Quality Score is a Google Ads diagnostic estimating the relevance and quality of your keywords, ads, and landing pages, reported on a 1 to 10 scale. Higher scores generally mean lower costs and better ad positions, because platforms reward relevance that produces a better experience.

Quality Score is why two advertisers can pay very different amounts for the same click. It is a diagnostic rather than a goal, and the underlying point is simple: relevance is cheaper. If your ads and landing pages genuinely match what someone searched for, you pay less for the same result. Poor relevance is a tax you pay on every click.

Example:

A tightly matched ad and landing page can cost meaningfully less per click than a generic one competing for the same search, purely through relevance.

Why does Quality Score affect cost?

Platforms reward relevance because it produces a better experience, so higher-scoring ads achieve better positions at lower cost per click.

Should Quality Score be a target?

It is a diagnostic, not a goal. Improving genuine relevance between search, ad, and landing page is what raises the score and lowers cost.