Quality score
From The Yaffe Center
Quality score is a measure of the relevance of the keyword for the ad. It is measured for each of the keywords used by the advertiser and these scores are frequently updated to reflect the performance of the advertiser’s keyword in generating ads. Quality score is an important factor in calculating Ad rank and determining the relative position of the ad in the search page.
A higher quality score indicates that an ad can appear at a higher position at a potentially lower CPC.
Quality Score is used by the main search engines, including Google, Yahoo (called Quality Index) and MSN. To determine the order in which ads are listed, each ad has the following formula run against it: bid * Quality Score. Ads are then listed in descending order based on the result of that equation. The exact weight of Quality Score versus bid has not been revealed by any of the major search engines, and each company has stated that they reserve the right to continually adjust their ranking methodologies. [1]
Major factors in determining the Quality Score are:
- Click Through Rate (CTR)
- Ad Copy Relevance
- Landing Page Quality
- Landing Page Load Time
- Geographical Considerations
In addition to the above major factors, each search engine use additional key factors to determine their own quality score. Some of these additional factors are keyword/search relevance, ad relevance, account history and your targeted devices.
[edit] Quality score can be improved via several optimization techniques
- Align search query with the ad copy: It is necessary that the ad copy answers the question raised in the search query. You can create multiple ad copies directing users to the same landing page URL
- Regularly revise ad copy to improve CTR: CTR is the most important factor to improve quality score. Sometimes it requires trial and error to find the best ad copy
- Do not bid for non-performing keywords: Any keyword that cannot drive CTR should be removed
- Invest in landing page design: A well designed and relevant landing page is important to drive CTR
[1] Source : Wikipedia [1]
