Quality Score: Just Another Google Puzzle?
Google AdWords ads… those sponsored listings on the top and side of your Google search results…are probably the closest thing you can get to a guaranteed rank in Google. But, as the methods Google uses to determine natural rankings can change quickly enough to make you dizzy, so can the methods they use to determine Google AdWords rank. (And yes… people do look at these ads…and even click on them… and give your business money… all in a few easy steps, which Google tracks for you).
A Little History
At first, Google AdWords functioned like much online advertising does today, based on CPM – or a cost per thousand impressions of your ad.
Then, later, Google AdWords introduced part of its current model, CPC – or cost per click, where you pay just when someone clicks on your ad. At this point, AdWords was about bidding with some reference to how often people clicked on your ad. Generally, pay a high enough price, and you’d be the first sponsored listing.
To some extent, an incredibly high CPC will still get you a high rank in the sponsored listings. But since 2005, Google relies on the “Quality Score”. Quality Score – poor, ok, or great - determines the minimum you can bid in AdWords based on your key words’ click through rates, the relevance of your key words in relation to your ad text, and the quality of the page your ads link to (landing page), among other factors. A high Quality Score allows you to pay a lower price while ranking higher. A low quality score will require you to pay a high price simply to be listed among the sponsored listings at all.
So??
Choosing key words that are specific to your site and putting these key words in your AdWords ads is easy enough. But - “Landing page quality?” “Other factors?” What Google mystery does this solve? Of course, you could read blogs and Google help pages and study rankings and websites for weeks, months, or years and never figure out – or keep up with – how Google determines a quality site (and we’re probably out of luck on the “other factors”). But to get somewhere, the secret may be to analyze less and use some old-fashioned logic.
Creating a Quality Page
In addition to relevant content and a site that’s easy for those who click on your ads to navigate, Google mentions “transparency” when they give guidelines for quality. And, what, exactly, is this? No, Google doesn’t care if there are transparent elements to your web design. What they do care about is that you’re transparent about what you do. They suggest you state:
How your business works
- Openly state what you do, how you deliver your services, and how you price your products and services.
How your site works with a visitor’s computer
- Notify visitors if your site requires installation of any software or if it may require users to change their browser settings.
How you use visitor information
- Collect only necessary information for your product/service and mention how you use this information.
There are many more mysteries about Quality Score and what goes into determining where your ad will show up the next time a searcher types in your key word. But, if helping to increase your ad position and decrease the cost you pay for it is as simple as saying what you already do – it’s definitely worth a try.
