If you manage Google Ads campaigns, you've probably noticed the Optimization Score prominently displayed in your account. Google positions it as a helpful guide to improving your campaigns. But experienced advertisers know that not all recommendations are created equal. Understanding what this score actually measures and when to ignore it can save you from wasting budget on changes that don't align with your goals.
What Is Google Ads Optimization Score?
Optimization Score is Google's estimate of how well your Google Ads account is set up to perform. Displayed as a percentage from 0% to 100%, it reflects how closely your account follows Google's recommended best practices and settings.
The score appears at both the account level and individual campaign level. It's accompanied by a list of recommendations, each weighted by its predicted impact on performance. Applying a recommendation increases your score; dismissing or ignoring it keeps your score lower.
Key Point
Optimization Score is a diagnostic and guidance tool, not a performance metric. A 100% Optimization Score does not guarantee better results, and a lower score does not mean your campaigns are failing. The score reflects alignment with Google's recommendations, which may not always match your specific business objectives.
Google introduced Optimization Score in 2018 to help advertisers identify improvement opportunities. Over time, the recommendations have evolved to increasingly favor Google's automated features like Smart Bidding, broad match keywords, and Performance Max campaigns.
How Optimization Score Is Calculated
Google uses machine learning to calculate your Optimization Score in real-time. The algorithm analyzes your account structure, campaign settings, historical performance, and compares them against what Google considers optimal configurations.
Each recommendation contributes a certain number of percentage points to your potential score. These weights are not equal. High-impact recommendations like switching to automated bidding might be worth 15-20 points, while smaller tweaks like adding a sitelink extension might only contribute 1-2 points.
Factors Google Evaluates
- Bid strategy settings - Whether you're using automated or manual bidding
- Keyword coverage - Match types, negative keywords, and keyword expansion opportunities
- Ad strength and variations - Number of headlines, descriptions, and responsive ad adoption
- Targeting settings - Audience segments, location targeting, device targeting
- Budget utilization - Whether campaigns are limited by budget
- Conversion tracking - Proper setup and attribution settings
- Extensions and assets - Sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, images
- Account structure - Campaign organization and ad group themes
Important Note
The specific weights and criteria are not publicly disclosed. Google frequently updates the algorithm, which is why your Optimization Score can change even when you haven't made any changes to your account.
Should You Follow All Google Ads Recommendations?
No. This is perhaps the most important takeaway from this guide. While some recommendations are genuinely helpful, others exist primarily to drive more ad spend or push you toward Google's automated products.
Google's interests and your interests are not always aligned. Google benefits when you spend more on ads, expand your keyword targeting, and relinquish control to automated bidding. These can sometimes improve your results, but they can also lead to wasted spend on irrelevant traffic.
Recommendations Worth Considering
Some recommendations address genuine issues that could be holding back your campaigns:
Generally Helpful Recommendations:
- Fix disapproved ads - Ads that aren't running are wasting potential
- Add negative keywords - Reducing irrelevant traffic saves budget
- Fix broken URLs - Landing page errors kill conversions
- Improve ad strength from "Poor" to "Average" - More headlines and descriptions can improve performance
- Add missing conversion tracking - You can't optimize what you can't measure
- Remove redundant keywords - Cleaner account structure improves management
- Add ad extensions you're missing - More real estate in search results helps CTR
Recommendations to Approach with Caution
Other recommendations may increase your spend without proportional returns:
Evaluate Carefully Before Applying:
- "Raise your budget" - Only helpful if you're actually losing profitable conversions
- "Add broad match keywords" - Can significantly expand reach but often brings irrelevant traffic
- "Expand your reach with Google Search Partners" - Search Partner quality varies widely
- "Switch to Smart Bidding" - Can work well with sufficient data, but not always
- "Create a Performance Max campaign" - Reduces your control and visibility
- "Add Dynamic Search Ads" - Can capture long-tail but needs careful negative keyword management
- "Use optimized targeting" - Expands beyond your defined audiences
The key is evaluating each recommendation against your specific goals. A brand-focused advertiser might benefit from broad match, while a lead generation campaign with strict cost-per-lead targets might need tighter keyword control.
How to Improve Your Optimization Score Strategically
If you want to improve your Optimization Score without compromising your campaign strategy, focus on the recommendations that align with your goals and dismiss those that don't.
Review recommendations weekly
Set a regular cadence to check your Optimization Score and recommendations. New suggestions appear as Google's algorithm updates or as your account data changes. Reviewing weekly ensures you catch time-sensitive issues like disapproved ads quickly.
Dismiss recommendations you disagree with
Clicking "Dismiss" on a recommendation removes it from your score calculation for 30 days. This is not penalized in any way. If a recommendation doesn't fit your strategy, dismiss it rather than letting it drag down your score.
Apply low-risk improvements first
Start with recommendations that carry minimal risk: adding extensions, fixing broken URLs, removing duplicate keywords. These improve your score without fundamentally changing your campaign strategy.
Test major changes before committing
For significant recommendations like switching to automated bidding, run an experiment first. Google Ads allows you to A/B test bid strategies within a campaign, so you can validate performance before full implementation.
Pro Tip
If you manage multiple Google Ads accounts, tools like marketingOS can help you track optimization recommendations and performance trends across all accounts, making it easier to identify which suggestions are actually improving results.
Optimization Score vs Quality Score: What's the Difference?
These two scores measure completely different things, and conflating them is a common mistake.
| Aspect | Optimization Score | Quality Score |
|---|---|---|
| What it measures | Account setup and settings | Keyword, ad, and landing page relevance |
| Scale | 0% to 100% | 1 to 10 |
| Affects Ad Rank? | No | Yes |
| Affects CPC? | No (indirectly maybe) | Yes, directly |
| Level | Account and campaign | Keyword |
Quality Score directly impacts your costs and ad positions. A high Quality Score means lower CPCs and better placement. It's calculated based on expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience.
Optimization Score is purely advisory. It doesn't affect auction mechanics at all. You can have a 60% Optimization Score and still outperform competitors with 100% scores if your Quality Score, bids, and targeting are well-optimized for your goals.
If you're looking to reduce costs and improve ad positions, focus on Quality Score. If you want to ensure you're not missing obvious setup issues, review Optimization Score recommendations. For a deeper dive into Quality Score, see our complete Quality Score guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Resources
Google Ads Management Tool
Monitor Google Ads performance and track optimization opportunities across all your accounts.
GuideGoogle Ads Quality Score Guide
Learn how Quality Score affects your CPCs and ad positions, and how to improve it.
ChecklistGoogle Ads Optimization Checklist
A comprehensive checklist for optimizing your Google Ads campaigns beyond the Optimization Score.
BenchmarksWhat Is a Good CTR for Google Ads?
Understand CTR benchmarks by industry and learn how to improve your click-through rates.
Want to Track Google Ads Performance Without the Noise?
marketingOS helps you focus on the metrics that matter. Monitor campaign performance, track budget pacing, and identify real optimization opportunities across all your Google Ads accounts.