We recently teamed up with landing page experts Unbounce for a webinar titled “How to Use Killer Landing Pages to Get Better PPC Results.” We received a ton of great questions from attendees, but unfortunately, we couldn’t address them all during the session. So, we’re tackling them here on the blog. A big shout-out to Tom Demers from Measured SEM for lending his expertise in crafting these answers. How much do Ad CTR and Landing Page relevance each factor into Quality Score? If a keyword has a low quality score, should you focus on Ad Copy testing or landing page development first? When it comes to Quality Score, your ad’s relevance outweighs your landing page. It’s the initial element a Google user encounters, provided your ad even appears in the results. A strong indicator of relevance is your ad’s click-through rate (CTR) – if people view your ad but don’t click, it likely means your message isn’t relevant to their search. Prioritize enhancing your ad copy. You’ll discover numerous CTR-boosting tips in our copywriting section. If your CTR sees a significant increase through testing, but your Quality Score remains stagnant, the problem might lie with your landing page. Is it necessary to create a separate landing page for every ad group targeting the same service? Even if your offer remains consistent, it’s considered best practice to have a dedicated landing page for each ad group. This is because Google seeks a clear connection from the keyword you’re bidding on to the landing page. For instance, suppose you’re promoting a law firm, and all your ads ultimately direct to the same inquiry form. It’s still advisable to create distinct landing pages for each cluster of related keywords you’re targeting. You could have one page for individuals filing mesothelioma lawsuits, another for those suing over lead paint, and so on. These pages can share a common template, but the text and keywords on each should directly relate to the user’s search term and the ad they clicked. How frequently is Quality Score updated? Every time a search triggers one of your ads, Google recalculates your Quality Score. This means they factor in the performance history of your account, keywords, and ads when determining ad rankings and real-time cost-per-click. However, keep in mind that significant changes to your Quality Score might not happen overnight. After making changes to my landing page, how quickly will my Quality Score reflect those changes? Here’s what Google has to say: “The AdWords system routinely visits and assesses landing pages. Implementing substantial improvements to your landing page experience can gradually lead to higher Quality Scores. While you might not observe an immediate impact within the first few days, results could become apparent over the subsequent months.” To achieve a good Quality Score, do all keywords in an ad group need to be present on the landing page? No, Google doesn’t scan for every single keyword. Incorporating a few prominent keywords from the ad group should suffice in demonstrating relevance. What’s the current state of the Display Network? Is it worth utilizing? Google offers advertisers numerous valuable options through the Display Network. According to a recent study by Periscopix, the average CTR on the Display Network surpasses the industry average by sixfold. This figure increases even further when you leverage features like keyword contextual targeting. We believe it’s definitely worth considering. However, as a best practice, it’s recommended to maintain separate campaigns for search and display. Here are additional pointers for maximizing your GDN efforts:

• How to Create a Google AdWords Image Ad
• How to Use the Google AdWords Display Ad Builder
• Quick Guide to the Google AdWords Placement Tool
• Quick Guide to the Google AdWords Contextual Targeting Tool Given that lower CTRs anywhere in your account can negatively impact quality scores, and considering GDN tends to have lower CTRs, wouldn’t it make sense to have a separate AdWords account solely for GDN campaigns? Is that even feasible? Quality Scores are calculated independently for the search and display networks, so your display network CTR won’t affect your search network Quality Scores. There’s no need to establish a separate account solely for your display campaigns. Doesn’t Google assign a higher quality score to a comprehensive website compared to a landing page? Google has recently taken a stricter stance on affiliate sites deemed to provide “little to no value” to the user. Generally, however, account-wide Quality Score is primarily influenced by click-through rate at the keyword and ad level. While the overall quality of your website plays a role in your organic rankings, it’s not a major factor for most advertisers in paid search. When it comes to account Quality Score, how much weight is given to account history and length of time established? Google remains tight-lipped about the exact weighting of Quality Score components, particularly regarding account-level Quality Score. The only certainty is that it does factor in. Have you had a chance to try out the beta ad groups feature within Google’s keyword tool? What are your thoughts on its usefulness? We touched upon this in our post about the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. The ad groups tool serves as a useful starting point for brainstorming potential ad group structures. However, exercise caution and thoroughly review the suggestions. Irrelevant keywords might sneak into a recommended grouping. Ultimately, your ad group structure should prioritize segmentation that enables the creation of the most effective ads for each keyword group. How can I determine which ad position yields the best CTR? Ad position isn’t directly within your control – Google determines it based on your Quality Score and bid, along with the Quality Scores and bids of your competitors. Typically, higher positions correlate to higher CTRs, but Google calculates your Quality Score based on the CTR relative to your ad’s position. Therefore, ads in higher positions won’t automatically earn higher Quality Scores solely due to the position-driven CTR boost. I can’t seem to find a “Keywords” tab in AdWords. Where can I locate it? Is it within Campaign/Display Network? The keywords tab should be prominently displayed and easily accessible from the Campaigns tab in AdWords – refer to the screenshot provided below. If you’re unable to locate the keywords tab, consider reaching out to a Google representative:

Should ad groups be further segmented based on word order? For example, I created an ad group centered around “Diabetes symptoms” phrases. Any terms with reversed word order like “symptoms of diabetes” exhibited particularly poor QS. I paused them, but now I’m wondering if I should have created a separate ad group and LP based on this reverse order: “Symptoms of diabetes”. Am I overthinking this, or does it make sense to create separate ad groups for terms in reverse order? A helpful guideline for new ad group creation is to consider how your ads would differ if you separated that keyword or set of keywords. Would isolating the keyword(s) in question allow you to craft ads that resonate more effectively with searchers? Another aspect to consider is search volume. If the term you’re thinking about separating has a high search volume, it’s worth contemplating. Conversely, if it receives relatively few clicks and impressions, the extra effort might not be justifiable, even if a new ad group could potentially lead to a more clickable ad and improved Quality Score. Does Google consider the description meta tag to be important? I’ve been told it’s a good way to signal what your site is about. While the meta description can enhance user experience and potentially improve your organic click-through rate, Google asserts that it doesn’t directly impact rankings. Furthermore, it has no bearing on your Quality Scores. When it comes to landing pages and their impact on quality score, is the content more important than meta tags and titles? Google is looking for three main things are paramount for your landing page: relevant content, transparency, and user-friendliness. Regarding your title/headline, prioritize two key aspects: relevance to the keyword and ad copy, and conveying a clear message to visitors. Effective headlines reinforce your ad’s message and can contribute to a higher conversion rate. However, it’s important to note that your conversion rate doesn’t factor into your Quality Score. Similarly, the meta tags on your landing page aren’t a major factor. What constitutes a “good” click-through rate, and what’s considered “not good”? What about a good Quality score? The answer depends on various factors. You might be content with lower CTRs and Quality Scores if you’re still achieving profitability. As a general benchmark, however, a CTR between 2% and 5% is deemed favorable, and a Quality Score of 7 or higher is considered good. What steps can I take if I’ve optimized my ad groups, copy, and landing pages, but my quality score remains low? If your Quality Score persists at a low level, there are two likely explanations: 1) You haven’t allowed sufficient time for your modifications to take effect, or 2) optimization efforts are incomplete. Remember, there’s always room for improvement. Experiment with dividing your ad groups into smaller, more tightly themed units. Additionally, test more ad text variations to further enhance your click-through rates. Why is Quality Score shrouded in so much secrecy? How can I, as a marketing manager, access the Quality Score assigned to my landing pages? Google doesn’t officially disclose assigning specific quality scores to landing pages. Instead, it operates on more of a pass/fail system. Recently, they’ve provided a glimpse Google tried to introduce more transparency by indicating whether your landing page experience falls below average, meets the average, or exceeds it. To access this information, navigate to the Keywords tab and hover your cursor over the speech bubble adjacent to any keyword’s status. Of course, Google’s criteria for determining your standing relative to the average remain somewhat enigmatic. What constitutes an acceptable “load time” for a landing page experience? Strive for the fastest load time possible. Every fraction of a second can impact your conversion rate. Load time can also influence your Quality Scores. If Google flags your landing page experience as “below average,” it might be necessary to improve your load speed. For a deeper understanding of how page speed affects the user experience on your landing pages, refer to this resource. We hope we’ve addressed your landing page inquiries! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask, and we’ll gladly incorporate the answers as an addendum! (Read more: How to Create the Best Landing Pages for Your Google AdWords Account)