This guide offers practical tips to enhance your ad ranking in Google Ads. Whether you’re new to Google Ads or an experienced user, this guide will be helpful.
What is Google Ads Ranking?
Google Ads ranking refers to the position of your ad on Google’s search results page, based on various factors. Advertisers bid in Google’s auction system to display their ads, but the highest bidder doesn’t necessarily win. Google also considers the advertiser’s ad quality, which takes into account factors like ad relevance and expected click-through rate. The ad with the highest ranking will secure the top position.

Ad Ranking is Ad Position
Users are far more likely to click on ads at the top of Google’s search results page than those lower down. Therefore, ad ranking is crucial for quickly and efficiently generating impressions and clicks, as well as promoting at a lower cost.
How is Google Ads Ranking Calculated?
Ad ranking considers factors such as bid amount, ad relevance, estimated click-through rate, landing page experience, competition level, ad rank threshold, and user search context. Google hasn’t disclosed many algorithmic factors, but their experts explain the ad ranking formula as follows:
Ad Rank = CPC Bid X Quality Score

What are the Main Factors Affecting Ad Ranking in Google Ads?

Google Ads’ auction system is complex, using a sophisticated formula that’s regularly updated and optimized. If it were a simple auction, the highest bid would always win the top spot. However, this isn’t the case. Many other factors influence ad ranking.
As shown in the image above, Google Ads ranking is influenced by multiple factors considered throughout the bidding process. Both internal and external factors are crucial for ad ranking.
Bid
The maximum cost-per-click (CPC) is the highest amount an advertiser is willing to pay.
If an advertiser sets a maximum CPC of $5, and the second-highest bidder’s maximum CPC is $4, the winning advertiser will pay $4.01 per click. This means the actual CPC paid by advertisers is usually lower than their maximum bid and depends on the auction’s competitiveness. Advertisers need to balance their maximum CPC with their budget to ensure they don’t overspend on ads.
Ad Quality
Ad quality is crucial. Three factors collectively determine an ad’s quality, known as the “Quality Score”:
- Expected click-through rate (CTR): CTR measures the likelihood of searchers clicking on your ad. CTR is categorized as above average, average, or below average. If your ad is “below average,” consider modifying your ad copy to make it more relevant to your target keywords.
- Ad relevance: The connection between your keywords and your ad. It’s also rated as “above average,” “average,” or “below average.” Try to include core keywords in your ad copy to improve relevance between your ad and keywords.
- Landing page experience: Evaluates the relevance and usefulness of your website’s landing page for users who click on your ad. To improve a “below average” score, advertisers can try using ad copy directly on the landing page, optimizing website loading speed, etc.
Google calculates an ad’s Quality Score by comparing its expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. Ad copy plays a crucial role in determining ad quality, and advertisers can include keywords, search terms, and landing page text in their headlines and descriptions.
Ad Rank Threshold
Google defines the ad rank threshold as the “minimum price” for your ad. If your bid is below the threshold, your ad won’t be displayed. If none of your competitors qualify for display, the threshold (minimum price) equals the cost per click.
SERP ad positions are divided into multiple tiers, each with a minimum ad rank threshold that your ad must meet to compete for that ad position.
- Ad quality: Google wants searchers to have a “high-quality ad experience.” Lower quality ads must meet higher requirements.
- Ad position: The higher the ad’s position on the page, the higher the threshold.
- User signals and attributes: The threshold will be affected by the user’s search environment (location, device, etc.).
- Search topic and nature: Click costs vary by industry, and so do thresholds.
- Relevant auctions: The search terms used also affect the threshold. For example, searches for “Dove” shampoo and “Sunsilk” shampoo would have similar thresholds.
Expected Impact of Ad Extensions

Ad extensions are a free way to improve ad ranking, as Google considers their expected impact on ad performance. Ad extensions can increase expected click-through rates, thereby improving Quality Score and ad ranking. However, the introduction of performance max campaigns has complicated the ad ranking formula, making it difficult to determine which campaign type takes priority.
If you’re running both performance max campaigns and other types of campaigns (such as search or display campaigns), make sure you’re fully utilizing all available methods to improve ad ranking.
Auction Competitiveness
The competitiveness of ad auctions is a factor that advertisers can’t control. Some industries are more competitive than others. While pivoting to a less competitive industry isn’t a viable option for most advertisers, it’s crucial to understand your industry’s competitive landscape and adjust your advertising strategy accordingly.
For example, financial services and insurance industries are typically highly competitive and have the highest cost-per-click rates, as many players compete for limited ad space.
User Search Context
This includes information such as the searcher’s location, device, time of search, etc. Two people can search for the same product in different countries using different languages.
How to Improve Google Ads Ranking
After understanding all the factors that can affect ad ranking, we need to focus on and optimize the following factors to improve ad ranking:
Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR measures the ratio of people who click on your ad to the number of times your ad is shown. To improve CTR, create compelling ad copy, include relevant ad extensions, and use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic.
Ad extensions are powerful tools for improving CTR and ad ranking. Make full use of all relevant ad extensions, such as sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets. Ensure that the information in your ad extensions is accurate, up-to-date, and compelling to attract clicks.
Ad Relevance
Ad relevance refers to how well your ad matches the user’s search query. Highly relevant ads are more likely to attract clicks and lead to conversions. To improve ad relevance, conduct SERP research to gain deep insights into user search intent and create ads that meet their needs and preferences. Another suggestion is to regularly monitor and analyze your ad performance data. Use this data to identify areas for improvement and optimize your ads accordingly, including adjusting bids, refining targeting, testing new ad copy, and trying different ad formats.
Landing Page Experience
To improve landing page experience, it’s important to ensure its relevance, user-friendliness, and optimization for keywords. To achieve this, follow these best practices:
- Ensure the relevance of ad landing pages
It’s crucial to ensure that the landing page is directly relevant to the ad content. For example, if your ad is about a specific product, the landing page should provide information about that product, not something else. This will ensure that visitors find what they’re looking for and are more likely to convert.
- Optimize page load time
If an online page takes more than three seconds to load, you’ll lose 40% of visitors. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to assess your landing page speed and make improvements accordingly.
Additional Tips for Ad Ranking
- Increasing your bid is the simplest way to improve ad ranking and attract more visitors. This may not be a practical option for small businesses or those with limited budgets.
- Improve your CTR by emphasizing certain advantages and features. Having a high ranking isn’t the only factor affecting click-through rates. You can also create more feature-rich ads that highlight the main benefits and features of your product or service.