Ad Rank (noun): The score Google Ads uses to decide whether your ad shows and where it appears compared with other advertisers.
How it works
Every time someone searches, Google runs an auction, and it calculates Ad Rank fresh for each one. The main factors are:
- Your bid: The most you are willing to pay for a click
- Ad quality: Expected click-through rate, how relevant the ad is to the search and the quality of your landing page
- Ad Rank thresholds: The minimum quality an ad needs to show at all
- Search context: Things like the searcher’s location, device and time of day
- Expected impact of your ad assets: How much your sitelinks, callouts and other assets are likely to help
Why it matters
The biggest bid doesn’t automatically win. A relevant ad pointing to a strong landing page can beat a competitor with a fatter budget, and it often pays less per click doing it.
How to improve your Ad Rank
- Group keywords tightly and write ad copy that matches them
- Send clicks to a landing page that matches the ad and loads fast
- Add every ad asset that fits your business
- Fix quality first. Raise bids after.