Reach & delivery
What is Quality ranking (ad relevance diagnostics)?
Quality ranking is one of Meta's three ad relevance diagnostics — alongside engagement rate ranking and conversion rate ranking — that compare your ad against other ads competing for the same audience. On Meta each is scored relative to competitors (Above average, Average, or Below average), and together they explain why an ad is delivering cheaply or expensively.
Example
An ad shows Quality ranking: Below average, Engagement rate ranking: Average, Conversion rate ranking: Above average. The read is that people convert well once they engage, but the creative itself is judged low-quality versus competitors — often clickbait, low resolution or too much text — so Meta is charging a higher CPM to deliver it.
Why it matters
These rankings directly affect cost: ads Meta judges more relevant win the auction more cheaply, so a Below-average score usually means you're paying an inflated CPM for the same placement. Because each diagnostic points at a different stage — quality flags the creative, engagement flags the hook, conversion flags the post-click experience — they tell you where to fix an underperforming ad rather than guessing.
How to use and improve it
Read the three rankings together and fix the weakest. A low quality ranking points to the creative itself — remove clickbait, sensationalised claims, excessive text or low-resolution assets. A low engagement ranking means the hook isn't earning interaction, so test new openings. A low conversion ranking points past the ad to the landing page and offer. Only act on rankings once an ad has enough impressions for them to appear.
Frequently asked questions
What are Meta's three ad relevance diagnostics?
Quality ranking, engagement rate ranking and conversion rate ranking. Each compares your ad to other ads competing for the same audience and is scored as Above average, Average or Below average.
How do I improve a low quality ranking?
Quality ranking reflects the perceived quality of the ad itself. Remove clickbait and sensationalised or withheld-information tactics, cut excessive text, use higher-resolution creative, and make the ad honest and clear. Then let it re-accumulate impressions.
Does quality ranking affect how much I pay?
Yes, indirectly. Meta rewards ads it judges relevant with cheaper delivery, so a Below-average quality ranking typically raises your CPM for the same audience and placement. Lifting it lowers costs.
Whatever happened to the Facebook relevance score?
Meta retired the single 1–10 relevance score and replaced it with the three separate diagnostics — quality, engagement and conversion rate rankings — because they give more actionable detail about where an ad underperforms.
Related
How does your account score?
A free Meta ads audit gives you a 0–100 score, shows wasted budget, and lists the exact next steps.
Run a free audit