Ad quality and Quality Score components on Bing
Quality Score directly influences your cost per click and auction competitiveness on Bing. Here is how Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, and Landing Page Experience are scored.
How Quality Score determines auction rank and CPC#
In the Microsoft Advertising generalized second-price auction, Ad Rank equals your effective maximum bid multiplied by Quality Score.
A keyword with a Quality Score of 8 or 9 can outrank a competitor bidding 50% more with a Quality Score of 4 as documented in Microsoft Quality Score Overview, 2026.
The three sub-score components evaluated#
Quality Score is determined by three independent sub-scores, each rated Above Average, Average, or Below Average relative to competitors:
- Expected Click-Through Rate (eCTR): The historical likelihood that your ad will be clicked when shown for this search query.
- Ad Relevance: How closely your headline and description copy match the user's explicit search intent.
- Landing Page Experience: Page load speed, mobile responsiveness, content depth, and transparency as outlined in Microsoft Auction Guide, 2026.
The mathematical cost impact of high Quality Scores#
Achieving a Quality Score of 10 provides up to a 50% discount on actual cost per click, while scores below 5 incur severe pricing penalties.
Optimizing landing page experience for Bing crawlers#
Bing crawlers prioritize Core Web Vitals, fast initial server response times, high textual keyword density, and clear privacy policies to award Above Average landing page ratings.
Explore our Microsoft Ads Hub for Quality Score diagnostic tools.
Quality Score diagnostic recovery matrix#
The table below outlines specific remediation actions based on lagging sub-scores.
| Lagging Component | Current Rating | Immediate Remediation Action |
|---|---|---|
| Expected CTR | Below Average | Add promotional extensions, test curiosity hooks, refine match types |
| Ad Relevance | Below Average | Include exact keyword terms in Headline 1 & Path fields |
| Landing Page Experience | Below Average | Improve page speed, add matching H1, remove pop-up overlays |
Frequently asked questions#
What is a good Quality Score on Microsoft Advertising?
A Quality Score of 7 or higher is considered strong, earning cost-per-click discounts in the auction. Scores of 5 or 6 are average, while scores below 5 require remediation.
How often does Microsoft update Quality Scores?
Quality Scores are recalculated daily as new auction impressions, clicks, and crawler visits occur across your keywords.
Can a high bid compensate for a low Quality Score?
A high bid can temporarily win ad rank with a low Quality Score, but you will pay substantially higher CPCs and suffer lower ad impression share.
What is the fastest way to improve Expected CTR?
Add prominent ad extensions (Sitelinks, Callouts, Image Extensions) and test compelling value propositions in Headline 1 to increase click-through rates.
Where can I view Quality Score sub-components in Microsoft Ads?
Customize your Keywords table columns by navigating to Modify Columns > Quality Score and checking Expected CTR, Ad Relevance, and Landing Page Experience.
Read more on this topic#
The Microsoft Ads Hub
Free tools, campaign guides and live news for every Microsoft Ads format.
Open the hubResponsive search ads and multimedia ads in Microsoft Search
A practical guide to building, pinning, and optimizing Responsive Search Ads and Multimedia Ads on Microsoft Advertising.
Read the entryPerformance Max asset groups and audience signals
How to structure themed asset groups and attach high-impact audience signals in Microsoft Performance Max.
Read the entryMicrosoft Merchant Center feed attributes and requirements
A complete technical specification of Microsoft Merchant Center feed attributes, character limits, and feed ingestion methods.
Read the entryReady to slash click costs through Quality Score recovery?
folkfox performs technical keyword-to-page audits that systematically lift Quality Scores on Microsoft Advertising.