If you're a parent, you're used to repeating yourself. And Google was founded in 1998, so the organization is realistically in the age of parenthood, right? As a parent who has to endlessly repeat the things I tell my kids, I'm not surprised at Google's recent ad quality update.
Basically, Google is doubling-down on previous attempts at preserving ad quality updates—but taking it a few steps further.
Marketers need to know that Google is serious this time around (just like a parent's last warning before going ballistic). So serious... that it built a new ad quality prediction model to hold marketers accountable.
The message is clear: Landing pages from search ads must be both relevant and easy to navigate.
Let's break down this 2025 update, what it means to marketers, and what steps your teams need to take today to ensure your ads are served.
Google Is (Still) Putting Users First
Google is the ultimate "customer-first" organization. We've seen that in practice time and time again as Google prioritizes searchers over advertisers.
For example, you've seen and enjoyed that Google offers instant answers at the top of search results (e.g., definitions, calculations, dates) without the need to click through. I've also loved how Google's new AI-powered overviews in search, by summarizing key information, make it easier to understand topics quickly.
So it shouldn't be a surprise that Google requires advertisers to prioritize the search experience too—else it won't serve their ads.
It seems as if Google wants the paid search and organic search experiences to follow the same rules: Think about it as applying the E-E-A-T organic search principle (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) into paid search.
In the past, Google would see your clickthroughs bouncing right back, taking that as a signal of the quality of the paid search experience.
Its new AI-based prediction model takes it a step further by anticipating whether a visitor will have a good experience—based on whether a search ad leads to an expected destination, offers helpful information, and provides content navigation options. If it doesn't, the ad may not be served.
A landing page that's aligned with the ad content, easy to navigate, and informative will provide the positive signals that Google is seeking. The result for you? Your ad will be visible—more frequently and efficiently.
How Google Wants People-First Personalization to Look
The immediate takeaway is somewhat easy and obvious: Your landing page and ad need to be congruent and they should work in unison to provide an expected user experience.
The days of shortcuts are over. Every campaign must have a dedicated landing page or pages that are customized to the message in the ad so they provide a predictable, valuable experience for the user.
No issues there, right?
The wrinkle that Google added was "navigable."
Now I "grew up" in the age of digital marketing when navigation on a landing page was a no-no. Landing pages for paid ads were meant to be walled gardens with one clear CTA and zero distractions.
So do we just go ahead and add nav? Gulp!
I've heard experts interpreting Google's use of the word "navigable" in a few ways:
- One interpretation is that "navigable" simply implies a page that is well-organized and easy to move through and consume... OK!
- I've also seen it interpreted as using anchors to allow users to move quickly between sections, which is particularly useful on a mobile device. I'm all on board with anchors.
- A third option is to add navigation to the footer of the page that potentially links to other landing pages of a similar theme/topic.
All of those options are tailored to paid search, unlike the full-blown top nav on your website. Tas Bober, my go-to expert in the landing page field, says she has seen ad serve rates improve using the tactics listed above, so that's the direction we are moving in on our teams.
You're free to interpret the navigation part, at your own discretion.
Steps to Take to Comply
Now is a great time to take a closer look at every campaign you've got live (and, yes, some of those older ones that you might resurrect for a coming campaign down the line.)
You've got to look through each one with the lens of Google's update and make changes:
- First, do you need to spin up multiple page variants per campaign to ensure each ad message matches your landing page? Think granularly here. Just a few words, a slight color change, or the use of a graphic can tilt the predictive algorithm in your favor. You may need to go as far as adding a bespoke landing page PER ad. More work? Yes, but worth it.
- Think about the ways you can use navigation on your pages. It could be anchored navigation or even a simplified version of your site nav. Moving among elements or between similarly themed landing pages may also check the box here. "Trapping" users into conversions isn't going to work anymore; you've got to let people move where they want to.
- Stop using your homepage as a destination for your search ads. You are giving people a full meal when all they wanted was a light snack. Your homepage wasn't designed with a single ad in mind. Even if the client/boss insists, it's a no-go. The harsh truth is that if you don't have time to create landing pages per ad or per campaign, you shouldn't be running ads.
It's All About Helping People
People come to a landing page because they have a job to do. The marketers behind those pages need to ensure that they are helping people do that job... full stop.
Google is holding advertisers accountable for creating a search experience built for buyers, not businesses. If you look at all your pages with that philosophy in mind, Google's latest update isn't that daunting.
But I implore you to take action now to stay on the good side of the predictive model.
