Does Ad Strength Really Matter in Google Ads? The Truth About 'Excellent' Scores

When you write an ad in Google Ads, you see a colorful circle gauge measuring Ad Strength:

Poor (Red)
Average (Orange)
Good (Yellow/Green)
Excellent (Green)

Google gives you annoying popups:

"Add more headlines!"
"Include more keywords in your copy!"
"Make headlines more unique!"

A lot of business owners spend hours typing 15 headlines just to get that green "Excellent" label.

Here is the big secret top ad experts know:

Ad Strength has ZERO impact on your actual ad rank, your cost per click, or how many leads you get.

In fact, forcing your ad to say "Excellent" can actually reduce your sales and cost you more money (one of the top reasons why Google Ads are so expensive).

Here is why.

What Does "Ad Strength" Really Mean?

Ad Strength is not a test of how good your ad is.

It is just a checklist for Google's machine:

Did you give Google 15 headlines?
Did you repeat your keywords in those headlines?
Are some headlines short and some long?

Notice what Ad Strength does NOT check:

Does your ad make sense to a real human?
Is your price good?
Does your offer beat your competitor across the street?
Do people actually click your ad and call your phone?

None of that! Google's Ad Strength tool is just checking if you fed its robot enough text snippets.

The Big Mistake: Why "Excellent" Ads Often Fail

To get an "Excellent" rating, Google insists that you do not pin any headlines. Google wants to mix and match all 15 headlines in whatever random order it wants.

Do you know what happens when Google mixes your headlines randomly?

You get ads that look ridiculous:

Headline 1: CCTV Camera Installation
Headline 2: Best CCTV Cameras
Headline 3: Hyderabad CCTV Camera Systems

No human reads that and thinks, "Wow, what a great business, let me call them!" It sounds like a broken robot.

What Real Experts Do Instead:

We use a feature called Pinning.

We Pin Headline 1: The exact service the customer searched for ("Commercial Access Control Systems").
We Pin Headline 2: The irresistible offer ("Free Site Visit & 1-Year Warranty").
We Pin Headline 3: The direct call to action ("Get Your Free Quote in 10 Mins").

When you pin headlines like this, your ad reads clearly. Customers trust you and click.

The funny thing? The second you pin your headlines, Google drops your Ad Strength to "Average" or "Poor"!

Yet, these "Poor" ads routinely get 30% more phone calls than messy "Excellent" ads!

Ad Strength vs. Quality Score: What Really Counts

Do not confuse Ad Strength with Quality Score. They are totally different animals:

Feature	Ad Strength	Quality Score (1 to 10)
What it measures	How many headlines you fed the bot	Real click rates and user experience
Does it cut your CPC?	NO (0% influence on price)	YES (A 10/10 score cuts your click cost by 50%)
Who sees it?	Only you inside the ad editor	Google's live auction system

Google uses Quality Score to decide who wins top positions (we break down the math in how the Google Ads auction actually works).

If people love your ad, click it often, and land on a fast webpage that gives them what they asked for, you win the top spot at a cheap price. Google doesn't care if your Ad Strength gauge was red, yellow, or green.

3 Rules for Writing Ads That Actually Bring Calls

Speak to the human, not the bot: Tell the customer what you do, how fast you do it, and why they should choose you over anyone else.
Pin your main offer: Put your best offer in Headline 2 every single time.
Match your landing page speed and copy: If your ad promises "Same-Day Installation," the very first line on your landing page must say "Same-Day Installation."

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Will Google penalize me for having a "Poor" Ad Strength?

No. Google has officially confirmed that Ad Strength is not used in the ad auction. It does not affect your Ad Rank, your bids, or your Quality Score.

Should I try to get "Excellent" Ad Strength?

Only if you can do it without ruining your ad copy. If adding 15 generic headlines makes your ad sound silly or repetitive, ignore the score and focus on clear, persuasive copy.

Why does Google push Ad Strength so hard?

Because Google wants more variations to feed its automated responsive search ad machine. More variations help Google serve ads across broader search queries, which makes Google more money.

What is a good Click-Through Rate (CTR) for Google Search Ads?

In most local service and B2B industries, a good CTR on Google Search is between 4% and 8%. High-intent exact match keywords can often reach 10% to 15% CTR.

Want Ads Written to Win Clients, Not Please Robots?

Stop wasting hours trying to get green checkboxes from Google. Focus on getting real leads and phone calls.

I write and manage high-converting Google Search campaigns with clear messaging and zero wasted spend.

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