Quality Score Improvements in PPC Campaigns

Quality Score Improvements
In response to advertiser feedback, we've made an improvement to Quality Score. Static per-keyword Quality Scores have been replaced with a system that evaluates an ad's quality each time it matches a search query. This allows AdWords to use the most accurate, specific, and up-to-date performance information when determining whether an ad should be displayed.

The new per-query evaluation of Quality Score affects your account in two main ways. First, keywords will no longer appear as 'inactive for search.' Now all keywords will have the chance to show ads on Google web search and the search network (unless you've paused or deleted them). Keep in mind that keywords that were previously inactive for search likely won't accrue much traffic after this change. This is because their combined real-time Quality Score and bid probably isn't high enough to gain competitive placement.

Another way this change impacts you is that minimum bids no longer appear in your account. Instead, we've replaced minimum bids with a new, more meaningful metric, which will appear on your Keyword Analysis page. First page bid estimates. This metric estimate the cost-per-click (CPC) bid it would take for your ad to reach the first page of Google search results when the search query exactly matches your keyword. The estimates are based on the ad's Quality Score and current advertiser competition on that keyword. Although not a guarantee for an impression, this new metric should give you greater insight when choosing bids for your keywords. Learn more about first page bid estimates.

Keep in mind that Quality Score still plays the same important role in your ad's rank, cost, and potential impressions (e.g., good Quality Scores will be rewarded with lower CPCs). We encourage you to take this chance to optimize your account for quality, or to pause or delete keywords with low Quality Scores.