This idea behind the Google quality score is a funny thing. The name implies that it is something unquestionably good and and that you should definitely want it. It is an interesting concept because by having a superior quality score you could actually bid less then someone else but still get placed in a higher position. Sounds like a great deal but this may not be what you really want.

The way that Google figures your quality score is simple. Whoever will provide the most total revenue will get first position and then it is ranked in descending order. This means that if you are bidding 10 percent less than the next guy but people like your ad and are clicking on it 50 percent more  then you will get the first spot. Doing this will not give Google more per click but it will be more as far as total revenue. 

If this happens for a profitable keyword then you are in good shape (as long as it isn’t crowing out an even more profitable keyword). However, if your quality score is good but then the keyword doesn’t convert (let’s call it the conversion score) then Google will keep serving up that ad regardless of what would be better for you.

This means that if you ever receive some promotion from Google, Yahoo, or any other search engine that will give you some sort of click optimization package then be careful. This is a good thing for profitable keywords but could conflict with your best interests when the quality score is good but the conversion score is bad. So, beware! Use a quality analytics package in connection with your PPC campaigns to optimize around conversion and yield.