What is Keyword Cannibalization and How it Affects You

Keyword cannibalization is an SEO problem that arises when several pages on a website aim for the same keyword(s) and fulfill the same function.

This is a very common issue that can negatively impact each other’s search engine positions. This happens because the search engine cannot identify which page is the most pertinent result for related queries, and must be solved as quickly as possible.

While it can occur unintentionally and is often the result of a poorly planned content strategy, it’s not against Google’s spam policies. This doesn’t mean that having multiple sites competing for the same site is good: providing the best user value is always vital.

Why is Keyword Cannibalization Bad?

Keyword cannibalization is detrimental for your site. However, it’s important to keep in mind that a “true cannibalization” problem arises only when several pages aim for the same keyword and negatively impact a site’s organic performance. It may occur when your site:

• Releases comparable content pieces periodically.
• Provides an updated version of a page without redirecting to the previous one.
• Establishes various routes to reach the same product category.
• Enhances identical pages for the same keyword.
• Avoids optimizing subcategory pages.

Keyword cannibalization in SEO arises not only from using the same keyword across several pages. You can focus on one keyword across various pages if the search intent varies.

How to Find Cannibalized Words?

Addressing what is keyword cannibalization is vital, but knowing how to act after you find them is as important. 

Conducting a Content Audit

The first step to detect them is actually fairly easy if your site is small. Conducting an audit can help you find the issue really quick. In case your site is huge, then you’ll need to continue with further steps.

Checking Historic Ranks

This is most effective when you need to verify cannibalization problems for a particular keyword. Experts can use the Site Explorer from Ahrefs to do so, following these tips:

• Input your domain
• Access the Organic keywords report.
• Search for the keyword you wish to explore.
• Select the dropdown for ranking history.

Examining past rankings for “keyword cannibalization,” allows specialists to observe three pages listed in the previous six months: none of which achieved a rank higher than position #8.

Use “Site:search”

An expert can go to Google and search for a site:yourwebsite.com “subject”. Here, they will view all the site pages associated with that subject.

By applying this to site:moz.com for “keyword cannibalization,” it’s evident that the top three results align with those found earlier in Site Explorer.

Running Google Searches and Removing Host Clustering

Operating a website is not a simple search. Experts with knowledge in searching can assist you in identifying possible cannibalization problems. The sole problem is that the outcomes lack a sense of context, making it difficult to determine how to address the matter.

A specialist must answer the following questions when doing this: in what way should the pages be combined? Which pages need to be redirected, and which ones should remain? Is it even probable that this will enhance the situation?

You can frequently discover answers to these inquiries by conducting a standard Google search and disabling host clustering, which is when Google omits similar pages from the same host in the search results.

Check for the URLs Under Multiple Rankings

When Google ranks several URLs for a keyword, it may indicate a cannibalization problem. Here’s the most common method experts use to locate these keywords in Site Explorer:

• Input your domain
• Access the Organic keywords report.
• Switch on “Multiple URLs only”
• Detecting keyword cannibalization problems by identifying several ranking URLs.

Keep in mind that this may not always be effective, since Google usually avoids ranking several pages (in “regular” positions) from the same host, as mentioned earlier. However, since it’s very fast to perform in Site Explorer, it’s still beneficial to do a quick review

Ways to Fix Keyword Cannibalization

If you believe to have a cannibalization problem, you can typically enhance organic performance by merging the pages. This could involve redirecting an old, obsolete page to a more pertinent one you already possess or merging several pages into a single new one.

These are some of the most common ways a specialist can solve the issue and ensure your site is properly managed:

Consolidating Content and Setting Up Redirects

A highly effective method to address keyword cannibalization problems is by combining several pages into a single, detailed page. You’re effectively substituting multiple low-authority pages with one highly authoritative page.

There’s no need to make an entirely new page for this. An expert can simply select the top-performing page from your current pages and update it. To do so, it’s important to acknowledge how to determine the top-performing page.

Tools like Semrush help locate the information regarding cannibalized pages. Select the pages that rank the highest in search results. To merge various pages, you require:

• A transparent outline of the topics you will address
• Refined meta title and description
• 301 redirects for every merged page

Always keep in mind that you should establish redirects for every page. A combination enables you to direct visitors to the page featuring the unified content. But that’s not all: every page must contain high-quality, valuable content to be better than your competition!

Enhance page authority after your consolidated page goes live by boosting its backlink profile through internal and external linking.

Make Each Page Target a Different Search Intent

If you prefer not to merge these pages, you can develop unique content for each one to address various search intents. This necessitates assigning a specific purpose to each page and updating the content.

For instance, if three pages are vying for the same keyword, you can adjust the content to focus on various search intents:

• Informative purpose: these are the ones that provide practical insights.
• Transactional intent: helps individuals in completing a purchase.
• Buying intent: assist with inquiries prior to making a purchase.
• Navigational goal: Can appear when promoting a trademarked term.

To gain a clearer insight into this solution, imagine you operate an online store that specializes in selling shoes. Developing several pages focused on the keyword “running shoes,” each aimed at commercial intent, for example.

Don’t forget that it’s better to distinguish each page by a distinct search intent rather than combining these pages into a single one:

• Informative: A piece discussing “How to Select Running Footwear”
• Commercial: A purchasing guide on “Top Running Shoes for Flat Feet”
• Transactional: A page for running shoes, whether it’s a product, category, or landing page.

The primary task involves defining a distinct purpose for every page and producing meaningful content to satisfy this purpose.

Each page can also be optimized for various versions of the main keyword. Utilize long-tail keywords, descriptive modifiers, and related semantic variations to address the precise intent.

Optimizing Internal Links

Internal links illustrate your website’s framework to search engines. The arrangement of these links indicates to search engines which pages hold greater or lesser significance.

You can strategically implement internal linking to enhance the page authority of any cannibalized pages. Here’s the process:

• Determine the key page among all those experiencing keyword cannibalization.
• Include links to the significant page from all the less critical pages. This will inform search engines which page is the most pertinent to rank for a keyword.
• Utilize detailed anchor text to offer additional insight regarding the linked page.
• Eliminate internal links to other pages that have comparable anchor text to avoid any misunderstandings

Following this process will ensure that every internal link will be properly enhanced and avoid keyword cannibalization.

Conclusion

Understanding what is keyword cannibalization is very important. The issue of having multiple pages on your website targeting the same keywords can be detrimental, especially when it leads to them competing against each other in search engine rankings.

This doesn’t only confuse search engines, but can also make your page authority page (which leads to a hit to the SEO performance).

Addressing keyword cannibalization isn’t just a technical fix; it’s a crucial step toward a more focused and effective SEO strategy. That’s why you should always consider getting the help of SEO specialists like our agents at Kala to manage all of this for you.