Ad quality ranking and Ad Strength, two grades the auction never reads.
Neither grade decides the auction. Meta says its three ad relevance diagnostics aren't inputs into the auction, and Google says Ad Strength isn't used for Ad Rank, Quality Score or auction wins. The grade describes the ad. The ad is what the auction reads, and on Meta ad quality is one of the three parts of an ad's total value.
The creative service, from the start
Four grades, side by side.
The grade, what it compares, and what it doesn't do, in each platform's words. Read 4 November 2026.
| Grade | What it compares | The scale | When you see it | What it doesn't do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta quality ranking | Your ad's perceived quality against ads after the same audience, from what people say about it and from low-quality signs Meta names, such as withholding information or engagement bait. | Above average, Average for the 35th to 55th percentile, then Below average in the bottom 35%, 20% or 10%. | From 500 impressions, for the last 35 days, not on dynamic creative. | It isn't an input into the auction. |
| Meta engagement rate ranking | How likely people are to click, react, comment, share or expand your ad, against the same audience. Asking for likes doesn't help it. | The same five bands. | Last 35 days. Not on dynamic creative or on reach, impressions, ad recall lift, custom conversion or value goals. | Not an auction input, like the other two. |
| Meta conversion rate ranking | Your expected conversion rate against ads with the same optimisation goal and audience. Meta warns that high-price products should expect a lower one. | The same five bands. | Last 35 days, with the same exceptions. | None of the three feeds the auction. |
| Google Ad Strength, responsive search ads | Mostly how your headlines and descriptions match your keywords, how varied they are, and your sitelinks. | Incomplete, Poor, Average, Good, Excellent. | While you write or edit the ad, and in the Ad strength column. | It isn't used for Ad Rank, Quality Score or auction wins, doesn't decide whether the ad can serve and doesn't read your landing page. |
| Google asset ratings | On Display, each asset against others of its type. On responsive search ads the label column is gone, replaced by full statistics per asset from 5 June 2025. | On Display, Best, Good, Low, Learning, Unrated. | In the asset report. | Ratios per asset are directional only, Google says. |
| TikTok Smart Fix | Issues its review may catch, flagged while you upload, such as a resolution under 540x960, a video longer than 60 seconds or shorter than 5, unclear audio and absolute claims without proof. | A list of issues, fixed in one click or in the video editor. | At the ad level of a manual campaign, before you publish. | It's a check before review, not a grade on a running ad. TikTok's Diagnosis looks at ad group delivery. |
Meta quality ranking
- What it compares
- Your ad's perceived quality against ads after the same audience, from what people say about it and from low-quality signs Meta names, such as withholding information or engagement bait.
- The scale
- Above average, Average for the 35th to 55th percentile, then Below average in the bottom 35%, 20% or 10%.
- When you see it
- From 500 impressions, for the last 35 days, not on dynamic creative.
- What it doesn't do
- It isn't an input into the auction.
Meta engagement rate ranking
- What it compares
- How likely people are to click, react, comment, share or expand your ad, against the same audience. Asking for likes doesn't help it.
- The scale
- The same five bands.
- When you see it
- Last 35 days. Not on dynamic creative or on reach, impressions, ad recall lift, custom conversion or value goals.
- What it doesn't do
- Not an auction input, like the other two.
Meta conversion rate ranking
- What it compares
- Your expected conversion rate against ads with the same optimisation goal and audience. Meta warns that high-price products should expect a lower one.
- The scale
- The same five bands.
- When you see it
- Last 35 days, with the same exceptions.
- What it doesn't do
- None of the three feeds the auction.
Google Ad Strength, responsive search ads
- What it compares
- Mostly how your headlines and descriptions match your keywords, how varied they are, and your sitelinks.
- The scale
- Incomplete, Poor, Average, Good, Excellent.
- When you see it
- While you write or edit the ad, and in the Ad strength column.
- What it doesn't do
- It isn't used for Ad Rank, Quality Score or auction wins, doesn't decide whether the ad can serve and doesn't read your landing page.
Google asset ratings
- What it compares
- On Display, each asset against others of its type. On responsive search ads the label column is gone, replaced by full statistics per asset from 5 June 2025.
- The scale
- On Display, Best, Good, Low, Learning, Unrated.
- When you see it
- In the asset report.
- What it doesn't do
- Ratios per asset are directional only, Google says.
TikTok Smart Fix
- What it compares
- Issues its review may catch, flagged while you upload, such as a resolution under 540x960, a video longer than 60 seconds or shorter than 5, unclear audio and absolute claims without proof.
- The scale
- A list of issues, fixed in one click or in the video editor.
- When you see it
- At the ad level of a manual campaign, before you publish.
- What it doesn't do
- It's a check before review, not a grade on a running ad. TikTok's Diagnosis looks at ad group delivery.
Pages read 4 November 2026. Meta's ad relevance diagnostics, quality ranking, engagement rate ranking and conversion rate ranking. Google's Ad Strength for responsive search ads, Ad Strength, asset report for responsive search ads and asset reporting for Display. TikTok's Smart Fix, updated January 2026, and Ad Assistant Diagnosis, updated July 2026.
- Bottom 35%
- Bottom 20%
- Bottom 10% Check 12
When a grade looks wrong.
Does Ad Strength affect Quality Score?
No. Google says Ad Strength isn't used to calculate Ad Rank, Quality Score or auction wins. It's feedback on your assets while you write them.
Why don't I see a quality ranking on my ad?
Meta shows the three diagnostics only after 500 impressions, only for the last 35 days, and not on dynamic creative.
Is below average a problem if the ad converts?
Not by itself. The rankings compare you with ads after the same audience, and Meta tells high-price products to expect a lower conversion rate ranking. The quality ranking is the one to watch, because low ones can cost more and can touch your daily limit.
Where a grade does bite.
Your daily limit.
Meta can readjust the daily spending limit it sets when an account has ads ranked low on quality, or a Page or app with low feedback scores. When the limit is reached, ads pause until it resets the next day.
What Certified checks on Meta's daily limitYour cost.
Ads with a lower quality ranking tend to cost more, Meta says, and that can mean less delivery and fewer results.
Everything else you run.
If you keep posting low-quality or violating ads, Meta's systems may start treating every ad from your Page, domain or ad account as lower quality.
What moves the grade is the ad.
On Meta.
Take the low-quality attributes out of the ad and out of the page after the click. Show the product as it is, with sizes, materials, shipping and returns stated plainly. Meta reads customer feedback through a survey it says collects over 200 million responses a year. Check 13 of Adtucon Certified asks that this feedback isn't flagged low.
On Google.
Add unique headlines and descriptions up to the limit, put your keywords inside single headlines, give it at least 6 sitelinks and pin as little as you can. Quality Score is a different number, and our Google trust article covers it.
With us.
When a grade drops, send us the ad and the landing. We read them for what Meta calls low-quality attributes and for the gap between ad and page, and cut the next version with you.
Send the ad and its gradeAd stuck in a low band?
Send the ad, the landing and the ranking it shows. We read them before more budget goes behind that ad.
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