Negative Keyword Conflict Checker: find negatives that block your keywords
Find negative keywords that block your own keywords, fix them by level and add starter lists for India.
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About the Negative Keyword Conflict Checker
Paste your keywords and negative keywords, or the reports you downloaded from Google Ads, and see every negative that stops one of your own keywords from showing. The check follows Google's matching rules for negatives and respects levels: an ad group negative affects only its ad group, a campaign negative its campaign, and a list only the campaigns it is applied to. Add a search terms report to see which searches the negatives would block, tick starter lists for Indian businesses, then copy the cleaned negatives or download Google Ads Editor files. It runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How it works
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Step 1
Paste your keywords one per line, or a keywords report downloaded from Google Ads, with campaign and ad group columns if you have them.
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Step 2
Paste your negatives under headings such as "Account:", "List: name" or "Campaign: name", or a negative keywords export. Optionally add a search terms report and tick starter lists.
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Step 3
Open each conflict for its fix, then copy the cleaned negatives level by level, or download the Google Ads Editor files for campaign and ad group negatives.
How negatives block keywords
Google applies its own rules to negative keywords. A broad match negative blocks searches that contain all its words in any order, a phrase match negative blocks searches with its words in that order, and an exact match negative blocks only that exact search. Negatives do not match close variants such as plurals or synonyms. Google Ads says your negatives must not overlap your keywords, or the ad will not show, and this tool uses the same rules.
Account, list, campaign and ad group
Account-level negatives apply to the search and Shopping inventory of all eligible campaigns, up to 1,000 per account. A negative keyword list works only in the campaigns it is applied to, with up to 20 lists of 5,000 negatives each. Campaign and ad group negatives stay inside their campaign or ad group. When a negative blocks a keyword, the tool suggests moving it to the campaigns or ad groups where it blocks nothing, which is often what was meant.
What this tool cannot do
It checks the keyword text you paste, not every search Google might match to a broad or phrase keyword, so a negative can still block some searches your keywords would have reached. It does not sign in to Google Ads, so it only knows which campaigns use a list if you tell it. The starter lists are our suggestion, not Google's. Display and Video campaigns treat every negative as broad match, which the tool does not model.
Frequently asked questions
What is a negative keyword conflict?
It is a negative keyword that blocks one of your own keywords. If "free" is an account-level negative and you bid on "free dental checkup kothrud", that keyword cannot show. Google Ads warns that negatives overlapping your keywords stop ads from showing, and it can recommend removing conflicting negatives. Conflicts often come from shared lists or account-level negatives added for one campaign that also reach another.
Do negative keywords block plurals and close variants?
No. Google says negative keywords do not match close variants or other expansions, so "job" does not block "jobs", and "flowers" does not block "red flower". Add singular, plural and synonym forms yourself if you want them blocked. The tool lists singular and plural forms you may have missed, and only suggests ones that would not block your keywords.
Which campaigns does a negative keyword list affect?
Only the campaigns it is applied to. You can create up to 20 negative keyword lists per account, each with up to 5,000 negatives, and apply a list to many campaigns at once from Tools, Shared library, Exclusion lists. Tell the tool which campaigns use each list, and it checks the list only against the keywords in those campaigns.
How do I add negative keywords with Google Ads Editor?
Download the campaign or ad group negatives CSV. In Google Ads Editor, go to Keywords and targeting, Keywords, Negative, and click Make multiple changes. Editor cannot add campaign and ad group negatives in one go, so choose one level, pick the option for data that includes campaign and ad group columns, paste the rows and process them. Review the changes, keep them, then post.
Are the starter negative lists safe to add as they are?
They are our suggestion for common wasted searches in India, such as jobs, naukri, free, DIY, courses, second-hand and customer care searches. They are not from Google, and some words suit some businesses: a training institute sells courses. The tool marks any starter word that would block one of your keywords and leaves it unticked, and you can untick any other word before adding a list.
Related reading
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