What is Keyword Cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalisation happens when multiple pages on your website compete for the same or very similar keywords. This often happens when two separate pages target the same keywords or there are multiple pages with a lot of topical overlap – this can confuse search engines and dilute your SEO efforts.
Does Keyword Cannibalization Matter?
Having two different pages may not necessarily be a problem if the pages have different search intents.
For example: A website may be ranking for the term “best running shoes” with several different pages—one being a blog post about different running shoes, another being a product category page. In this case, one page answers the question about the best running shoes, where another provides a product.
However, it becomes an issue when multiple pages target the same keywords and aim to satisfy the same user intent. Like two blogs about running shoes.
This can confuse search engines, making it difficult for them to determine which page to prioritise in search results. When these pages compete against each other, they may end up splitting link equity, reducing the overall authority and performance of all the pages involved.
Put simply- instead of one strong page, you get several weaker ones, which can hurt your rankings. This not only affects your visibility but can also impact user experience if visitors land on a less relevant page.
Identifying Keyword Cannibalization
As it can cause quite a few problems for your SEO efforts, it’s best to identify and fix keyword cannibalization issues as soon as possible. Here are a few key signs to look out for:
- Conduct a Site Audit: Tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush can be used to help identify if keywords are competing for the same search term. Be sure to check if any pages are unexpectedly ranking for keywords that should be targeted by other, more relevant pages.
- Analyse Search Console Data: In Google Search Console, you can check the performance report for specific keywords. If you see multiple URLs listed for the same keyword, that’s a sign of cannibalization.
- Check Your Content Strategy: Review your content to see if there are multiple pages with similar topics or target keywords. Consider if these pages are unique enough in their purpose and audience or if they’re overlapping too much.
- Look for Fluctuations in Rankings: If you notice that your rankings for a specific keyword are unstable, it might be because there are multiple pages competing for the same term. This is because search engines are alternating between which page to display.
- Manual Searches: Another great way to check for cannibalization is to perform a manual search in Google. This can help you spot if the wrong pages are showing up for important keywords. Simply enter site:yourwebsite.com “your keyword”
How To Fix Keyword Cannibalization
Fortunately, there are a number of ways to fix and manage keyword cannibalization. Once you’ve identified any overlapping pages compare their traffic and rankings. This will help you understand which pages are performing well, which are underperforming and decide if you should consolidate multiple pages.
For merged content, don’t forget to set up 301 redirects from the old URLs to the new consolidated page. This ensures that visitors and search engines are directed to the most relevant page, preserving link equity and avoiding broken links.
Sometime pages with similar content must remain. In these cases use canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of the page. This consolidates ranking signals to the primary page and prevents duplicate content issues. Additionally, if certain pages are not adding value or are poorly performing, consider using the “noindex” tag to exclude them from search engine results.
