Google has two Quality Score updates:
- “We’re releasing an optional Quality Score column that shows the minimum bid for all of the keywords within an ad group as well as a Great, OK, or Poor quality label for your keyword.”
- “Next week, we’re launching improvements to the Quality Score algorithm that sets minimum bids for keywords in order to improve the quality of ads that we serve to our users.”
The visible quality scores are based on data we’ve always had (CPCs), so that isn’t terribly new. The algorithm update, however, is very interesting. The Google Blog gives more detail,
“First, we’re improving the way that we set minimum bids for keywords where we have limited data. For example, if the system does not have any data on a keyword, we’ll try to assign that keyword a lower initial minimum bid until we have enough data to make a more accurate assessment of the Quality Score for that keyword in your account. Second, we’re improving the Quality Score algorithm to make it more accurate in predicting the quality of all ads. This will improve the overall quality of ads that we serve by lowering minimum bids for high quality ads and raising minimum bids for low quality ads. We expect that the higher minimum bids for low quality ads will reduce the number of low quality ads we show to our users.”
One of the biggest criticisms of Google’s Quality Score rating is that QS penalizes ads that have little data. In other words, newly-launched campaigns or any new variations will run with high minimum bids until they’ve developed a performance history. As a result, it’s difficult to test and optimize ads or profitably run short-lived campaigns. We’ve had to turn away business because of this issue, and today expressed as much to our Google account rep – he informed us that the updated algorithm will give leniency to keywords that haven’t historically brought in a significant amount of traffic (aka: tail terms), but generic and highly competitive terms being used by new accounts will still have high initial CPCs. For our purposes, that means that our clients with highly competitive brand terms who want to run short-lived campaigns -regardless of the quality or relevancy of their landing page and ad copy – will have high initial minimum bids.
Google wouldn’t give us more detail than that, so I guess we’ll have to wait until the update is in place to assess its full effect.
