Keyword Cannibalization Finder: find searches split across ad groups
Find searches that show ads from more than one ad group, and duplicate keywords, with the fixes.
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Your keyword overlaps appear here
Upload or paste a search terms report with the Campaign, Ad group and Keyword columns, or try the example: an interior design studio in Bengaluru.
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About the Keyword Cannibalization Finder
Upload a Google Ads search terms report with the Campaign, Ad group and Keyword columns, and add a keywords export if you like. The finder lists every search that showed ads from more than one of your ad groups or campaigns, which keyword matched each time and what each one cost and brought in. It suggests which ad group should own each search and builds the negative keywords and the keywords to pause, as text or a Google Ads Editor file. It also finds duplicate and near-duplicate keywords. The reports never leave your browser.
How it works
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Step 1
In Google Ads, open Campaigns › Insights and reports › Search terms. Turn on the Keyword column (columns icon › Attributes › Keyword), pick a date range such as the last 90 days and download the report as CSV.
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Step 2
Drop the file here or paste the table. Add your brand name, and a keywords export if you want every duplicate keyword checked.
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Step 3
Check the suggested owner of each search, then copy the negative keywords or download the Google Ads Editor file, and pause the duplicate keywords listed.
How Google chooses between your keywords
Only one keyword from your account can trigger an ad for a search, and your own keywords do not bid against each other. Google prefers an exact match keyword that is identical to the search, then identical phrase and broad keywords. Otherwise it keeps the most relevant ad groups, judged by the search, the ad group's keywords and its landing pages, and Ad Rank decides between equals. So when one search shows ads from two ad groups, you cannot easily control which ad and page people see, and the results are split.
How the owner is suggested
For each search the finder suggests one owner, in this order: your brand campaign for searches with your brand name, an ad group whose keyword is the same as the search, the lowest cost per conversion among ad groups with at least two conversions on it, the only ad group that converted, then the closest keyword. This order is our suggestion, not Google's. The other ad groups get the search as a negative exact keyword, which blocks only that exact search, or a duplicate keyword to pause.
What this tool cannot do
It only sees the searches and keywords in your reports, and Google leaves searches with too little activity out of the search terms report, so small overlaps can be missing. It cannot see Ad Rank, bids or Quality Score at the moment of each search, or predict how a change will play out. It does not sign in to Google Ads and changes nothing: you add the negatives and pause keywords yourself, ideally in Google Ads Editor, and review the changes before you post them.
Frequently asked questions
What is keyword cannibalization in Google Ads?
It is a common name for your own keywords overlapping, so one search shows ads from different ad groups or campaigns at different times. It is not Google's term, and your keywords do not bid against each other in the auction: Google uses only one of them for each search. The problem is control. The search can land on a different ad, landing page and budget each time, and each ad group's results become harder to read.
Why does my search terms report show the same search in two ad groups?
For each search Google picks one of your matching keywords: an identical exact match keyword first, then identical phrase or broad keywords, otherwise the most relevant ad group, with Ad Rank deciding between equals. A broad or phrase keyword in another ad group can also match the search, and which one is used can change from one search to the next. The Keyword column in the search terms report shows which keyword matched each time.
Should I add a negative keyword or pause the keyword?
Add a negative exact keyword in the ad group that should not own the search: it blocks only that exact search there and leaves its other searches alone. If the same keyword with the same match type sits in two ad groups, pause one of them instead, because a negative that overlaps a keyword in its own ad group stops that ad showing. Negative keywords do not match close variants, so add plurals and other spellings yourself.
How do I find duplicate keywords across my account?
Add a keywords export here and the finder lists keywords with the same text and match type in more than one ad group, plus near-duplicates with the same words in another order or in singular and plural. In Google Ads Editor, Tools › Find duplicate keywords does the same across the account, with options for word order, match types and where the duplicates sit.
Do I need a separate brand campaign?
It is our suggestion, not a Google rule. Keeping searches for your business name in their own campaign stops them mixing with searches from people who have not heard of you, so each campaign's results are easier to judge. Type your brand name here and brand searches are given to your brand campaign. Our Brand vs Non-brand Splitter shows what brand searches cost you across the account.
Sources and checks
Rules last checked
The Keyword Cannibalization Finder follows these official pages:
- About keyword matching options (support.google.com)
- About negative keywords (support.google.com)
- About the search terms report (support.google.com)
- Find and select duplicate keywords (support.google.com)
Scores, limits and suggestions marked "our checklist", "our measure" or "our suggestion" are ours, not Google's or the platform's. How our tools work
Related reading
Want help with your Google Ads?
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Talk to us Our service: Google Ads managementMore Google Ads tools
All Google Ads tools- Google Ads Search Terms Analyzer Upload a search terms report to find wasted spend, n-gram patterns and safe negative keywords.
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- Competitor Ad Analyzer Paste competitors' search ads to see who says what, the angles nobody uses and headline ideas.
- Negative Keyword Conflict Checker Find negative keywords that block your own keywords, fix them by level and add starter lists for India.
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