> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.adalysis.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.adalysis.com/tools/audit/prebuilt-alert-list/search-terms/duplicate-search-terms.md). # Duplicate search terms Alert names: Duplicate search terms within a Search or Shopping campaign, and Duplicate search terms across search campaigns {% embed url="" %} Adalysis will alert you if search terms have been shown from two or more ad groups. This is an opportunity to improve your ad serving control. You'll see the alerts on your **Audit alerts** screen, with separate notifications for Search and Shopping campaigns. ### Find duplicate search terms View the alert for sets of duplicate terms and the **cannibalization rate.** The higher the cannibalization rate, the more attention you should pay. Click a search term to view the affected ad groups or choose **Expand all**.

{% hint style="info" %} The **within a campaign** alerts compare ad groups inside one campaign. To find search terms that show in more than one campaign, see Duplicate search terms **across search campaigns** below. {% endhint %} {% hint style="success" %} By default, the alerts are based on a minimum of 50 impressions in the last 90 days. However, you can edit the thresholds in **Audit** > **Audit settings** > **Prebuilt** > **Search terms**. {% endhint %} ### **Fix duplication issues** To resolve this issue, add search terms as negatives to the less relevant/efficient ad groups. We recommend looking at performance metrics and these three columns: #### **Added as keyword**? For Search campaigns, this column shows if the keyword already exists in this ad group. Hover over **Yes** for the keyword match type. If the search term doesn't exist in any ad group yet, click the plus icon next to the most relevant group.

#### **Matched keywords** This column shows which keywords and ads were triggered for the search term, plus performance and quality score data. It can help you decide whether to add the search term as a negative keyword.

#### Add as negative Click the icon in the **Add as negative keyword** column to add the search terms to your negative keyword list. This opens a preview.

By default, the chosen search terms will be added as exact-match negative keywords at the ad group level. However, you can change the match type and level as needed. Once your list is ready, click **Add negative keywords**. Adalysis will also alert you to potential conflicts between negative and regular keywords in an ad group (in the same match type). Click the ad group name to remove the conflicting keywords.

### Resolve duplicate search terms in bulk You can also add duplicate search terms as negative keywords in bulk. 1. Select your duplicate sets and click **Add duplicate search terms as negative keywords**. 2. Select your preferred criteria. For example, you may want to add your new negative keywords to ad groups with the lowest CTR or fewest conversions.

### Resolve duplicates automatically Set up an [auto resolve](/tools/audit/how-to-auto-resolve-alerts.md) under **Audit** > **Audit settings** > **Prebuilt** > **Search terms**: * **Duplicate search terms within a Search campaign:** choose **Exclude in ad groups where the term is not already defined as a keyword**, or **Exclude in ad groups where the term underperforms by metric** (for example CTR, conversions, impressions, conversion rate, conv. value, conv. value / cost, avg. CPC or cost / conv.). * **Duplicate search terms within a Shopping campaign:** **Exclude in ad groups where the term underperforms by metric**. There's no auto resolve for duplicates across campaigns: decide yourself which campaign should keep each search term. #### Duplicate search terms across search campaigns This alert finds search terms that show in **more than one Search campaign**, where those campaigns target the same location. The campaigns compete for the same searches, so you lose control over which ad, landing page and bid Google uses. A search term is included when: * It showed in two or more enabled Search campaigns over the last 90 days. * Each copy had at least the minimum number of impressions (default: 50). * The campaigns target the same location. Only an exact match counts: * a location (country, region, city, postcode and so on) matches only the same location. A campaign targeting the United States and one targeting California don't match; * a radius matches only a radius with the same centre and distance; * a campaign with no targeted locations matches only another campaign with none; * a location that either campaign excludes doesn't count. Search terms in campaigns that target different locations, e.g. France and Spain, aren't duplicates. Location matching works in the same way as for duplicate keywords across campaigns. Search terms already blocked by a negative keyword are left out. A search term that's already a keyword in one campaign but still triggers another campaign **is** included; it's often the easiest duplicate to fix. Click a search term to see each campaign and ad group it showed in, with performance data and the **Added as keyword?** column, or choose **Expand all**. Sets with the most spend outside the best-performing campaign are listed first. **Fix duplicates across campaigns** Decide which campaign should serve the search term. Then add the term as an **exact match negative, at campaign level**, in the other campaigns. {% hint style="warning" %} The campaigns in a set can also target other locations that they don't share. A campaign negative blocks the search term in every location that campaign targets. {% endhint %} **Alert settings** Go to **Audit** > **Audit settings** > **Prebuilt** > **Search terms** to change the minimum impressions. This setting is separate from the within-campaign alert's, so you can use a higher threshold for one without changing the other. You can also save it in your global template. The alert runs weekly, for Search campaigns only (not Shopping or PMax). It's available for Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising accounts.