Find and select duplicate keywords

Google Ads Editor has tools to find and edit duplicate keywords, giving your ads a better chance of success.

Find duplicate keywords

1. Select Tools > Find duplicate keywords.
2. Select the part of your account where you want to search for duplicates. Check the box next to the account name to search the whole account, or select specific campaigns or ad groups.
3. Select the criteria for your search, including:
   • Word order
   • Match types
   • Location of duplicates
   • Hide duplicates (optional)
4. Click Find duplicate keywords.

The duplicate keywords appear as a list in the data view, where you can edit or remove them as necessary. If you have a large number of duplicate keywords, sort the list using column headers or perform an advanced search to narrow down the list. To return to the previous data view, click the Exit duplicates mode button.

Select duplicate keywords

After you find duplicate keywords, use the Select duplicates by... drop-down menu to quickly select from the duplicates based on the criteria that you choose.

For example, suppose you find 50 sets of duplicate keywords in your account. The "Select duplicates by..." option enables you to quickly select and remove the duplicates with the lowest clickthrough rate (CTR).

1. Find duplicate keywords.
2. Click Select duplicates by... in the data view.
3. Choose one of the menu options, such as CTR > lowest.
4. Once the keywords meeting your chosen criteria are selected, you can edit or remove them as needed.

Options in the "Select duplicates" menu

The menu includes the following cost and performance metrics:

• Maximum CPC
• First page bid estimate
• Top of page bid estimate
• Quality score
• Average CPC
• Average CPM
• CTR
• Impressions
• Average position

For each of these options, you can select the keyword with the highest or lowest value. You can also select all keywords except the one with the highest or lowest value.

If you want to make a selection based on one of the cost or performance metrics, be sure you've first downloaded statistics for the appropriate time period.

The menu also includes two options that aren't related to cost or performance:

• Capitalization: These options ("with caps" and "without caps") let you select duplicate keywords with or without capital letters.
• Order of appearance: These options ensure you can always make a selection among duplicates, even if they're equal in all other ways.

Issues that could affect your selection

If Google Ads Editor lacks the relevant information for certain keywords, those keywords are excluded from the selection.

For example, suppose you want to select the keyword with the highest CTR, and two of four duplicates don't have a CTR downloaded. Those two keywords will be excluded, and you'll see a notification at the top of the data view.

In the case of a tie among two or more keywords, Google Ads Editor doesn't make a selection. For example, if two duplicates have the same CTR, neither of them is selected, and you'll see a notification at the top of the data view.

 

Related links

Learn how to improve Search Network keywords.

Learn how to build a keyword list.

Tips for improving Google Ads performance