Google Ads Quality Score Review — 2026-04-05

Internal prep call between Mark and Melissa ahead of a Bluepoint client call. Focused on diagnosing low Quality Scores, broken conversion tracking, and aligning on messaging strategy.

Overview

Bluepoint is concerned that their ads aren't appearing prominently for "reverse ATM" searches. The root cause is low Google Ads Quality Scores (3–5) on key terms, driven primarily by thin landing page content. A secondary but urgent issue is broken conversion tracking that has been inflating reported metrics significantly.

Attendees: Mark Hope, Melissa Cusumano
Client: ^[1]

Key Findings

Quality Score Problem

Key terms like "reverse ATM" are scoring 3–5 (out of 10) — well below acceptable thresholds
Brand terms score 7–8; the problem is concentrated on non-brand, product-specific keywords
60% of lost impression share is due to rank (vs. ~33% due to budget), meaning budget increases alone won't fix visibility
On cashless and PMax campaigns, impression share is below 10%

Root Cause: Thin Landing Pages

Current landing pages contain fewer than 300 words
Google crawls the landing page to assess relevance to the ad keyword; low keyword density = low QS
The reverse ATM landing page mentions the target keyword only once or twice in body content
AI-assisted analysis (full-page screenshot → ChatGPT) confirmed: limited keyword density, no FAQ, no testimonials, no technical specs

Conversion Tracking is Broken

Google Ads is reporting ~4,800–5,900 conversions — these are page views, not actual conversions
Actual conversions: 21 (3 phone calls, 16 contact form fills, 1 outbound click)
Spend: ~$2,400 → real cost per conversion is approximately $100
Gilbert was previously asked to fix this and has not done so
Without accurate tracking, performance analysis and optimization are unreliable

Key Decisions

Decision	Rationale
Deny client access to Google Ads account	Risk of unintended changes; internal strategy notes visible on cards; Looker Studio dashboard provides sufficient transparency
Expand landing pages to 600–800 words	Keyword density is a primary QS factor; thin content is the direct cause of low scores
Add FAQ section to landing pages	Increases word count, improves keyword density, addresses user intent signals
Frame landing page work as an "iteration"	Avoids implying the original pages were poor; positions as ongoing optimization
Shift Bluepoint communication to email	ClickUp is causing confusion — Wade was commenting on wrong tasks; internal notes on cards shouldn't be client-visible

Action Items

[ ] Melissa → Email Gilbert: Fix Bluepoint conversion tracking — page views must not be counted as conversions (@Melissa Cusumano)
[ ] Melissa → Confirm with Gilbert: Verify the Reverse ATM ad is pointing to the correct landing page, then update LP content + FAQ (@Melissa Cusumano)
[ ] Mark → Send Melissa: AI-generated landing page analysis (soft copy) + Q&A prompt suggestions (@Mark Hope)
[ ] Mark → Review: Melissa's CallRail questions and reply (@Mark Hope)
[ ] Melissa → Schedule: Team dinner with Sebastian and Mark for Tuesday next week (@Melissa Cusumano)
[ ] Mark → Build: Add Client Health tab to Asymmetrics OKR tool (@Mark Hope)

Strategy Notes

Landing Page Fix

Target 600–800 words per landing page. Recommended additions:
- Expanded body copy addressing "why go cashless / why use a reverse ATM"
- 10-question FAQ section using keyword variations (e.g., "reverse ATM machine," "cashless ATM")
- For PMax landing page: optimize for 10–15 keywords rather than a single term

Mark demonstrated using the Awesome Screenshot Chrome extension to capture a full-page screenshot, then uploading to ChatGPT for rapid QS analysis. Melissa should adopt this workflow for ongoing LP audits.

Client Communication on Ad Rank

Agreed framing for the client call:

"We're working on the landing page to add additional content and improve quality scores — this is a normal iteration in the ads optimization process."

Do not imply the landing pages were poorly built. Reinforce that Google Ads is a marathon, not a sprint — iteration is expected.

Google Ads Access

Bluepoint requested access to the Google Ads account. Decision: denied. Looker Studio dashboard is the appropriate transparency layer. Clients don't need platform access to understand performance.

ClickUp / Client Communication

Bluepoint has been misusing ClickUp (commenting on wrong tasks, creating tasks in their own dashboard). Melissa has already shifted to email-only communication with the client. ClickUp remains useful internally for showing blockers — tasks that can't proceed until the client provides input — which protects the team when deliverables are delayed by client inaction.

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