When the internet first became popular, sites could choose any keyword and benefit from its use. When competing for traffic, marketing companies participated in a straight auction to purchase ads related to their desired keyword. Things have changed, however. Google now makes use of a quality score in its Google Adworeds program. What does this mean and why is it important?

Why Is the Quality Score Important?

When Google assigns a quality score, what they are truly saying is the ad being shown is relevant to the user’s search. Every keyword is assigned its own quality score. To ensure the user is shown the right ad based on this score, the site takes into account several factors.

The Relevancy

Google tries to determine user intent when they conduct a search. As a result, specific keywords tend to be more relevant than those that are very broad. For example, Italian restaurants in Los Angeles is much more specific than Italian food when it comes to an internet search. The first keyword is assigned a higher quality score because it ensures the user will be provided with accurate information on local restaurants as opposed to broad information on Italian food as a whole.

The Click-Through Rate

Another thing the search engine takes into consideration is the click-through rate of an ad. How often do users actually click on the ad and visit the site? If a large number of search engine users actually click on the ad to visit this site it demonstrates the relevance of the ad. The history of the ad is used by Google to determine future performance.

Account History

Google likewise considers the bidder’s account history. The search engine wishes to know the site bidding on a keyword is reputable and trustworthy. Furthermore, it wishes to know if the ad takes the user to a site that is actually relevant to what they input into the search engine. The site must also be user-friendly.

The search engine takes all of this information into consideration when assigning a quality score. In the end, an advertiser with a high-quality score may actually pay less for a popular keyword than an advertiser with a low-quality score. Keep this in mind when creating ads for the best return on investment.