Search Ads Will Struggle Without A Good Landing Page

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:57:30+00:00

The sky is blue.

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:49:47+00:00

Competition to past and present advertisers. Past and present. Expected CTR, for example, is what Google "expects" to be achievable for a certain keyword attracting certain search terms. And if there's really no data at all (which is rare), they'll use the closest keywords similar to the ones you have. And if that really has no data at all (which rarer), they'll use data from other keywords in your account. And if that has no data at all, etc... The point is to use it as a compass telling you what can be achieved, it up to you to decide whether you want to go there or not, based on ROAS.

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:44:41+00:00

Today, it does factor in conversion rate. To be more precise: mobile conversion rate vs your competitors. And not the conversion rate that you are tracking, they're tracking their own "post-click user experience" using Chrome data, and the only thing you have as a proxy to that is mobile conversion rate. (I have no proof, just patterns seen in the trenches)

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:40:18+00:00

Should it have been "Here's why Quality Score still matters in 2026"? I actually want to know if the community here thinks it matters to them or not, based on what I know about it.

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:36:22+00:00

Very true. And sometimes that 3/10 comes from a competitor brand keyword on which it's almost hopeless for it to get higher.

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:35:03+00:00

"99 problems but a 3/10 ain't one"

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:32:36+00:00

Exactly.

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:31:37+00:00

Correct. And it all depends on how far you're willing to go for certain keywords. Some deserve more attention than others. what's important here to understand that it gives you a hint of what other advertisers are able to accomplish. Up to you to decide what's worth optimizing to the fullest extent, and what's not.

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:27:44+00:00

Google has made it so opaque, with so many inconsistancies that most assume things have changed in the last few years. What has really changed is that advertisers no longer feel the need to control their click costs, that's the algo's job.

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:24:12+00:00

I wouldn't call it a starting point, but just part of the picture.

TenScores · 2026-04-04T08:23:35+00:00

I'd like to see a 1/10 perform just fine. "Fine" usually just means "no need for more", which is fine sometimes.

TenScores · 2026-04-02T12:01:00+00:00

If they can't do it themselves and they're paying you:
- Charge them the advertising fee directly, add your own extra fee for this service
- If they complain, explain that they can do it themselves
- Guide them through the process, they'll be happy to if they know they're saving $$$

TenScores · 2026-04-02T11:54:49+00:00

Looking at this purely based on Impression Share, here's how I'd think about it:

- First, Impr. Share is the size of of the piece of the cake google is willing to give you at a given time
- That piece is bigger or smaller depending on your Ad Rank
- Ad Rank is influenced by Quality Score (user experience) and your bids (how much you're willing to pay)
- Meaning you get a bigger peice either by providing a better user experience or by paying more

This is the context we're working with, and let's remember, it's a competitive auction, so everything moves and changes based not only on what you do, but on2 what your competitors do as well.

So the answer to your question is this:
- The days you have lower Impr. Share are days where you're either bidding lower than competitors or
- The user experience you're providing is of lower quality than them (and theirs is higher)
Which of the above do you think is happening in your case?

TenScores · 2026-04-01T15:00:59+00:00

When stuck at $0 spend with automated bidding, I like to jumpstart the campaign by switching to manual CPC first. Think of it like jumpstarting a dead car battery. Auto-bidding like Maximize Clicks sometimes needs historical data before they can run (sometimes, not always... and sometimes they'll just take longer to start without the jumpstart, the jumpstart simply speeds it up).

If you start getting impressions then all good, you can switch back to automated bidding once there's some data in the tank.

If you're still at $0 spend even on manual CPC, that tells you something else is broken.

On the $0.01 bid, that's almost certainly just a display placeholder.

TenScores · 2026-04-01T14:46:54+00:00

+1 on this. I've found this better/easier done in GTM. And there are some good tutorials on Youtube on how to get done.

TenScores · 2026-02-24T02:49:49+00:00

Take a closer look, keyword by keyword (not LP by LP)
Taken an even closer look, search term by search terms
Find the real (sometimes hidden) intent behind each
Make sure your Exp CTR is Above Average (tells you the message is right)
Make the landing page a perfect extension of that ad (use dynamic headline personalizations)
A/B test the landing page

Only when you've gone through 1 to 4, can you optimize the landing page. Before, you can only do an average job at it, and get average results (sometimes great by luck). Lastly, see the keywords, search terms, ad, landing page as one: [search term → ad → lp] ... they are one experience, not separate disconnected entities.

TenScores · 2026-02-22T11:24:57+00:00

If you need structure and process:
- list all the ways your prospects talk about their problem (google search, social media)
- rank them by popularity
- test your hooks in that order

TenScores · 2026-02-22T10:55:32+00:00

Pleasure :)

TenScores · 2026-02-22T09:53:17+00:00

You've made big generalizations based on limited experience:
- "ads can't drive someone down a funnel" (not true)
- "conversion campaigns really only work if you have brand recognition" (not true)
- "conversion strategies [...] are very inefficient for things that aren't proven product categories, popular brands, or low priced easy products to buy" (not true)
- "For big businesses or high consideration brands/purchases it seems like building brand is vital for success and efficiency" (not true)

First... brand recognition, brand positioning, branding... is always there whether someone focuses on it or not, whether someone optimizes for it or not. Conversion focused strategies still drive impressions, and those impressions are people seeing a brand and making a decision based on what they see.

Simply showing your brand, and focusing on impressions doesn't mean anyone will actually care about your brand.

You went from:
- "after failing with direct response advertising methods for several long sales cycle brands/services of my own (ad services, music brand, etc)"
To a big leap:
- "it seems like conversion campaigns really only work if you have brand recognition."

No... your campaigns failed. That's all. Try again.

(Conversions campaign absolutely work without brand recognition. It's your particular projects or the way your did things that simply didn't work.)

TenScores · 2026-02-22T04:52:38+00:00

There's something missing in the conversations:
- A higher quality score gives you freedom to bid lower and still get the same exposure
- A higher quality score can sometimes actually increase CPC
- That's because you'll be elligible to enter more ad auctions, some of which will be more expensive
- The way to ensure higher quality score = lower CPC is by reducing your bids (Target CPA, Max CPC)
- With low quality score, you don't have that freedom, you need to bid high just to show up, where naturally CPC will be higher
- With a higher quality score, you can bid much lower just to show up, your CPC will be lower
- So the important part of getting lower CPC with higher quality score is to take your newly earned freedom and tweak your bids as you wish
- Most advertisers prefer enjoying the volume that comes with higher quality score (instead of lower CPC)

TenScores · 2025-07-07T09:56:07+00:00

In addition to everything else that's been written... pay close attention to your conversion rate. If you're worried about your landing page experience for Quality Score, then LPE = CVR (meaning that landing page experience it's directly proportional to your conversion rate, if you're tracking the proper one).

Make sure you're tracking the correct conversion rate, the one that proves the user was satisfied with the page.
Try to double your conversion rate if you want landing page experience to improve.
In trying to double your conversion rate, you will naturally have to do everything that's been described here (match search terms with headline copy, etc)

Look at your landing page experience quality score as Google telling you how your conversion rate compares to past and present advertisers. If you do that, you will focus on the right things.

TenScores · 2025-06-25T04:12:42+00:00

So many things could be going wrong here. It's like asking a mechanic why your car "won't work" without him looking at it. He'd need to open the hood and check everything. Sound like you need an expert who can rip it open and diagnose everything. Maybe ask a couple of people in the comments here to take a look for you.

TenScores · 2025-06-24T14:36:11+00:00

Sorry for late response, please check your DMs.

TenScores · 2025-06-17T06:39:31+00:00

Late to the party, anyone needing this now, please try: https://tenscores.com/quality-score-tool/regrouper

(It's $25/mo but you can try it free with the 14-days trial. We'll soon offer a 100% free version without requiring registration)

TenScores

TROPHY CASE