Internal competition is easy to miss

As more accounts are added it's common for different teams, brands or markets to start bidding on the same searches.

Without visibility across accounts, you can end up competing against yourself - driving up CPCs and making performance harder to evaluate.

A regular overlap review helps ensure every keyword has a clear purpose and owner.

1. Group similar accounts

Start by reviewing accounts that target similar audiences, products or regions. These are the accounts most likely to compete with one another and where overlap is most valuable to investigate.

2. Find overlapping keywords and search terms

Compare keywords and search queries across those accounts to identify where multiple campaigns are bidding on the same searches. Focus on:

• High-spend duplicate terms

• Repeated search queries

• Performance differences between accounts

This quickly highlights where budget may be competing internally instead of reaching new customers.

Squared.io tip: Squared.io automatically identifies overlapping keywords and search terms across grouped accounts, including Performance Max search queries, and shows how much each account has spent on the same search.

3. Decide which account should own the search

Not every overlap is a problem, but every overlap should be intentional. For duplicate searches, decide whether to:

• Add negative keywords where appropriate.

• Refine targeting to reduce unnecessary competition.

Having clear ownership helps improve reporting and prevents accounts from bidding against one another.

4. Look for expansion opportunities

Overlap analysis isn't just about removing duplication. It can also highlight keywords performing well in one account or market that haven't yet been adopted elsewhere.

Successful strategies can often be replicated across brands, regions or product lines, helping teams scale what's already working.

How Squared.io helps

Squared.io automatically detects overlapping keywords and search queries across groups of Google Ads accounts, including Performance Max campaigns. Teams can quickly identify duplicate spend, reduce internal competition and uncover proven keyword opportunities to roll out across other accounts without manually comparing reports.