Quality Score Questions

Discussion in 'Google AdWords' started by DRScott, Dec 15, 2009.

  1. #1
    I am running a new account and for some reason the QS is extremely low for all the keywords. Even as low as 2 giving me the warning "Rarely shown due to low quality score".

    The only red I'm seeing is Keyword Relevance. However, I have the keyword in the ad title and body. I have created landing pages that have the keyword as the page name, title and h1 as well as in the content. I have even separated the keywords into separate ad groups.

    The only thing I can think of is that the the CTR is very low. But with scores like that there wont be much chance of that ctr growing as the ads aren't being shown.

    Out of ideas.
     
    DRScott, Dec 15, 2009 IP
  2. markdb_sem

    markdb_sem Peon

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    #2
    These low PR ratings won't be down to CTR alone...

    How long has this campaign been running for?
    What product/service are you offering?
    Is your campaign on the Search and or Content Network?
     
    markdb_sem, Dec 16, 2009 IP
  3. shrkscn

    shrkscn Peon

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    #3
    Sometimes you should start your new campaigns with bids on a higher side to get higher rankings & good CTR.. There are also other factors which define your QS.. you should refer to the Google adwords videos for more information. In such cases its always better to delete a campaign & create new instead of trying to make the QS better
     
    shrkscn, Dec 17, 2009 IP
  4. petes1980

    petes1980 Peon

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    #4
    I also have a similar problem with one of my campaigns although i have mainly 4s and 5s. In answer to your questions, my campaign has been running for about 3 weeks, it is an educational download product and its only running on the search network and not the content network.

    I have put a maximum CPC on the campaign of £0.40 which places me around the 4-7 positions depending on the keyword. I have optimised my ad text and currently running my 7th and 8th ad variations and have a CTR of around 0.5%

    Any help you can offer on how to improve this would be much appreciated :D
     
    petes1980, Dec 18, 2009 IP
  5. Lucid Web Marketing

    Lucid Web Marketing Well-Known Member

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    #5
    Here's a free download which explains QS and other Adwords issues.

    Basically, CTR heavily influences QS. Improve your ad for better CTR and your QS will improve. Can't put it simpler than that.
     
    Lucid Web Marketing, Dec 18, 2009 IP
  6. markdb_sem

    markdb_sem Peon

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    #6
    petes1980 - I have to agree with Lucid Web Marketing here. That is a very low CTR if you are just running on the Search Network.

    As an immediate fix I would consider adding in a couple of text ad's with {Keyword Insertion} in the title.

    From what you are saying it sounds like your setting the cpc at the Ad group level (Apologies if I'm wrong about this) it's much better to set the CPC at a keyword level as each keyword should be treated individually. I'd personally increase your CPC's to get in and around position 3. Do this by taking the current CPC and adding a percentage you are comfortable with.

    You could do it like this...(If you want to)

    Run a keyword/placement report for the last 7 days
    Sort by Avg Position (Highest to Lowest)
    Increase the CPC's of any outside position 6 by a percentage your comfortable with
    Increase the CPC's of any keywords in positions 3-6 by a lower percentage
    Order the columns and upload via Adwords Editor

    These steps should improve your CTR initially which will have a positive effect on Quality Score, once you have started to see positive effects in the account you should consider pausing any keywords that are not driving traffic/conversions that have a low CTR.

    Hope this helps.
     
    markdb_sem, Dec 21, 2009 IP
    petes1980 likes this.
  7. petes1980

    petes1980 Peon

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    #7
    @markdb_sem - Thankyou for your reply, as you quite rightly guessed the max CPC is on ad level not keyword level. I shall try some of those things you suggest to try and increase my CTR. I have already tried the {Keyword Insertion} tag and it was actually the worst performing ad I had at around 0.16%. With trial and error on the other ads I have managed to achieve a 0.56% average CTR.

    The main problem i have is the product being sold is low value so to be honest I can't see adwords being profitable. I will try a few more things but unless I introduce higher value products I think I will struggle to make it worthwhile.
     
    petes1980, Dec 21, 2009 IP
  8. markdb_sem

    markdb_sem Peon

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    #8
    Petes1980 No problems, I'm here to help :eek:)

    Don't give up on Adwords to soon, regardless of product value, if done correctly PPC can be profitable for most products. It just takes time, effort and experimentation. I could take a quick look at your campaign if you'd like and see if there is anything glaringly obvious that might improve things. Otherwise, if you have any other questions please feel free to ask away!
     
    markdb_sem, Dec 21, 2009 IP
  9. petes1980

    petes1980 Peon

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    #9
    markdb_sem - i might take you up on that offer. I need to change a few things first which i can see are actually glaringly obvious. If i run out of ideas I may come back to you for a little advice. Thanks for your help and Happy Xmas :D
     
    petes1980, Dec 21, 2009 IP
  10. markdb_sem

    markdb_sem Peon

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    #10
    No problems, always happy to help.

    Merry Christmas

    Mark
     
    markdb_sem, Dec 21, 2009 IP