Here’s a crude definition of PPC: paying to get clicks on ads with words that have value to low-funnel, high-intent car shoppers. And how your ad ranks helps Google determine the auction winner — and at what price.
One of the factors that creates your ad rank is the Quality Score.
Ad Rank = Bid Price x Quality Score
… (with the bid price slightly favored)
Quality Score. PPC’s Unsung Hero.
- Quality Score is not a default metric in AdWords reporting.
- Quality Score also does not directly feed through Google Analytics.
So why, if Google Analytics doesn’t have it feed through, is Quality Score even important?
It saves — or costs — you money. A paid search ad with a quality score of 3 pays approximately twice as much as a quality score of 6.
Many of the dealers we work with originally fell into a quality score range of 4-6.
What Affects a Quality Score?
Great question. According to WordStream, a Quality Score is affected by the following features:
- Clickthrough rate
- Keyword relevance
- Landing page relevance and quality
- Ad text relevance
- Historical Google Ads performance
What do we mean by clickthrough rate?
Your clickthrough rate is the percentage of people who see and click on your ad to visit your website. The better the clickthrough rate, the lower your cost per conversion.
What do we mean by landing page relevance and quality?
Part of it comes from how closely does the landing page tie to the query and the query’s intent. Google wants to deliver highly relevant content, so you need to make sure you’re delivering what the car shopper has shown he or she wants. The other part takes into consideration the general user-experience pieces like page speed, ease of navigation, and bounce rate.
What do we mean by ad text relevance?
Are your ads unique? Or are they templated bores? It’s important that your ad copy is unique, original, and relevant. You want an agency that has the same writers creating your ads who create your landing pages. Consistency is key.
What do we mean by historical Google Ads performance?
It means just what you think: Google considers how well, over time, your account, campaigns, groups, and ads performed.
Achieve a Higher Click-Through Rate
The structure of your ad can positively (or negatively) impact your CTR. We have a few recommendations that you should follow to earn better metrics and save money on your PPC strategy:
- Have the necessary extensions
- Ensure your ad copy is relevant, unique, and compelling
- Buyer Beware of templated copy like many agencies use
- Earn top organic rankings to occupy more of the SERPs
“Why Isn’t My Agency Placing A Lot of Value on Quality Score?”
It likely involves money.
Agencies who charge a commission do not have an incentive to decrease spending in any way. They would take a hit on their revenue stream, which is why a flat-fee company gives better, more objective recommendations.
If you’re interested in a more in-depth conversation about your paid search strategies, reach out to our team and discover the potential your dealership has to capture more traffic and more leads.