Effectively Managing
Quality Score
[White Paper]
Effectively Managing Quality Score
It has been said that effectively managing Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns is based 80%
on the Quality Score (QS) and 20% on the bid. The days of “paying your way” to a high ad rank are
long gone, and we now live in a world where relevancy is key.
While QS is complex calculation, understanding the fundamentals of this calculation can enable
marketers to run cost-effective and profitable SEM campaigns.
Quality Score Basics
What is Quality Score?
Google defines Quality Score (QS) as “a dynamic variable calculated for each of your keywords. It
combines a variety of factors and measures how relevant your keyword is to your ad text and to a
user's search query.” In short, Google says the primary goal of the QS is to measure relevancy. An
advertiser’s position (or rank) in the paid listings is determined by both the bid and the QS.
Since the introduction of Google’s Quality Score, Yahoo! launched their version, referred to as
Quality Index. In November 2008, Microsoft began a limited pilot to test their own keyword
quality score, with the intention to roll it out sometime in 2009. While Google’s Quality Score is
defined at the keyword level, Yahoo!’s Quality Index is at the ad level. Regardless of this fact,
both indexes look at the keyword/advertisement combination.
How Quality Score Works
Understanding the goals of Quality Score (QS) make understanding how QS management that
much easier. The three main goals of Google’s Quality Score (and any search engine’s ranking
algorithm) are to:
• Develop consumer loyalty by only displaying high-quality advertisements directly related
to the search query.
• Maximize search engine revenues by making sure that every search result page displays
the most relevant and attractive sponsored links, thus providing the Search Engine with
maximum click-through opportunity.
• Reduce non-profitable clicks for the advertiser by offering controls to only display
advertisements to customers interested in your products.
The QS determines the ad rank and the actual Cost-per-Click (CPC). An excellent Quality Score will
allow the advertiser to be displayed above its competitors, for a lower CPC. While a keyword can
be in more than one match type at a time (except on Yahoo!), the search engines view each
keyword/match type as its own entity, and therefore, it receives its own individual QS.
The Goals of Quality Score - Dissected
As previously explained, Quality Score (QS) seeks to achieve three main goals: develop consumer
loyalty; maximize search engine revenues; and reduce non-profitable clicks for the advertiser. But
what does this really mean?
Like any business, in order to continue to survive, the search engines must keep consumers
coming back. In order to do so, they are constantly updating their algorithms to make the results
page as relevant as possible to the consumer. This includes both natural search results and paid
listings. By making the page valuable to the consumer, the hope is to continue bringing the
consumer back for future searches.
Bringing the consumer back is only valuable when they generate revenue for the search engine.
As such, the search engine hopes to maximize its click-through opportunities with “relevant” paid
listings and banner ads on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). With each query, Google will
allocate advertisers to each rank with the objective of generating the highest CTR for a given rank
multiplied by the highest CPC. Lost? Put simply, Google ranks ads based on their potential revenue
(CTR * CPC).
While the search engines rely on consumers returning, they also rely heavily on advertisers
continuing to bid. Just like they need consumers to click to generate revenue, the search engine’s
potential revenue is based on advertisers’ bids. To encourage advertisers to return, the service
offered has to remain compelling. To do this, the search engines offer controls to remove as many
unprofitable impressions as possible. These controls include geo-targeting, language targeting,
match type options, and negative keywords.
The Components of Quality Score
While the exact components used to calculate Quality Score (QS) are not public knowledge, it is
known that the QS index mainly relies on:
• Click-Through-Rate (CTR)
• Ad relevance (ad matches precisely with the query)
• Landing page quality (content relevance, loading speed, etc.)
• Advertiser’s history (the QS the account has had in the past)
By heavily relying on CTR, the search engines have a clear gauge of consumer interest. The more
consumer interest (read: clicks) an ad receives, the more relevant the search engine deems it; the
more relevant an advertiser, the more money the search engine receives – which makes that
advertiser profitable. This profitability is the driving force of QS.
The Search Engine Marketing (SEM) climate is ever-changing; with new advertisers joining in the
masses and existing advertisers adding more keywords, the SEM marketplace continues to grow.
For these reasons, the search engines need a way to gauge the risk involved in new keywords
from existing advertisers and in new advertisers. To do so, other factors are also considered, such
as ad relevance, landing page quality, and an advertiser’s history. By taking other factors into
consideration, the search engine has a way to “pre-measure” the revenue potential a keyword
and ad have for the engine. After all, one of the main goals of QS is to maximize the search
engine’s revenues.
Managing Quality Score
Relevancy, Relevancy, Relevancy
As it has become abundantly clear, Quality Score (QS) measures the potential revenue a keyword
and ad combination have on a query-by-query basis. The higher the potential, the more
opportunity the keyword and ad combination have to be displayed.
Without having the actual components of the algorithm available, an advertiser must rely on the
controls available to them to ensure their ads are displayed when most profitable. Essentially,
these controls help advertisers improve their relevancy. Basic techniques to improve relevancy
include landing page testing, ad copy testing, and negative keyword management.
Search engines use the same technology to crawl paid advertisement landing pages as they use in
crawling for natural listings. Ensuring the product or service in the paid advertisement is
prominently displayed and described on the landing page improves the score of the landing page,
and, in turn, has a direct positive effect on QS.
By testing ad copy, an advertiser can quickly learn what is compelling to a consumer. With further
adjustments, the advertiser can run the most persuasive copy possible. However, bringing
massive amounts of traffic to a website is one thing, but bringing relevant (read: profitable) traffic
is a whole other thing. Advertisers should use as many controls as possible to ensure that their ad
is displayed to the most relevant queries as possible.
One basic, yet effective technique to exclude non-profitable queries is to put in place an extensive
negative keyword list. Depending on the search engine, an advertiser has the option to have
negative keywords at the campaign level or at the adgroup level. Due to the increased control,
negative keywords are most valuable when they are at the adgroup level.
After time, depending on the QS, an advertiser becomes less risky to the search engine. This
allows the advertiser to add new keywords at a lower initial CPC since the search engine “trusts”
this advertisers overall relevancy. This is another reason why managing QS is essential, as once an
advertiser begins to increase their score, their overall performance is also lifted.
Advanced Techniques
With an advanced solution, like the eSearchVision platform, advertisers can take Quality Score
(QS) management to an even higher level. To run the most efficient campaigns, an advertiser
should attempt to increase the Click-Through-Rate (CTR) while simultaneously lowering the Cost-
per-Click (CPC) per keyword. Our proprietary tracking, advanced reporting, and automated
analysis tools provide the ability for sophisticated QS optimization techniques such as:
• Match Type Control
• Top Keyword Isolation
• Long Tail Management
Match Type Control: Controlling the traffic to bring it in at the most specific keyword/match type
combination possible increases the CTR. Since each keyword/match type combination has its own
QS, the increased CTR will improve the QS, thus lowering the CPCs paid. eSearchVision’s exclusive
reporting allows unique match type analysis to ensure that traffic is brought in at the lowest Cost-
per-Click (CPC) possible.
Top Keyword Isolation & Long Tail Management: Isolating “top keywords” (keywords that account
for 50% of the total spend) into their own campaign allows an advertiser to enlist very specific
controls to that campaign. As their number is limited, (Top Keywords very often account for 1 -
5% of the total number of keywords), it really makes sense to isolate them and monitor them
closely. The time spent managing these keywords has to be aligned with the revenue they
generate.
Changes in Top Keywords will have the largest effect on the overall campaign performance,
therefore isolating them for close attention and tailor made optimizations is crucial. For instance,
by placing these keywords each in their own adgroup, highly specific ad copy can run to increase
CTR.
Additionally, adding long tail keywords in highly-specific match types (i.e. Exact match), improves
the QS for those keywords, and moves the traffic away from less-specific, more expensive match
types (i.e. Broad match). Grouping long tail keywords with similarly behaving keywords allows for
mass updates
eSearchVision’s automated analysis tool identifies known long tail opportunities that are not yet
realized. Gathering information from our proprietary tracking, our analysis tool discovers queries
that are bringing in traffic under non-exact match types. By sorting these queries by the clicks and
conversions they each bring, an extensive long tail keyword list can be created using more specific
match types.
Changes to campaign and/or adgroup level reporting due to moving keywords to a new campaign
and/or adgroup might deter an advertiser from restructuring their campaigns as effectively as
possible. eSearchVision’s catalog management feature adds additional layers to the search
engines’ “Campaign-Adgroup-Keyword” structure, providing ultimate flexibility in organizing a
campaign for maximized ease of use and efficiency. By providing a way to tag a campaign,
adgroup, or keyword with user-defined values, this feature allows business-centric reporting to
continue.
Managing Bids vs. Managing Quality Score
Achieving optimal results takes more than making the right bids; it also takes understanding the
importance of managing Quality Score (QS). An advertiser can make optimizations that will
increase their QS and decrease their Cost-per-Clicks (CPCs), while still finding the sweet spot on a
Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Instead of increasing bids to achieve this spot, an increased
effort in smart QS optimizations will ensure an advertiser runs the most cost-effective campaigns
possible.
In the end, it is important to effectively manage bids with efficient processes to increase the time
available for advanced optimizations that will increase QS. Whether working as a full-service
agency or when building our campaign management solution, eSearchVision merges these two
fundamental ideas together to provide the highest quality service and most innovative technology
on the market.
About eSearchVision
eSearchVision is a search engine marketing agency and global technology company used by many
of the largest brands across the world. Continuously refined and improved by a team of engineers
working hand-in-hand with quality-score expert account managers, the eSearchVision platform is
at the forefront of paid search management technology. We offer both licensing of our platform
and full agency support.
The eSearchVision platform is the most comprehensive paid search management platform
currently available to marketers. It combines tracking, reporting, and bid management on one
platform alongside a suite of power-tools such as automated campaign analysis, mass updates,
catalog methodology, raw request, etc. eSearchVision is a vital tool for any paid search marketer
trying to leverage maximum benefit from paid search.
eSearchVision’s Account Management team offers world-class service with industry know-how,
dedicated attention, and quality score expertise. We believe that we are an extension of our
clients' team which means we can handle all the details from account structure to quality score
management without ever losing the big picture.