CTR collapse and QS stuck at 2–3
Hey guys, need some honest input.
I’m in a very competitive local service niche with one dominant competitor.
My current situation:
Quality Score: 2–3 (feels closer to 2 lately)
Expected CTR: Below average (main issue)
Ad relevance: Average (doesn’t seem to matter much here)
Landing page experience: Below average
CTR history:
Years ago: 8–10%
Last year: 4–5%
Last 3 months: 1–2% max on my main keyword
Context:
I don’t run ads constantly. I usually turn campaigns on/off and run them about 7–10 days per month, sometimes with aggressive bid spikes.
My main competitor has a Quality Score of ~8 and is almost always above me.
The problem is:
👉 To even compete for top position, I have to bid very high for longer periods
👉 That’s not profitable in my business model
So what happens:
He stays on top most of the time
I stay below
Some days I get 200–300 impressions with zero clicks
What I’m seeing now:
Impression share dropping
Ads not showing consistently anymore
Even when I bid high, results are weak
Question:
Did my low CTR over the last few months basically destroy my expected CTR and overall auction eligibility?
And realistically:
👉 Can you recover from QS 2–3 in this situation
👉 Or is this basically a downward spiral once Google loses trust?