What is ad rank?

Ad rank is a crucial metric in paid advertising, particularly for platforms like Google Ads. It's essentially a score that determines where your ad appears on a search results page and whether it shows up at all. When someone searches for something, the advertising platform runs an auction to decide which ads to display and in what order. Your ad rank is your entry ticket and your seating assignment in this auction.

This score is not just about how much you're willing to pay. While your bid is a significant factor, ad rank also heavily considers the quality and relevance of your ad and landing page. The goal of the advertising platform is to provide the best possible experience for its users, so it rewards ads that are helpful and closely match what people are looking for. A higher ad rank means your ad is more likely to be shown in a prominent position, leading to more visibility and potential clicks.

Why ad rank matters

Understanding and optimizing your ad rank is essential for any marketing team running paid advertising campaigns. Here is why it holds such importance:

• Increased visibility and clicks: A higher ad rank means your ad appears in a more prominent position, often at the top of the search results. This increased visibility naturally leads to more people seeing your ad and, consequently, a higher chance of clicks.
• Lower costs per click (CPC): Counterintuitively, a high ad rank can actually reduce your advertising costs. Platforms reward high-quality, relevant ads with lower CPCs. This means you might pay less for each click even if your bid is not the absolute highest, simply because your ad is more relevant to the user.
• Competitive advantage: By achieving a strong ad rank, you can effectively outrank competitors who might be bidding higher but have lower quality ads. This allows smaller businesses or those with tighter budgets to compete effectively.
• Improved overall campaign performance: Ad rank directly impacts key performance indicators (KPIs) like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and ultimately, your return on ad spend (ROAS). Better ad positions often lead to better overall campaign results.

How to improve your ad rank

Improving your ad rank involves a combination of strategic bidding and enhancing the quality of your ads and landing pages. Here are the key areas to focus on:

Focus on quality score

Your Quality Score is a diagnostic tool that measures the relevance and quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages. It has three main components:

• Expected click-through rate (CTR): This estimates how likely people are to click your ad when shown for a specific keyword. Write compelling and relevant ad copy that encourages clicks.
• Ad relevance: This measures how closely your ad copy and keywords match the user's search intent. Ensure your ad text directly addresses what the user is looking for.
• Landing page experience: This assesses how relevant, transparent, and easy-to-navigate your landing page is for users who click your ad. The page should load quickly, be mobile-friendly, and provide the information promised in the ad.

Optimize your bids

While Quality Score is vital, your bid still plays a significant role. Use automated bidding strategies like maximize conversions or target ROAS to let the platform optimize bids based on your goals. For manual bidding, ensure you're bidding appropriately for high-value keywords and adjusting bids based on performance data.

Utilize ad extensions

Ad extensions are extra pieces of information that can be added to your ad, such as sitelinks, callout extensions, structured snippets, and call extensions. They increase your ad's visibility and provide more reasons for users to click. Using relevant extensions can significantly boost your ad rank by making your ad more prominent and helpful.

Consider context

The advertising platform also considers the context of a search when calculating ad rank. This includes factors like the user's location, the time of day, the device they are using, and other signals. Optimize your campaigns by setting location-specific bids, scheduling ads for peak times, and ensuring your landing pages are responsive across devices.

Key metrics and best practices

To consistently maintain a high ad rank, it's important to monitor performance and follow best practices.

Key metrics to track

• Quality Score: Monitor the individual components (expected CTR, ad relevance, landing page experience) to identify areas for improvement.
• Impression share: This metric shows the percentage of times your ads were shown compared to the total number of impressions they were eligible for. A low impression share might indicate an opportunity to improve ad rank.
• Click-through rate (CTR): A high CTR suggests your ad is highly relevant and appealing to users, which positively impacts your expected CTR component of Quality Score.
• Conversion rate: While not a direct factor in ad rank, a strong conversion rate indicates that your landing page experience is good and your ads are attracting valuable traffic, which is the ultimate goal.

Best practices for maintaining a high ad rank

• Continuous optimization: Regularly review and update your keywords, ad copy, and landing pages. The digital landscape changes, and your campaigns should evolve with it.
• A/B testing: Experiment with different ad variations, headlines, descriptions, and landing page layouts to see what resonates best with your audience.
• Refine keyword lists: Continuously conduct keyword research to discover new relevant terms and add negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches.
• Mobile optimization: Ensure your landing pages are fast, responsive, and provide an excellent experience for users on mobile devices, as a significant portion of searches happen on phones.

Understanding and optimizing ad rank is fundamental for successful paid advertising campaigns. It's not just about spending more money; it's about delivering the most relevant and highest-quality experience to users. By focusing on your Quality Score, strategic bidding, and utilizing ad extensions, your marketing team can significantly improve ad visibility, reduce costs, and ultimately drive better results. Regularly review your campaign performance and make data-driven adjustments to stay competitive and maximize your return on ad spend.