrepresentative sample. Get the keyword showing more consistently before drawing conclusions from its score.

In most accounts I audit, advertisers have never added these columns at all. They're looking at clicks and conversions but flying blind on the quality signals that determine what they're paying for those clicks.

Step 2: Segment by Ad Group to Spot Structural Problems

Raw keyword data is noisy. The most useful thing you can do next is sort by Ad Group, then sort Quality Score ascending within each group. This surfaces your worst performers at the top and—more importantly—lets you see whether low scores are isolated to individual keywords or spread across an entire ad group.

That distinction matters a lot. A single keyword with a low QS might just need a headline tweak. An entire ad group where every keyword scores 3–5 usually signals a structural problem: the keywords are too loosely themed, the ad copy is too generic, or the landing page doesn't match what any of those keywords are promising.

Look specifically for ad groups where all keywords show Below Average Ad Relevance. That's a clear signal that the ad copy doesn't reflect what users are actually searching for. The ad group probably contains keywords with different intents that a single set of ads can't serve well.

Here's a real workflow example: imagine an ad group called "Project Management Software" containing keywords like "task tracker app," "team collaboration tool," and "project planning software." These three keywords represent meaningfully different user intents. Someone searching for a task tracker wants a simple to-do solution. Someone searching for team collaboration is thinking about communication features. One ad can't speak directly to all three of those intents—so Ad Relevance suffers across the board.

The fix in that scenario isn't rewriting the ad. It's splitting the ad group into tighter clusters, each with its own dedicated copy.

This is where tightly themed ad groups—sometimes called single-keyword ad groups (SKAGs) or close-variant clusters—tend to outperform broad groupings. When your ad group contains only keywords that share the same core intent, you can write ad copy that speaks directly to that intent, and Ad Relevance scores reflect that.

The mistake most agencies make is inheriting a client's account structure and optimizing ads without questioning whether the underlying groupings make sense. If the structure is broken, no amount of headline testing will fix the QS. Understanding how keyword relevance affects Quality Score is essential before attempting any structural fixes.

Flag every ad group where the average QS is below 6 and at least two of the three components are Below Average. Those are your priority targets for restructuring.

Step 3: Diagnose Each of the Three QS Components

This is the core of the audit. Once you have your data segmented by ad group, go keyword by keyword through your flagged list and note which components are Below Average. Don't just record the overall score—the component breakdown is where the diagnostic value lives.

Here's what each component actually means in practice:

Expected CTR: This is Google's prediction of how likely your ad is to get clicked when shown for that keyword, relative to other ads competing for the same keyword. It's based on historical CTR data across all advertisers—not just your account. Below Average here usually means your ad copy isn't compelling, doesn't match search intent, or lacks the visual footprint (extensions, formats) that drives clicks.

Ad Relevance: This measures how closely your ad copy matches the keyword and the intent behind it. Below Average here almost always means your ad groups are too broad, your copy is generic, or the keyword is sitting in the wrong ad group entirely. This is the most directly controllable component.

Landing Page Experience: Google's assessment of how relevant, useful, and trustworthy your landing page is for someone who clicked that ad. Below Average here means the page content doesn't match the ad's promise, the page loads slowly, mobile usability is poor, or the page lacks trust signals. This is the hardest component to improve because it involves your website, not just your ad settings.

Build a simple triage matrix as you go through your keyword list. For each keyword with QS below 6, note which component(s) are Below Average. A quick spreadsheet with columns for Keyword, QS Score, Expected CTR Rating, Ad Relevance Rating, Landing Page Rating, and Priority works well.

Prioritize keywords that are: (a) high spend, (b) high impression volume, or (c) core to your campaign goals. A keyword spending $500/month with a QS of 4 is a much higher priority than a keyword spending $20/month with the same score. For a broader view of what strong account performance looks like, reviewing how to assess Google Ads performance gives useful context alongside your QS audit.

What usually happens here is that advertisers see a low QS and immediately start rewriting ads. But if the problem is Landing Page Experience, rewriting ads won't move the needle. The triage matrix forces you to match the fix to the actual problem.

Don't try to fix everything at once. Fix the highest-spend, lowest-QS keywords first and work your way down the list. This approach gives you the fastest return on your audit time.

Step 4: Fix Expected CTR Issues with Ad Copy Testing

If Expected CTR is Below Average on a keyword, the core problem is that your ad isn't compelling enough relative to what else is showing for that search. The ad isn't getting ignored because it's irrelevant—it's getting passed over because something else looks more clickable.

Start with your headlines. Rewrite them to include the exact keyword or a close variant in at least one headline position. This isn't just about relevance—it's about visual match. When a user sees their search term reflected in your headline, it signals that your ad is directly answering what they asked.

Use responsive search ads (RSAs) to test multiple headline and description combinations. Google will rotate combinations and identify which pairings generate the best CTR over time. Give your RSAs at least 15 headlines and 4 descriptions to work with, and make sure they're meaningfully different from each other—not just slight variations on the same phrase.

Check your ad extensions. Sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and call extensions expand your ad's visual footprint on the search results page. A text-only ad with no extensions is competing at a disadvantage against ads that take up more space and offer more clickable options. Missing or weak extensions are a common, easy-to-fix contributor to low CTR.

Also review CTR by device. If mobile CTR is significantly lower than desktop CTR for the same keyword, check whether your mobile landing page experience is broken or whether your mobile ad copy needs adjustment. A broken mobile page can suppress CTR enough to drag your Expected CTR rating down.

One practical technique: look at your top-performing ads in other ad groups and reverse-engineer what makes them work. Stronger calls to action, benefit-focused language, urgency, specific numbers, social proof—identify the patterns and apply them to underperforming ads. If you want to go deeper on this, the guide on improving Google Ads conversion rate covers many of the same copy principles that drive both CTR and post-click performance.

One important nuance: don't confuse low actual CTR with low Expected CTR. A keyword can have low CTR in your account but still have an Average or Above Average Expected CTR rating if Google believes the intent match is strong. The rating reflects Google's prediction relative to the competitive baseline, not your raw click numbers.

Step 5: Fix Ad Relevance by Tightening Keyword-to-Ad Alignment

Ad Relevance is the component you have the most direct control over, and it's usually the fastest to improve once you know what to fix. The core principle: your ad copy needs to speak directly to what the keyword represents and what the user behind that search is looking for.

The most reliable fix is including the exact keyword (or a very close variant) in at least one headline of your RSA. This creates a direct linguistic match between what was searched and what appears in your ad. Google rewards that alignment with better Ad Relevance scores.

If a single ad group contains keywords with meaningfully different intents, split them. Create separate ad groups for each intent cluster, each with its own dedicated ad copy. Yes, this means more ad groups to manage—but it's the right structural move, and the QS improvement is usually worth it.

Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) can help here, but use it carefully. DKI automatically inserts the triggering keyword into your headline, which can boost relevance scores. But if your keyword list isn't clean—if broad match is pulling in loosely related search terms—DKI can produce awkward or irrelevant headlines that hurt more than they help. Understanding how keyword match types affect performance is critical before relying on DKI at scale.

This is where your search terms report becomes critical. Irrelevant search terms triggering your keywords dilute your relevance signals. If your "project management software" keyword is triggering searches for "free task app for students," those impressions are dragging down your Ad Relevance because the ad copy isn't written for that intent.

Cleaning up your search terms regularly—removing junk queries and adding negatives—directly protects your Ad Relevance over time. It's not a one-time fix. It's ongoing maintenance. Reviewing your search terms report faster makes it realistic to do weekly rather than monthly, and tools like Keywordme let you do this directly inside Google Ads without exporting to spreadsheets.

After restructuring ad groups or rewriting ads, give the new setup 2–3 weeks of data before re-auditing QS. Google needs time to recalibrate its assessment based on the new signals. Checking scores after three days and concluding "it didn't work" is one of the most common mistakes in QS optimization.

Step 6: Fix Landing Page Experience with a Page-Level Review

Landing Page Experience is the hardest QS component to improve because it requires changes to your website, not just your ad settings. But it's also the component that, when fixed, tends to have the broadest impact—better user experience usually means better conversion rates too.

Google evaluates landing pages on several dimensions: relevance of page content to the ad and keyword, page load speed (especially on mobile), ease of navigation, and trustworthiness signals. A Below Average rating could mean any combination of these factors is underperforming.

Start with speed. Run your landing page URLs through Google's PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev). Slow pages are one of the most common causes of Below Average landing page scores, and the tool gives you specific, actionable recommendations rather than vague warnings. Pay particular attention to mobile scores—Google's assessment heavily weights mobile performance.

Next, check content relevance. The landing page headline and above-the-fold content should directly reflect the ad's promise. If your ad says "Free Trial for Project Management Software," the landing page should immediately reference that offer—not bury it below a generic product overview. The user who clicked your ad had a specific expectation. If the page doesn't meet it within the first few seconds, both the user and Google notice.

Look for trust signals. Does the page have a privacy policy, contact information, and a clear business identity? Google factors transparency into landing page scores. A page that looks like it might be hiding something—no contact info, no privacy policy, aggressive pop-ups—will struggle to achieve Above Average landing page scores regardless of how relevant the content is.

For agencies: if you're auditing a client account and the landing page is the problem, document specific issues with screenshots and PageSpeed data. Don't just tell the client "the landing page needs work." Give the web team a clear brief with specific issues to fix. Vague feedback stalls progress. Pairing landing page fixes with a broader Google Ads campaign optimization review ensures you're not fixing one variable in isolation.

Finally, create dedicated landing pages per ad group or campaign theme rather than routing all traffic to a generic homepage. A homepage serves many purposes and speaks to no one specifically. A dedicated landing page that mirrors the ad's message and keyword intent will almost always outperform a homepage on Landing Page Experience scores.

Step 7: Track QS Changes and Build This Into Your Regular Workflow

Making fixes is only half the job. The other half is tracking whether those fixes are working and building Quality Score audits into your regular account management cadence.

After making changes, record your baseline QS scores for every keyword you touched. Note the date, the specific change made (ad copy rewrite, landing page update, ad group restructure), and the component ratings at the time. Then set a reminder to re-audit those keywords in 2–4 weeks. QS is a lagging indicator—changes to ad copy and landing pages take time to reflect in scores, so don't over-optimize based on week-to-week fluctuations.

Use the historical QS columns in Google Ads to track trends over time without needing a third-party tool. The historical data shows the score recorded at the end of each day, which lets you see directional movement even when day-to-day scores fluctuate.

Build a simple audit cadence: monthly for active campaigns, quarterly for lower-priority or seasonal campaigns. After any major ad copy or landing page changes, run a targeted re-audit of the affected keywords rather than waiting for your scheduled review. Learning how to read Google Ads reports properly makes this ongoing tracking process significantly faster and more actionable.

Connect QS improvements to business metrics. Better QS can mean lower CPCs for the same ad position, which means your budget goes further. It can also mean better impression share at the same bid level. Track these downstream effects alongside QS scores so you can demonstrate the value of the audit process to clients or stakeholders.

For agencies managing multiple accounts, standardize this audit process as a documented checklist so any team member can run it consistently. QS audits shouldn't live in one person's head—they should be a repeatable process that produces consistent results regardless of who runs it.

Keeping search terms clean and keyword lists tight is the ongoing maintenance that directly supports QS health. It's not something you do once during an audit and forget. The accounts that maintain strong QS over time are the ones where adding negative keywords consistently is a weekly habit, not a quarterly scramble.

Frequently Asked Questions About Quality Score Audits

What is a good Quality Score in Google Ads? Generally, 7–10 is considered good and indicates your ad copy, keyword targeting, and landing page are well-aligned. A score of 5–6 is average and worth monitoring. Below 5 warrants attention, especially for high-spend or high-impression keywords where the CPC impact is most significant.

How often should I audit Quality Score? Monthly for active campaigns is a reasonable cadence. You should also run a targeted audit after any major ad copy changes, landing page updates, or account restructuring. Don't wait for your scheduled review if you've made significant changes—check the affected keywords specifically.

Does Quality Score directly affect my ad spend? Yes. Lower QS means higher CPCs for the same ad position because Google uses QS as an input into Ad Rank alongside your bid. Improving QS can reduce your cost per click for the same position, meaning your budget can generate more clicks and impressions without increasing spend.

Can I improve Quality Score by pausing low-QS keywords? Pausing removes the keyword from your active metrics, which might make your account averages look better. But it doesn't fix the underlying issues—if the same structural problems exist elsewhere in your account, you'll see the same patterns on other keywords. Fixing root causes is always more valuable than hiding symptoms.

Why does my Quality Score keep dropping? Common causes include increased competition for the keyword (other advertisers improving their ads or landing pages), landing page changes that reduced relevance or speed, or search term drift from broad match keywords pulling in increasingly irrelevant queries. Regular search term hygiene and monitoring your landing page performance can catch these issues early.

Does Quality Score affect Performance Max campaigns? No. QS is specific to Search campaigns and is assigned at the keyword level. Performance Max uses different quality signals and doesn't surface a traditional Quality Score in the interface. If you're running PMax alongside Search campaigns, audit them separately using the signals available for each campaign type.

Putting Your QS Audit Into Action

A Quality Score audit isn't a one-time task. It's a diagnostic process you run regularly to keep your campaigns competitive and your spend efficient. The key takeaway: don't just look at the overall score. Break it into Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, and Landing Page Experience, find where the Below Average ratings are, and fix the root cause.

Here's your quick checklist before you close this tab:

Pull keyword-level QS data with all three component columns and their historical variants.

Segment by ad group to spot structural problems before diving into individual keywords.

Triage keywords by spend and QS score—fix the highest-impact issues first.

Rewrite ad copy for Expected CTR and Ad Relevance issues, using RSAs to test combinations.

Fix landing page relevance and speed for Landing Page Experience issues, starting with PageSpeed Insights.

Set a reminder to re-audit in 2–4 weeks to measure whether your fixes are working.

Keep your search terms report clean on an ongoing basis to protect Ad Relevance long-term.

That last point is where a lot of the ongoing work lives. If you're spending time every week manually reviewing search terms, copying data into spreadsheets, and adding negatives one by one, that's time you could reclaim. Start your free 7-day trial of Keywordme and handle all of that directly inside Google Ads—no spreadsheets, no tab-switching, just faster optimization where you're already working.