Google Changes How AdWords Quality Score Is Reported

In a post today, Google announced it is updating the way AdWords quality scores are reported. The changes will roll-out globally over the next few days.

The updates are designed to “tie your 1-10 numeric Quality Score more closely to its three key sub factors — expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience”.

Google is quick to point out that the way quality score is calculated is not changing. What these changes will look like isn’t exactly clear, but if I were betting, I’d say we will see fewer 7s and more 5s and 6s — maybe even an 8 here and there. We’ll have to see, though.

As the way quality score is calculated isn’t changing, ad performance won’t be affected by the new reporting. However, if you have automated rules set up that are tied to quality score, you’ll probably want to turn them off while you analyze how these changes impact your scores — and your rules.

For more insights on quality score, read the recent post by Frederick Vallaeys, Quality Score Explained By A Former Googler.