Optimisation score is Google Ads’ estimate, shown as a percentage from 0 to 100, of how well an account or campaign is set up to perform, judged against the recommendations Google currently has for it. A score of 100% means there are no outstanding recommendations. It does not mean the account is profitable or well run.
How optimisation score works
Google’s systems look at your settings, keywords, ads, budgets, bidding and tracking, and generate a list of suggested changes on the Recommendations page. Each suggestion shows how many percentage points it would add to the score. Changes Google expects to have a bigger effect carry more points, and the account-level figure blends the campaign scores, giving more weight to campaigns that spend more.
The score rises in two ways: apply a recommendation, or dismiss it. Dismissing counts as a decision, so a manager who reviews every suggestion and rejects the unsuitable ones can reach a high score without making changes they disagree with. Recommendations also refresh as your data and the market change, so the score can fall even when nobody has touched the account.
Typical suggestions include raising budgets, switching to broad match, moving to a Smart Bidding strategy, adding more ad assets, removing duplicate keywords and fixing problems with conversion tracking. Some of these find real problems. Others mainly increase how much you spend with Google. Google cannot see your margins, your stock levels or which enquiries turned into paying customers, so its suggestions are based on what it can measure inside the account.
Why it matters
The number matters less for what it says about your account than for how it shapes behaviour. Google account representatives often call UK businesses to suggest changes that raise the score, and the Google Partners programme has used optimisation score as one of its requirements for agencies. A manager under pressure to keep the score high may apply suggestions to hit a target rather than because they help you.
For a business owner, the useful question is not “what is our score?” but “which recommendations did we accept or reject, and why?” The score says nothing about cost per lead, return on ad spend or profit, which are the measures that pay the bills.
Common mistakes
- Treating optimisation score as a performance metric, or judging an agency or consultant by it.
- Applying every recommendation to reach 100%, including budget rises and broad match on an account with unreliable tracking.
- Switching on auto-apply for whole categories of recommendation without reading what each one changes. The settings are covered under recommendations and auto-apply.
- Ignoring the page entirely and missing the useful alerts, such as tracking that has stopped recording or a profitable campaign limited by budget.
How to act on it
Go through the Recommendations page once a month. For each suggestion, decide one of three things: accept it because it clearly helps a measured business outcome, test it because you are unsure, or dismiss it with a reason. Google lets you give a reason when you dismiss, and that is a good habit because it records the decision for whoever looks next.
Anything that changes bidding, match types or budgets is worth testing in a campaign experiment before rolling out. Check the auto-apply settings while you are there, so nothing changes without someone choosing it. If you want an independent view of which recommendations suit your account, that review is part of my PPC management work.