Does deselecting "Search Network" hurt my AdWords Quality Score?

[Small Budget AdWords Guy]

I apologize if this has been covered in another thread, but I couldn't find it.

We're trying to pull back on our AdWords spending a bit in a controlled and thoughtful way.

I'm running a test to see what happens if I deselect "Search Network" in my Campaign Settings, and limit my impressions to just www.google.com searches. It's way too early for statistically valid results, but it seems like my Quality Score took a hit as a result of deselecting the Search Network.

My actual clickthrough rate for the Ad Group being tested has increased (4.27% to 6.93%). This is great - and I'm assuming it's because I dumped a lot of junky partner sites by deselecting the Search Network. I was assuming this would have a positive impact on my Quality Score. I have not touched my Max CPC, ad copy, landing page, keyword terms, or anything else. Yet my Average CPC for the test group has increased from $3.35 to $4.16, and my Average Position has decreased from 1.3 to 1.6.

Is Google punishing me with a lower Quality Score for reducing my exposure on their network? Does anyone else have some real testing results - or other info that indicates this is true? Google is very vague about the "other relevancy factors" that impact the Quality Score, and I haven't found any other information on this topic.

Thanks!

[AdWordsRep]

...Is Google punishing me with a lower Quality Score for reducing my exposure on their network?

In the absence of other replies, I'll jump in and answer in a word: "Nope."

AWR

[Small Budget AdWords Guy]

Thanks. A week of testing is now showing that I am not being punished. That's what I get for trying to read a partial day of results. Thanks for the gut check.