Recently, Google AdWords improved its Quality Score reporting visibility. Seven new columns for QS components are now available in keyword reporting. The update allows advertisers greater ability to evaluate the components of the Quality Score, as well as measure against historical data.
With this improvement, advertisers can now see three additional metrics in the Keyword Status tab: “Expected CTR,” “Ad Relevance” and “Landing Page Experience.” The new status columns are optional to add, but the additional data in keyword reporting could prove to be quite useful to advertisers.
The data which advertisers can now access through the historical Quality Score feature will help in evaluating optimization efforts and their effects on Quality Score components over time. The four new historical columns available are “Qual. Score (hist.),” “Landing Page Experience (hist.),” “Ad Relevance (hist.)” and “Expected CTR (hist).”
Adding this level of visibility to something that has always been considered a “black box” for advertisers is a giant step forward in transparency for Google AdWords. While it won’t change much of the day-to-day campaign management for most advertisers, those willing to dive deeper into their data could gain valuable insight into how changes and optimizations affect performance drivers over time.
It is essential to remember that even with this additional data at hand, it really is only half the battle when it comes to campaign management. Advertisers should remain focused on ROI as well as Quality Score optimization. While Quality Score has a direct impact on advertisers’ CPCs, it doesn’t change which keywords drive conversions on your website. Just because a keyword might have a 3/10 Quality Score doesn’t mean that keyword can’t garner a positive return on investment for your business.
