Base Quality Score!

Hey Guys

We, as paid search marketers, new or old, have always pondered and came to many conclusions(both rational and irrational) when it comes to "Quality Score" or more popularly known as "QS" in paid search marketing circles. I would also not disagree with the fact that the theories and experiences of individual advertisers, seldom have been concurrent when it comes to discussions on QS.( They often take an ugly form)

In this post,I would not be discussing generic topics as to how it is calculated for the keywords,the factors on which it is dependent or the account optimization techniques or best practices one can follow to improve upon it, if it is dwindling of course! One can find numerous articles catering the same topics already.

Moreover, I plan to discuss a very interesting aspect of it, which our less inquisitive comrades often ignore. I can also re-frame that the QS transition happens too fast for the "not so keen" to notice.

BASE QS??

Now, when you add new keywords for a matched ad you must have noticed that they all are assigned a QS instantly !! Be it any figure in the range of 1-10. Now,the question is, how these keywords are assigned a QS without even any performance? or without even knowing how well they match user search queries when they have not even went live!! Ain't this QS is all about?-How well your keywords match user search queries!

You can refer this initial QS as "Base QS". This is the QS which is assigned to your new keywords based on how they have performed for other advertisers. It is this QS which you have to take forward.

Sometimes, initially a keyword is assigned a QS of "7" but the moment it enters live ad auction it dips to 3 or 4 !

THINGS YOU COULD INFER

IF BETWEEN(5-10):-

If the base QS of your newly added keyword is a good figure (between 5-10), you can broadly interpret that the particular keyword has done good for other advertisers, it would be a good traffic generator, it would accrue good CTR, it would be profitable in terms of ROI and also a caution that it would bring stiff competition!

WHEN BELOW 5:-

If it is a low figure from the start, you can interpret that it has not done too good historically and most advertisers have refrained to carry on using it because of the unprofitable output it brings.

Such keywords would normally be low in competition because of mentioned reasons. As an advertiser, you will have be to be extra smart in using and spending on them because they would more often than not, eat more money with unimpressive return on investment.

CONCLUSION

Either you will be building on the base QS or will help it fall even more. In both cases you have got to be patient and focus more on the effort rather worrying about an unimpressive "QS". Focus on having a decent CTR for your keywords, test multiple ad copies, bid intelligently and rest all will fall in place automatically.

Hope it helps.

Cheers