A High Point cosmetic dentist was paying $14 per click for "teeth whitening high point" while a competitor across town was paying $4 for the same keyword. Same ad position. The only difference was Quality Score. Her landing page sent every visitor to the homepage. Her competitor sent traffic to a dedicated teeth whitening page that mentioned the city, the offer, and a clear next step.
How Google Calculates Quality Score
Quality Score is a 1 to 10 grade Google assigns each keyword based on three factors: expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. A higher Quality Score means lower cost per click and better ad position. The landing page experience component is where most Triad service businesses leave money on the table.
The Five Landing Page Rules That Improve Quality Score
- →Match the ad: If the ad says "Greensboro Personal Injury Attorney," the page headline should say the same thing. Sending traffic to a generic homepage is the most common mistake we see.
- →One offer per page: Do not stack five services on one landing page. Each ad group should point to a single, focused page about one service.
- →Visible phone number and form above the fold: Triad searchers who reach a landing page should not have to scroll to find a way to contact you.
- →Trust signals: Local credentials, BBB rating, years in business in Greensboro or Winston-Salem, customer logos, and testimonials. People are skeptical of paid ads. You have to earn the click.
- →Fast load time: Pages that load in over four seconds drag Quality Score down and lose visitors regardless of how good the copy is.
What a Two-Point Quality Score Bump Is Worth
Going from a Quality Score of 5 to 7 typically reduces cost per click by 30 to 40 percent. For a Winston-Salem service business spending $4,000 a month on AdWords, that is $1,200 to $1,600 of saved budget that can be redeployed into more clicks or higher bids on the keywords that actually convert.
Landing page conversion is a discipline of its own. Read our guide on designing call-to-action sections that actually convert, or have our digital marketing agency rebuild your AdWords landing pages.