You may have noticed that Google have an ‘ad strength‘ rating system, classifying your ads and asset groups as one of the following –

  • Poor
  • Average
  • Good
  • Excellent

This is Google’s stamp of approval that your assets are complete and diverse.

Google uses your headline and descriptions to get a rating inside search ads, and for Performance Max, all creative assets are taken into consideration; text, images, videos, feed items.

Now, while we don’t like making optimisation or adcopy decisions just to satisfy Google, there are some pretty nifty benefits from having ‘Excellent’ ad strength

Ad Strength and lower CPCs

Ad strength does NOT directly change your CPC. But better ad strength usually improves your Ad Rank.

And Ad Rank (which includes expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience) is what directly influences CPC.

Better ad strength → often leads to better ad relevance and CTR → higher Ad Rank → lower CPCs or better positions for the same CPC.

(But ad strength alone won’t save a bad offer, weak targeting, or irrelevant landing pages.)

Faster learning and optimisation

In Search and Performance Max, Excellent ad strength means Google’s AI has more “puzzle pieces” (assets) to test and learn from.

It can quickly find which ad assets perform better for different audiences and devices.

Prevents asset fatigue

Performance can decline if you don’t feed Google enough assets.

Without variety, you’ll hit a wall where CTR drops, CPCs climb, and ROAS tanks.

Excellent ad strength gives Google more assets to rotate over time.

Think of it like going to a party – if you’re wearing an excellent outfit, you’ll likely get VIP treatment 😉

So how do you get that coveted “Excellent” rating?

  • Use a minimum of 10 headlines (but shoot for 12–15 for “Excellent”) that are relevant to your keywords
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  • Only pin if absolutely necessary (pinning too much can lower ad strength)
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  • Include a clear call-to-action that matches your landing page
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  • Aim for 4 descriptions, with a mix lengths and tones
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  • Avoid repetition
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  • Try different angles (for example, problem solving, benefits etc)
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  • When writing ads, pay attention to the light blue bar at the top as that will tell you what elements are missing – easy peasy!

Pro tip: Use dynamic keyword insertion, which can insert someone’s search term into the adcopy, if the search term matches an existing keyword.

Aim for excellent ad strength wherever possible. Sometimes it’s not possible, but it’s handy when you have it 🥳

Want more Google Ads strategies that actually move the needle? Join the waitlist for Profitable Promotion, and we’ll show you how it’s done.