A High Ad Strength Score Doesn’t Guarantee More Conversions in Google Ads

A study of more than 5,900 Google Ads accounts found that ads with higher Ad Strength scores tend to get more impressions, but not necessarily more conversions. Pinned headlines affect the results.

· 4 min read · 5 comments

On November 3, 2026, Search Engine Journal reported on a study by Adalysis co-founder Brad Geddes. He examined more than 5,900 Google Ads accounts, comparing responsive search ads (RSAs) with different Ad Strength scores. Higher-scoring ads tended to get more impressions, but outperformed their counterparts on conversion rate in only 45.1% of cases. Headline pinning played a significant role.

More impressions don’t necessarily mean more conversions

Geddes compared ad groups containing two active RSAs with different scores. Within an ad group, the ads share keywords, bids, and a budget. That controls for some differences between them, but it doesn’t prove that the score itself determines how often an ad is shown.

The higher-scoring ad received more impressions in 63% of these groups. For Excellent–Poor pairs, the figure reached 78%. Even when the scores were closer—Good and Average—the higher-scoring ad led on impressions in 59% of groups.

The higher-scoring ad won on click-through rate (CTR) in 52.5% of groups, but on conversion rate in just 45.1%. The lower-scoring ad led on conversions per thousand impressions in 54.3% of groups and had a lower cost per acquisition (CPA) in 51.5%. Overall, CPA was 11.8% higher for the higher-scoring ads.

Adalysis ran a similar study in 2022. Back then, the higher-scoring ad received more impressions in 56.8% of groups, compared with 63% now. Conversion rates have barely shifted: the higher-scoring ad won in 45.8% of groups then and 45.1% now. The gap in impression distribution has grown, but no conversion advantage has emerged.

Google describes Ad Strength as guidance for creating an ad. According to the company, the score does not directly determine whether an ad is eligible to show and is not used to calculate Ad Rank, Quality Score, or auction outcomes. Geddes’s data does not reveal how the ad is selected: the observed difference in impressions does not, by itself, mean that Ad Strength is an auction factor.

Why pinning changes the picture

Advertisers can pin a headline to a specific position—for example, to keep a price or an important condition in the message. This reduces the number of headline combinations the system can assemble and often comes with a lower Ad Strength score.

Geddes found that in most groups with different scores, one ad used pinning and the other did not. Pinned ads tended to score lower but had higher conversion rates. A low score, then, does not necessarily mean the copy is less effective at attracting buyers: it may reflect restrictions on how the ad can be assembled.

Among ads without pinning, the relationship was different: CTR and conversions per thousand impressions rose with each increase in Ad Strength. Conversion rate also edged up at almost every step, except from Poor to Average. Here, a better score may go hand in hand with better results, though those results still need to be checked separately.

Having more headlines does not guarantee an Excellent score. Geddes recommends at least 11 distinct headlines to reach that score without pinning, yet only 44% of ads with 15 or more headlines achieved it. Pinning two positions caps the score at Good, and it often remains at Poor or Average. Pinning three or more different options to one position leaves open the possibility of an Excellent score.

What to check in your ad account

Website owners and marketers should first separate RSAs into ads with no pinning, partial pinning, and full pinning. Only then should they compare scores within each group. For ads without pinned assets, it is more useful to review similar headlines and add genuinely different wording than to simply increase the headline count.

Test results are better judged by conversions per thousand impressions and CPA, not Ad Strength alone. A low-scoring ad may get fewer impressions, so the comparison will take more time. If a pinned ad wins on CPA, there is no need to remove it just to raise its score.

My take

I see advertising as a path to an order, not a contest for an Excellent score. If a pinned price helps a buyer understand the offer before clicking, I wouldn’t remove it just for the sake of the score.

That said, I wouldn’t ignore Ad Strength: the study paints a different picture for ads without pinning. I’d check conversions and CPA first, then decide which headlines to change.

Sources

Where the news comes from. The text is a retelling in the author’s own words; the facts come from the source, the opinion is the author’s.

  1. Google Favors High Ad Strength RSAs, But Lower-Rated Ads Convert Better via @sejournal, @gregjarboe www.searchenginejournal.com

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Aram Mkrtchyan

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I'm growing a small local-food shop and want to start taking orders online. I see a website as another point of sale, not a showcase for design awards.

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  1. Inés García

    Since higher Ad Strength mainly correlated with more impressions, how would you separate the effect of pinning from the effect of the score when checking conversion results in an account?

    1. Úrsula Gomes

      @ines.garcia, I’d compare RSAs within the same ad group and split the results by pinning pattern before comparing scores; otherwise, a change in impression mix can look like a conversion effect. Are you thinking of testing pinning separately, or using existing ad pairs with similar pinning?

      1. Aram Mkrtchyan Post author

        Good call—I'd start with existing ad pairs that have similar pinning, then test pinning separately only if the account has enough traffic to make the extra spend worthwhile.

      2. Timur Ryskulov

        I’d start with existing RSA pairs that have the same pinning pattern, then compare scores within the same ad group and look at conversion rate alongside impression share. If there aren’t enough comparable pairs, I’d run a small pinning test first—otherwise it’s easy to spend budget chasing a score effect that’s really just a different mix of headline combinations.

    2. Aram Mkrtchyan Post author

      Keep the comparison within ad groups, match RSAs with similar pinning, then check conversion rate alongside impressions; test pinning separately only if there’s enough traffic to justify the spend.