PPC is all about bidding, right? So, all you need to do to get to the top of the search is bid the highest!

If only it were that easy.

In 2025, Google Ads has evolved significantly, and bidding alone won’t guarantee you a top position. Google has become highly advanced in optimising user experience, and now more than ever, the relevance of your ads plays a critical role in determining your success.

As a general rule, the lower your quality score the more you will pay for Google. But this doesn’t mean that you’ll still rank highly – quality score is a direct factor to your ad rank, and if it’s lower than Google likes it to be then your ads could be placed lower in search – or not show at all.

Quality score is also indicative of your conversion rate. While it doesn’t directly affect your conversions if your keywords, ad copy and landing pages are not relevant to the user you’re not likely to convert them into a customer.

So in 2025, Quality Score is no longer just a measure of relevance; it’s a direct indicator of how well your ad copy, keywords, and landing page work together to satisfy the user’s search intent.

So how can you increase your quality score?

#1 Start with keyword research

Keyword research is often cited as a ‘must-do’ action because it’s very important. What keywords you use need to be relevant to your home improvement services, as well as appearing in copy naturally to increase conversions.

Use a combination of long tail, phrase and exact match keywords like “affordable kitchen renovation near me” to optimise your ads successfully. Don’t use highly searched keywords that don’t reflect what you offer – this will drastically reduce your quality score and cost you more over time.

Don’t be tempted to pick keywords with a high search volume – these will no doubt have high benchmarks for bids, and as they’re likely to be broad search terms (e.g. flooring vs hardwood flooring installation in London), you’ll see a lot of irrelevant traffic, which is very costly and renders your ads ineffective.

#2 Negative keywords are just as important!

Don’t forget negative keywords, they’re just as important as your relevant ones. Negative keywords can seriously harm your account if you don’t keep on top of them, pulling your quality score and keyword ranking down.

For example if you’re a luxury kitchen renovation contractor, you don’t want your ads showing up for “cheap kitchen renovation services” or “DIY kitchen remodelling tips.”

Pay attention to your keywords to determine if they receive a high number of clicks from irrelevant search terms. If your landing page content doesn’t show what the user is looking for they will bounce from your page, making Google will see this as a red flag and start to bring your quality score down.

#3 Optimise your ad copy

Your Google ad copy needs to do more than just include keywords. It needs to speak directly to your target audience, provide clear value, and anticipate their needs. With more users relying on mobile devices and voice search, ad copy needs to be concise and action-oriented.

Utilise site link extensions, callout extensions, and structured snippets to enhance your ad’s visibility. These features provide additional information and encourage users to click.

Also, don’t forget that ad copy should never be left dormant for very long – analyse it on a regular basis and tweak to get the best performance out of your ads.

#4 Optimise your landing pages

Often companies focus their attention on Google Ads and narrow their focus to ad copy, bidding, and keyword research.

Optimising your landing pages happens outside of the Google Ads platform, so it can be easy to dismiss these as a secondary or “nice to have” feature – some businesses might even be linking all their ads to just their homepage! This not only reduces conversions but also harms your Quality Score.

Remember, your landing pages should be targeted and specific to the ad’s message and conversions happen because your visitor likes what they see on your page and not just because the keyword they use appears everywhere.

Once you’ve created your landing page look at it from a user’s point of view – have an external viewer look over it if necessary – and ensure that every touch point, from ad copy to the final conversion action, such as contacting you, is relevant, clear, concise and interesting.

#5 Pay close attention to every parts

You can have outstanding landing pages, call to actions, and creative ad copy that reads excellently. You can even have fantastic keywords that gain a lot of clicks, but all of this is irrelevant if your keyword quality score is low.

You’ll pay a lot more for keywords with a low quality score if there’s no connection between them and your URLs and landing pages. You’ll likely find that your landing page bounce rates are high, and your conversions low.

Ad copy, keywords, URLs and landing pages all need to fit nicely together and have consistency throughout to be successful..

#6 Your quick start guide to dominating ads

1, Research keywords relevant to your brand. Target long-tail, location-based, and specific keywords.

2, Incorporate negative keywords and filter irrelevant traffic to improve cost-efficiency.

3, Optimise your landing pages for keywords and user experience – you may need to create new landing pages.

4, Analyse your work and continue to focus on optimising your ads to ensure success!

In conclusion, optimising your Google Ads Quality Score in 2025 is about more than just bidding. It’s about ensuring that every component of your Google Ads strategy aligns with user intent, provides a seamless experience for your target audience.

Get a free health check from one of our experts and get started with improving your keyword quality score today.