Ok I set up an ad group for a keyword a few weeks ago and just looked at the stats. The CTR is 1.43% and the ad position is 8.3. What is the quickest way to improve this. Is it simply to bid more on this keyword or will my quality score be so low because of my poor CTR that I will not be able to recover from this.
Well, these things vary from niche to niche but I do not think there is anything too wrong with your CTR. I have loads of QS 9 and 10 keywords with lower (much lower!) CTR. If you have low QS it can probably be improved by editing the ads and/or landing page. That should help improve the average position and possibly the CTR. Otherwise, the quick fix is simply to bid more which will improve position and, theoretically, CTR although it does not always follow in my experience.
That is a good CTR for position 8.3. If the niche is really competitive make sure to really narrow your keywords to the exact and phrase match level, while keeping QS up. Although, sometimes niches are just so competitive you simply have to raise your bids.