Short answer: Optimization score is Google’s estimate of how well your Google Ads account is set to perform, from 0% to 100%. It comes with a list of recommendations, and each one shows how much it would raise the score. Applying or dismissing recommendations both move the score, so read it as a to-do list, not as a measure of results.
What the optimization score measures
Google defines it as an estimate of how well your account is set to perform, where 100% means the account can perform at its full potential. You see it at the campaign, account and manager account levels.
It is calculated in real time from your statistics, settings, the status of your account and campaigns, the impact of available recommendations and recent recommendations history. A change in your settings or in ad trends can bring a different score and new recommendations.
The score only appears for active Search, Display, Video Action, App, Performance Max, Demand Gen and Shopping campaigns.
Where the score gets its focus
At the top of the Recommendations page, Google Ads shows the focus of your score, such as conversions, impression share or clicks. It also shows whether that focus comes from your bid strategy or from a recommendation. A status icon tells you how it read your bid strategy.
| Status icon | What Google Ads tells you | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Green checkmark | It understands your bid strategy and focuses on that goal | Keep the bid strategy if the goal is right |
| Yellow question mark | It doesn’t understand your bid strategy, so the focus comes from a recommendation | Check that the bid strategy fits your goal |
| Red minus | The score fell back to a conversion focus | Set a new bid strategy, as Google suggests |
Our summary of Google Ads Help, read November 6, 2026.
You can set the goal yourself by choosing maximize conversions, maximize conversion value, target CPA, target ROAS or target impression share; our Smart Bidding guide explains those strategies. The “Include in Conversions” setting decides which conversions are used for optimization.
Recommendations and score uplift
Each recommendation carries a score uplift, an estimate from less than 0.1% to 100% of how much it would raise the score. If you apply a recommendation with a 5% uplift on the account’s Recommendations page, the account’s score goes up by 5%.
The uplifts can add up to more than 100%, because applying some recommendations makes others invalid. Google also says the Recommendations page doesn’t predict whether your ads will do well; it uses past data to estimate how each recommendation might improve performance.
How to review your recommendations
- Sign in to Google Ads and select Recommendations in the menu on the left.
- Check your account’s score and the focus shown at the top.
- Pick a section, such as Bidding & Budgets or Keywords & Targeting.
- Read each recommendation and the score uplift it shows.
- Select View recommendation and then Apply for the ones that fit your goal.
- Dismiss the ones that don’t fit with the X in their top right corner.
- Come back regularly, since a dismissed recommendation can return if it becomes relevant.
Before you apply a recommendation
- It fits the goal your bid strategy sets.
- You know what it changes: bids, budget, keywords or ads.
- Conversion tracking works, if the recommendation is about conversions.
- You checked its score uplift and what it would cost.
- You would dismiss it if it doesn’t fit your business.
- You know that dismissing it also changes the score.
RememberApplying and dismissing recommendations both raise the optimization score. Judge each recommendation by your own goal, and use the score to see what is still waiting for a decision.
Optimization score and Quality Score
Google says optimization score is not used by your Quality Score. Quality Score is a diagnostic tool that shows how your ad quality compares with other advertisers, and our Quality Score guide explains how it works.
Many recommendations about bidding depend on conversions, so set up tracking before you lean on them, with the steps in our guide to conversion tracking in Google Ads.
When you would rather have the recommendations handled for you, our Google Ads service takes on Google Search campaigns, with the ad account in your name. Write to us on WhatsApp or from the form.
Quick answers about the optimization score
Does a 100% optimization score mean my campaigns perform well?
Not by itself. Google says your account can reach 100% by applying or dismissing all recommendations, and that the Recommendations page doesn’t predict whether your ads will do well.
Why did my optimization score change on its own?
Google calculates it in real time from your statistics, settings, account and campaign status, the impact of available recommendations and recent recommendations history. Changes in your settings or in ad trends can bring a new score.
Does the optimization score affect my Quality Score?
No. Google says optimization score is not used by your Quality Score. Quality Score compares your ad quality with other advertisers, while the optimization score looks at the health of the whole account.
Which campaigns have an optimization score?
Active Search, Display, Video Action, App, Performance Max, Demand Gen and Shopping campaigns. You see the score at the campaign, account and manager account levels.
Why do the score uplifts add up to more than 100%?
Applying some recommendations makes a few others invalid, so the individual uplifts can add up to more than 100. Each uplift is an estimate, from less than 0.1% to 100%.
Sources
All read on November 6, 2026. Google Ads Help: About optimization score. Check your optimization score. About recommendations.