Definition
Quality score is an estimate of ad/landing relevance and expected CTR used by some platforms. It can influence CPC and impression share.
How to use it
- Higher quality score often reduces CPC for the same position.
- Improve it by aligning keyword -> ad -> landing page intent and reducing bounce.
Common mistakes
- Optimizing quality score while ignoring conversion quality and profit.
- Using one landing page for many intents (relevance suffers).
Why this matters
This term matters because it affects how you interpret performance and make budget decisions. If you use inconsistent definitions or windows, ROAS/CPA can look "better" while profit gets worse.
Practical checklist
- Write a 1-line definition for "Quality Score (search ads)" that your team will use consistently.
- Keep the time window consistent (weekly/monthly/quarterly) when comparing trends.
- Segment results (channel/plan/cohort) before drawing big conclusions from blended averages.
- Sanity-check with a related calculator from the same category on MetricKit.
- Document common pitfalls so the metric doesn't get gamed.
Where to use this on MetricKit
Calculators
- ROI Calculator: Calculate Return on Investment (ROI) for a campaign or project.
- Incrementality Lift Calculator: Estimate incremental conversions, incremental ROAS, and incremental profit from a holdout test.
- Marginal ROAS Calculator: Estimate diminishing returns and find the profit-maximizing ad spend from a simple response curve.
- Target CPA from LTV Calculator: Translate LTV and contribution margin into a target CPA (and break-even CPA) for paid acquisition.
- MER Calculator: Calculate MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio / blended ROAS) and estimate break-even and target MER from margin assumptions.
Guides
- Target CPA: how to set acquisition targets from LTV and margin: A practical guide to target CPA: connect acquisition cost to LTV, contribution margin, and payback constraints (and avoid common mismatches).
- MER (blended ROAS): how to use it without fooling yourself: A practical guide to MER: what it is, how it differs from ROAS, how to compute break-even/target MER, and common pitfalls.
- Max CPC and break-even CPC: how to set bidding targets from margin: A practical guide to max CPC: translate AOV, CVR, and contribution margin into break-even CPC and a target CPC with buffer.
- Break-even CPM: how to price impressions from CTR, CVR, and margin: A practical guide to break-even CPM: translate CTR, CVR, AOV, and contribution margin into a max CPM and a target CPM with buffer.
- Break-even CTR: required CTR at a given CPM (with buffer): A practical guide to break-even CTR: set creative CTR targets from CPM, CVR, AOV, and margin, then use them to diagnose pre-click performance.