Just to Clarify: QBP

Quality-Based Pricing and Quality Index Score are not directly Related

Some advertisers appear to be under the impression that “quality-based pricing” is related to “quality index score.”

It’s easy to see how one could be confused, because they have similar-sounding names and are similar in concept, having to do with how we define “quality” for publishers and advertisers, respectively. In fact, quality-based pricing and the quality index score are not related. To clarify:

Quality-Based Pricing
The “quality” in “quality-based pricing” refers to the quality of traffic you receive from our partners and publishers. Depending on the relative performance (conversion rate and other factors) of the traffic from the partner or publisher site where the click came from, the cost of your click may be discounted. In a nutshell, quality-based pricing has nothing to do with your position in search rankings.

Quality Index Score
Your quality index score, on the other hand, reflects the performance (including click-through rate and other measures) of your ads, which does impact your position in search rankings.

With quality-based pricing, there is no action that advertisers need to take. It’s the responsibility of the partners or publishers (the ones displaying your ads) to help us provide you with quality traffic.

We apologize for any confusion.

—Michael Mattis