Quality Score Elements: Part 3 Expected Click-Through Rate
What is a quality score?
When looking through your Google Ads campaign, you may come across something called a “quality score” that is applied to both your text ads and keywords. This value is scored on a rating from 1 - 10 and gives you a little more insight as to how Google defines a good quality ad running in your campaign. While it can be a little daunting when you see a score of 3/10, it only means that some areas of improvement can help your overall campaign performance.
Quality score is not something that needs to have your full attention at all times. Instead, a more productive way of looking at it is through understanding how each component can help better your ads through user experience and Google recommendations.
What are the three components:
Three main components are considered when Google gives your ads or keywords a ranking. These three measurements are:
Landing page experience (check out part 1 in this series)
Ad relevance (check out part 2 in this series)
Expected CTR (click-through rate)
For this blog, we are going to be focusing on the expected click-through rate portion, but don’t worry! This is a 3 part series breaking down quality scores on a fundamental level. If you would like to learn more about expected CTR and ad relevance, please visit our other blogs!
Digging into expected click-through rate:
What is the click-through rate?
If you are new to Google Ads, then knowing what a “good” click-through rate is won’t happen right away. Many different factors make up your click-through rate, to begin with, but some hold more weight than others both by Googler’s standards and your marketing goals. For example, if you are looking to increase traffic to your website through ads, then a high click-through rate may be on your radar of statistics to pay attention to. Alternatively, if you are looking to increase revenue for your niche product or service, then the click-through rate may not matter as much as audience targeting.
But first, let’s establish what a click-through rate is. Your click-through rate - or CTR - is the number of clicks your campaigns receive divided by the number of impressions (or how many times it is seen). You may have a different definition of what Google deems as a below or above-average click-through rate, but ultimately this data can play a crucial role in understanding the entirety of your campaign.
How is the expected click-through rate measured?
The truth is, we don’t know exactly what data goes behind Google’s calculation of the expected click-through rate. While there are no definitive answers, we can estimate certain areas of the campaign and overall Google Ads market that hold some value in the calculation. These are:
The quality of the bids being placed on a keyword
How specific your keyword is compared to the market
What the overall historical price for bidding is on a particular keyword
What the overall historical click-through rate is for a particular keyword
Whether the keyword was branded or vague
While it can be difficult to know exactly how your keywords and ads are performing in your market, the items above are some general things to keep in mind when choosing where to point your advertising efforts.
Google uses a mix of historical and current market data to help place a rating on your expected click-through rate. It is important to note that not all campaigns will follow one set of rules set by Google. What works for one account may not work for the next three, but that is why it is important to step back and look at the composition of your campaign as a whole entity rather than focusing on individual aspects.
What can I do to help my ads?
Unfortunately, unlike the other aspects of your quality score, you do not have complete control over how Google calculates your expected click-through rate. While there are some things you can tweak and improve upon directly, your expected click-through rate will likely always come from Google’s determination of how your ads are competing against those in your market - both historically and in the present day.
With that being said, there are some key metrics to keep an eye on when you start digging into how to improve your campaign. These include:
Overall click-through rate
Cost per click
First page and top of page bids
Search lost impression share
Search top impression share
Conclusion: Don’t try to beat what you can’t control!
When it comes to your expected click-through rate, the consensus is that no individual advertiser has control over how it is calculated. Instead, there are clues through the campaign data that can help determine the areas in which your ads and keywords are lacking. Optimization of the expected click-through rate comes from paying attention to these clues and using your best judgment to continue improving the overall health of the campaign. If you are looking to get a better quality score overall, then focusing more on your ad relevance and landing page experience is a surefire way to have a direct impact on seeing better results.
If you are in the process of learning how to build a better quality score feel free to reach out to our digital marketing experts to learn more!
