Quality Score Loss Calculator
CPC at a target score ≈ current CPC × current Quality Score ÷ target Quality Score. A $5 click at Quality Score 4 would cost about $2.50 at 8.
Google Ads: Quality Score
1 to 10
Google Ads: Avg. CPC
For this keyword
CPC at QS 8 = $5 × 4 ÷ 8 = $2.50 · loss = $2.50 × 2,000
This keyword is paying a steep Quality Score premium. Expected CTR and landing page experience are usually the fastest levers.
Next: the step-by-step fix → How to fix a low Quality Score
At Quality Score 4 this keyword is costing about $5,000 a month more than it would at 8. See which keywords are leaking most: free 47-point ad audit, five business days, no sales call.
Get my auditHow the estimate works
monthly loss = (current CPC − CPC at target) × monthly clicks
Google doesn't publish how Quality Score turns into price. The calculator uses WordStream's Quality Score cost chart, which treats a score of 5 as the baseline and scales cost by 5 ÷ Quality Score: 50% cheaper at 10, 25% dearer at 4, five times the price at 1. It is an industry estimate from around 2016, so use it to size a gap, not to forecast an exact CPC.
| Step | Example | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Current Quality Score | 4 | Google Ads: Keywords → Quality Score column |
| Current CPC | $5.00 | Google Ads: Avg. CPC |
| CPC at Quality Score 8 | 5 × 4 ÷ 8 = $2.50 | Calculated |
| Monthly clicks | 2,000 | Google Ads: Clicks |
| Extra cost per month | ($5.00 − $2.50) × 2,000 = $5,000 | Calculated |
How to read your number
The result marks a keyword costly when it pays 30% or more above its price at the target score, and leaking between 10% and 30%. Start with the keywords that combine a low score with a lot of clicks; that is where the money is.
The fastest fixes are rarely bids. Expected CTR improves with tighter ad groups and more specific ad copy, and landing page experience improves when the page matches what the ad promised. Bid changes move Ad Rank; they don't move Quality Score. For the step-by-step process, see how to fix a low Quality Score, and for what goes into the score, our glossary entry on Quality Score.
Quality Score cost questions
How does Quality Score change what I pay per click?
Higher Quality Score lowers the price you need to pay for the same ad position. Google doesn't publish an exact formula. This calculator uses WordStream's widely used estimate, where cost scales with 5 ÷ Quality Score: half the baseline at 10, five times it at 1.
How accurate is the estimate?
Treat it as directional. The cost chart comes from WordStream's analysis of client accounts, published around 2016, and Google's auction has changed since. It is useful for sizing the gap between two scores, not for predicting an exact CPC.
What target Quality Score should I use?
Start one or two points above where the keyword is now, rather than jumping to 10. Expected CTR, ad relevance and landing page experience each feed the score, and moving all three takes time.
Will raising my bid improve Quality Score?
No. Bids affect Ad Rank, not Quality Score. The score responds to expected click-through rate, how closely the ad matches the search, and the landing page experience.
Built by the iClick team · Reviewed by Pankaj, Google Ads Strategist · Updated
