You can find and remove duplicate keywords in Google Ads using the built-in duplicate keyword tool in Google Ads Editor, a free desktop application. The process takes just a few minutes and can immediately clean up wasted overlap in your campaigns. Google also flags redundant keywords automatically in the Recommendations tab of your online account, giving you a second layer of cleanup.
Why Duplicate Keywords Matter
Duplicate keywords force your own ads to compete against each other in the same auction. While Google confirms that only one of your keywords will actually enter any given auction (the one with the higher Ad Rank), duplicates still create problems. They fragment your performance data across multiple keyword entries, making it harder to judge what’s working. They also clutter your account, complicate bid management, and can lead you to spend time optimizing a keyword that’s barely serving because its twin in another ad group keeps winning the auction.
Google treats very similar keywords, like “red car” and “car red,” as duplicates automatically and only enters one into the auction. But the extra entries still sit in your account, splitting your click and conversion history and making reports misleading.
Use Google Ads Editor’s Duplicate Keyword Tool
Google Ads Editor is the fastest way to scan your entire account for duplicates. Here’s the step-by-step process:
- Download recent changes. Open Google Ads Editor and sync your account so you’re working with current data.
- Open the tool. Click “Tools” in the top menu, then select “Find duplicate keywords.”
- Select campaigns. Choose which campaigns to scan. Only group campaigns that share the same geographic and device targeting. If you run remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) in separate campaigns, exclude those and check them on their own, since they intentionally target different audiences with the same keywords.
- Set your matching criteria. For the tightest scan, select “Strict word order,” “Duplicates must have the same match type,” and “Across selected campaigns.” This finds exact copies first. You can loosen these settings later to catch near-duplicates.
- Review results. The tool displays a list grouped by matching keyword, showing which campaigns and ad groups each duplicate lives in.
- Remove the weaker entries. Delete the keywords that are in the wrong location or pulling less weight.
Running this scan with “Strict word order” first catches the obvious duplicates. Then run it again with loose word order (so “women’s running shoes” matches “running shoes women’s”) to find keywords that look different but trigger the same searches.
Deciding Which Duplicate to Keep
When the tool surfaces a pair of duplicates, you need a quick framework for choosing which one stays. Compare these data points in the keyword’s performance columns:
- Quality Score. A higher Quality Score means Google sees your ad and landing page as more relevant for that keyword. Keeping the higher-scored version can lower your cost per click over time.
- Conversion volume and cost per conversion. If one copy has driven more conversions at a lower cost, it has proven performance history worth preserving.
- Click-through rate. A higher CTR signals that the ad copy paired with that keyword resonates better with searchers.
- Ad group relevance. Sometimes the keyword with weaker metrics is in the wrong ad group entirely. If it’s grouped with unrelated keywords and ads, deleting it and keeping the version in a tightly themed ad group is the right call regardless of historical numbers.
When the numbers are close, default to keeping the keyword in the ad group with the most relevant ad copy and landing page. That alignment drives Quality Score improvements over time.
Check Google’s Redundant Keyword Recommendations
Inside the Google Ads web interface, the Recommendations tab may surface “Remove redundant keywords” suggestions. These go beyond exact duplicates. Google flags keywords that are functionally redundant because a broader match type in the same ad group already covers them.
For example, if your ad group contains the broad match keyword “ladies hats” and the phrase match keyword “women’s hats,” Google may recommend removing the phrase match version because broad match already captures those searches. The recommendation looks at keywords within the same ad group that share the same destination URL and bidding strategy.
These recommendations can include keywords across different match types, not just identical entries. Review each suggestion carefully before applying it. If you intentionally use phrase or exact match keywords to control bids on high-value searches, removing them in favor of a broad match keyword could reduce your control over where budget goes. Only accept the recommendation when you’re comfortable letting the broader keyword handle all the traffic.
Handling Match Type Overlaps
The trickiest duplicates aren’t identical keywords. They’re the same keyword entered in multiple match types: broad, phrase, and exact. Many advertisers do this intentionally, using exact match for precise bid control on proven terms while letting broad match discover new queries.
This structure is fine when each match type serves a distinct purpose in your bidding strategy. It becomes a problem when you’re paying the same bid across all three match types and not analyzing their performance separately. In that case, the phrase and exact versions are just clutter.
To clean up match type overlaps, look at each keyword’s search terms report. If your broad match version is already triggering the same searches your exact match version targets, and you’re using automated bidding that adjusts bids per auction, the exact match version may not be adding value. If you use manual bids and want to pay more for a specific query, keeping the exact match version with a higher bid is a valid strategy, not a duplicate to delete.
How Often to Run a Duplicate Scan
Duplicates creep back in over time, especially in accounts managed by multiple people or agencies. New campaigns get built, keywords get copied between ad groups, and seasonal pushes add terms that overlap with evergreen campaigns. Run the Google Ads Editor scan at least once a quarter. If your account has more than a few hundred keywords or multiple contributors, monthly scans are worth the five minutes they take.
Pair each scan with a quick check of the Recommendations tab for redundant keyword alerts. Between these two methods, you’ll catch both exact duplicates and the subtler match-type overlaps that quietly fragment your data and inflate management complexity.