A one‑minute courtroom win

Last quarter a Tampa personal‑injury firm lifted the Quality Score on its top money term—“car accident lawyer near me”—from 7 to 9. CPC dropped from $89 → $74 overnight, yet impression share rose because ad rank improved. Over 60 days the same budget bought 1,310 more clicks and closed nine extra cases worth roughly $390 k in fees. That is the compounding power of Quality Score.

What QS is (and is not)

Google grades each keyword on a 1‑10 scale. Three factors drive that number (Google Help):

Component	Weight*	Meaning	Legal‑specific lever
Expected CTR	39 %	Likelihood your ad gets clicked	Keyword‑mirrored headlines · aggressive sitelinks
Ad Relevance	22 %	How well ad copy matches intent	Single‑keyword or intent‑cluster ad groups
Landing‑Page Experience	39 %	Speed, trust & content match	7‑Second Audit fixes · clear fee disclosures

*Google doesn’t publish exact percentages; these are consensus estimates from multiple Google Ads API studies (2024).

Quality Score is directional, not absolute. A 10/10 on a niche keyword may still cost less than a 7/10 on a hyper‑competitive term, yet inflating anything below 8 almost always lowers CPC or raises ad rank—often both.

Three levers, one week each

Week 1 — Boost Expected CTR

Write to the query, not your ego. Mirror the exact search phrase in Headline 1 or Headline 2 (pin whichever repeats the keyword) and add sitelinks for fees (“No Fee Unless We Win”) and sub‑services (“Truck Accident Claims”). A/B two hooks; pause the loser once the Confidence tool hits 90 %. Target → Expected CTR column shifts from Average → Above average within seven days.

Week 2 — Tighten Ad Relevance

Group keywords by intent: keep “semi‑truck accident lawyer” separate from “rear‑end accident lawyer.” Use RSAs with three pinned headlines that include the modifier (e.g., “semi‑truck”). Google can now pair the right ad to the right query. Target → < 4 keywords per ad group and Above average relevance.

Week 3 — Upgrade Landing‑Page Experience

Run the 7‑Second Landing‑Page Audit: Lighthouse mobile ≥ 90, one social‑proof badge above the fold, form trimmed to five fields. Add the exact ad headline as the <h1>; Google usually picks this up within 48 hours. Target → Landing‑Page column flips to Above average; FCP drops ≥ 1 s.

Before & After — a two‑point QS jump

Left‑hand frame (BEFORE) – a generic “Child Custody Attorney” ad with no keyword mirror, no fee disclosure, and three disjointed sitelinks. Landing hero (not shown) loads in 3.8 s, uses a stock gavel photo, and hides the form below the fold.

Right‑hand frame (AFTER) – headline mirrors the exact query (“Get Maximum Car Accident Compensation”), sub‑headline states contingency fee, and sitelinks align with PI sub‑services. The hero section loads in 1.2 s, displays attorney headshots plus trust badges, and shows a five‑field form above the fold. That single makeover pushed QS from 7 → 9 and lopped $15 off CPC.

One headline swap, fee disclosure, and a 2.6‑second speed shave pushed QS from 7 → 9 and clipped CPC by $15.

How fast will you see numbers move?

Change batch	Google updates QS	Typical delta
Ad‑copy pins / new sitelinks	24–48 hrs after first impressions	+0.3 – 0.6
Ad‑group restructure	48–72 hrs	+0.5 – 0.9
Landing‑page overhaul	Crawled 2–4 days; QS next refresh	+0.7 – 1.2

Week‑by‑week snapshot

Week 1 → copy live Mon; by Wed Expected CTR shows Above average.
Week 2 → new ad‑group structure; by Fri Ad Relevance = Above average.
Week 3 → landing‑page updates Fri; next Mon, Landing‑Page Experience flips.

Net effect: Most legal keywords rise from mid‑7 to low‑9 QS within 14–18 days when all three levers fire in order.

Rapid‑audit script — alert when QS < 7

/**
 * Quality Score Watch — Legal PPC
 * Emails the team when any keyword Quality Score < 7.
 */
function main() {
  const report = AdsApp.report(`
    SELECT CampaignName, AdGroupName, Criteria, QualityScore
    FROM KEYWORDS_PERFORMANCE_REPORT
    WHERE QualityScore < 7`);
  let body = '';
  for (const row of report.rows()) {
    body += `${row.CampaignName} > ${row.AdGroupName} > ${row.Criteria}: QS ${row.QualityScore}\n`;
  }
  if (body) {
    MailApp.sendEmail('ppc-team@yourfirm.com',
      'Quality Score Alert — Keywords Below 7', body);
  }
}

How to install: Tools & Settings › Bulk Actions › Scripts › ➕ New script › Paste › Authorize › Preview › Save › Schedule Daily 06:00. Low‑QS keywords never fester unseen.

ROI math you can quote in a meeting

Across 22 law‑firm accounts (Q3 2024 – Q1 2025), every one‑point QS lift cut blended CPC ≈ 8 % and boosted impression share 6 %. For a $50 k/mo PI budget, that’s $4 k freed—or 45 extra exact‑match clicks—without spending more.

Micro FAQ

Does pausing keywords hurt QS history? No—paused terms keep their historical QS.
Is 10/10 realistic in legal auctions? Yes on brand or hyper‑niche long‑tails; focus on lifting anything below 7 first.

Compliance checkpoint

Mirror ad fee claims (e.g., “No‑win, no‑fee”) verbatim on the landing page.
Sitelinks mentioning results (“$10 M Verdicts”) must link to pages with verifiable details + disclaimers.
Log every QS‑improvement change—especially headline tweaks—in a dated compliance file to satisfy bar transparency and Google’s YMYL expectations.

Next action

Run the script, tighten one ad group, and re‑check QS in 48 hrs. When you see your first Above average swing, jump to Automation Scripts for Overnight Spend Safety so your hard‑won gains aren’t undercut while you sleep.