Search Marketing and Internet Marketing Blog Online

The AdWords quality score is an ongoing mystery to both inexperienced advertisers as well as pay per click 'experts'. As with most things Google, it is shrowded in mystery - although more and more of the 100's of factors are being brought to the forefront. Regardless, there is a need for what IS known to be documented in one place for all to access. Behold the FAQs on Google Adwords Quality Score!

Luckily for us, Jeremy Mayes over at PPC Discussions has put together a very comprehensive list of questions. All of his answers are backed up with personal experience and/or references straight from the horse's mouth - ie. Google.

Here is a quick run-down of the questions covered. It is a great read!

Question 1 - How can I improve my quality score?
*answers are applicable to search network quality scores

Question 2 - How many quality scores are there?

Question 3 - Will changing to a different keyword match type, for example from broad match to exact match, give me a better quality score?

Question 4 - I have been told (and read lots of places) that when I first start a new AdWords campaign I should bid really high so my ad is higher on the page. That will give me a higher click through rate and that means I will have a better quality score. Is that good advice?

Question 5 - Having Flash on your landing page is bad for your quality score right?

Question 6 - I get a lot of clicks from the Google Search Network. Does that help improve my quality score?

Question 7 - Does using dynamic keyword insertion help my quality score?

Question 8 - Does turning off the content network help improve my quality score? My CTR is always a lot lower on the content network so I assume turning it off will help my quality score improve.

Question 9 - How can I find out what my quality score is?

Question 10 - I am the only person bidding on a certain keyword but my minimum bid is higher than I think it should be. If I'm the only one bidding how come my minimum bid isn't $0.01? My quality score is "OK".

Question 11 - I just a made a lot of changes to my AdWords campaigns and to my landing pages to try and improve my quality score. How soon should I expect to see quality score changes in my account?

Question 12 - I just added a bunch of new keywords to my account and almost 1/2 of them received a poor quality score and minimum bid of $5.00 right away before I ever received a single impression. How the hell can Google say I have a poor quality score before my ad even gets a chance to run?

Question 13 - It seems like no matter what I do or try my quality score is always poor. Are there certain types of sites that just don't work well with AdWords?
Question 14 - Is there a site or something I can sign up to find out in advance about quality score updates before they happen?

This FAQ will be updated from time to time so be sure to bookmark. If you have any questions related to the AdWords quality score feel free to contact me or leave your question in the comments.