Just as some of the most famous mysteries of the world, Google Adwords has been perceived to have its very own, especially when it comes to Quality Score.  Intentional or not, If you’ve ever spent time developing your Google Adwords account, you may have had the great mysterious feeling that there are many unknowns all around you.  The Quality Score is the system by which Google ranks your Adword activity, and determines the cost of each ad, and at which rank each will be positioned at.  This is usually both one of the most important factors of your account and sometimes the most daunting.  In reality, it doesn’t have to be; Google actually spells out most of the factors it looks for when determining your score.  Here are five Google Adwords Quality Score mysteries revealed:

Mystery One- Historical Click-Through Rate (CTR) Your account’s overall CTR which is calculated by taking the number of ad clicks divided by the total number of times it is seen (impressions), is the most significant component of your Quality Score.  It helps Google determine when your ads are proving to be interesting and relevant to their search.  The human factor here is taken into account; however it is just the beginning.  Google used to base much more on the CTR but has since refined it to account for the overall experience of ads to sustain an attractive business model in which searchers discontinue clicking on any ads altogether. The historical CTR is based on your entire Google Adwords account from its beginnings.  Make sure to correct or delete any of the lowest ranking keywords and campaigns as quickly as possible as it will significantly affect your account as a whole moving forward.  

Mystery Two- Keyword Relevance The keywords you select for each ad group must be relevant to each respective ad.  Or more simply, the selected keywords within any particular ad group should be used within the ad text contained in that ad group.  Make sure to segregate your overall selected keyword list in the beginning, and then segregate again, refining your ad groups to contain only the most similar keywords each.   This will help avoid running into any keyword relevance issues.

Mystery Three- URL Relevance Think of this in two parts: the URL that is the display URL and the URL in which the user will be directed to.  Each carries importance in Google determining your Quality Score.  Google gives you the option to change the display URL to be anything you want- make sure it includes a keyword within it as well.  Take this into account when refining your ad groups so that you can very intuitively include the chosen keywords into the ad and have it relate very closely. Your landing page is rated on relevancy, originality and transparency.  Relevancy promises that your visitor will find what it is that he or she was intending to find by clicking on your ad in the first place.  Originality says that the page the user is landing on is not just a copy and paste of some other website out there.  It takes time to build quality content that is not copied but it returns quality traffic and worth the investment.  Lastly, transparency refers to the landing page including contact information and privacy policies to ensure the safety and trust of the visiting user.

Mystery Four- User Experience The architecture of your webpage matters.  The ease of use, navigation and loading time all contribute to your Quality Score.  Be sure to have your website user reviewed to catch errors and issues that may be hindering your users’ experience.  In addition, try using a website optimizer to check for HTML errors and loading times as well.  Also try reducing image DPI to 72, and setting image size properties. 

Mystery Five- Unknown This is one mystery that will stay a mystery based on the fact that Google calls it “Other relevance factors.”  Google tries very hard to educate their users while keeping a few secrets in order to delay the inevitable black-hat SEOer.

Utilize these Quality Score mysteries uncovered, and you can start to take advantage of all the good things that come along with a properly structured and refined Google Adwords account as it relates to your overal marketing strategy.