What is keyword cannibalization? How to fix it?

Optimizing your articles for a similar keyword may affect your search rankings, and you may compete with yourself. This is keyword cannibalization. If you, too, are suffering from keyword cannibalization and want to fix it, you have landed right. This post will explain what keyword cannibalization is and how you can detect and fix it. Read the post till the end.

Many people ignore this and suffer from competing with themselves. Creating more similar content and targetting similar keywords can hurt more than Good. 

It can affect your site’s SEO and rank in search results.

Let’s dive into more details.

What is keyword cannibalization in SEO?

Keyword cannibalization occurs when you have created more than one content or article on your site that shares similar information or you have optimized those pages for similar keywords. In that case, all the pages compete to rank in Google for a similar search query.

When you optimize different pages for a similar keyphrase, they eat up each other’s chance to rank in Google, and no page can perform well as it should.

For example, suppose we created an article on SEO a few years back. With evolving Google updates, we have recently created an article again on SEO, keeping the current scenario in mind. This is keyword cannibalization. Since we optimized both Articles for the keyword SEO, they will contain more similar content, and therefore, they will compete and struggle with each other for their position on Google.

It will split the content, CTR, and links between the two pages that could be for one.

How does keyword cannibalism harm SEO?

Keyword cannibalization can have negative effects on your SEO.

When you optimize your different content for the same keyword, you compete with yourself for ranking in Google. Google may confuse between your similar content, and your ranking may suffer.

Additionally, factors like CTR and backlinks may get divided between your similar posts rather than one. Consequently, your posts will not achieve a higher ranking. 

Additionally, the fluctuating page rankings may lead users to the wrong page, which may result in a loss of site traffic. 

Following are the detailed reasons how it can affect site SEO:

1. It Lowers The Authority Of Your Page

Creating similar pages or pages optimized for a similar keyword may lower the authority of your page. 

Rather than creating a single highly authoritative page, you have split your CTR among different similar pages. That means you have created your competition yourself, and now the pages will fight for pageviews and search rankings.

Consider it from a reader’s point of view, what a reader prefers to read—a single in-depth article for a topic or reading different articles on the same topic. And now imagine what you would have chosen? Yes, that is the answer. We all would prefer a single authoritative page with deep knowledge.

2. It weakens Your Links & Anchor Text.

You already know the value of backlinks and internal linking in SEO.

The backlinks you acquired for different similar pages would have combined for one better performing page.

Moreover, A complete comprehensive page could gain more links than pages with thin and less comprehensive content.

Also, the internal links and anchor text on your pages will lead your readers to many different pages with less wide knowledge instead of leading to a single authoritative and comprehensive page on the topic.

3. Google May display the wrong page.

Google understands the pages with the keywords we optimize the page around. 

When we optimize our different pages around the same keyword, Google may struggle to find the best relevant page. It may display the wrong page if your content is too identical.

Suppose your two pages rank for a similar keyword. It is possible that your higher converting page ranks lower, and you will lose out on high value and search traffic.

4. Fluctuating Ranking Positions 

When Google can’t decide which page is more relevant to the search query and which page should rank, the ranking position may fluctuate. Your page conflicts and your ranking positing fluctuate frequently, and neither page could perform its best as they should.

For example, even when your one page has gained more links than the other, there will be noticeable competition for the search intent and the overall content quality of the page. This means that there will be fluctuation in your organic traffic if one page ranks higher for a high-volume term.

This fluctuating position may also affect your user experience and conversion rate.

5. It indicates low Page Quality.

Posting similar content around similar keywords may suggest to Google that your content may not be relevant to the keyword on every page. Also, your users may suppose that your content quality is low. The content on the pages is stretched and thin, and you might lose a click.

6. Your Conversion Rate Will Suffer

All these will lead to lower CTR, less traffic, and eventually, your conversion rate will suffer.

Additionally, when users land on the wrong or less relevant page instead of your other page, you may lose out on your potential lead.

How to Identify Keyword Cannibalization On your site?

After knowing what keyword cannibalization is and how it can affect your SEO, Let’s dive into how you can identify keyword cannibalization on your site.

There are a few different ways you can use to find out about this issue on your site. Let us brief some here:

1. Use Google to recognize cannibalizing pages on your site.

Google can easily help you find optimized pages for similar keywords on your site.

You can simply enter your site domain along with the suspected keyword in the search bar, and it will display the relevant and optimized pages for the same keyword.

You need to do it like this- “site:[domain] keyword”

Since we do not have any keyword cannibalization issues on our site, we are showing you an example from Yoast.com. They have fixed this issue, and this is just for a sample.

You will find the answer to your question after Googling this. The pages it displays and the ranking of those pages will clarify if your site is suffering from a keyword cannibalization issue.

If your two pages rank on #1 and #2 search positions for a similar keyword, there isn’t any problem. But, if you notice your two pages ranking in 6 and 7 position, it’s possibly due to cannibalizing issue. You need to fix this. 

Find out the intent of both the pages and make sure to optimize the content. 

2. Use Google Search Console

Google Search Console can also help you find cannibalization issues on your site if you have registered your website on GSC.

Follow the below steps:

• Login to your account and look for the performance report. 
• By default, it will show a list of queries for which your site has gained clicks and impressions.
• Using the “pages tab”, click any of these queries, and it will display a list of URLs ranking for that query along with other data related to it.

 Note: Google Search Console combines the data and displays an average. You can use the filters like location, device, etc., to get more accurate results.

If it displays more than one URL for a single query, it may be because of a keyword cannibalization issue.

3. Semrush’s Position Tracking Tool

If you are not on budget or a semrush user, you can also use Semrush’s Position Tracking tool to discover keyword cannibalization issues. 

Semrush with the Guru or Business plan displays a “cannibalization” tab inside the tool.

The cannibalization tab provides two different options:

You can filter it by “pages” or by “keyword.”

You can begin with the keyword option. This will display the issue on a keyword basis.

 

You can examine any keyword you suspect, and it will display where numerous URLs are ranking. It will also show the ranking position in which they appear to prioritize opportunities by analyzing the estimated traffic, search volume, and current ranking position.

The Position Tracking tool also helps you discover the URL fluctuations that may signal keyword cannibalization.

How to fix keyword cannibalization?

To resolve keyword cannibalization, you need to find the root of the issue.

There isn’t a single way to fix the cannibalization issue on your site. The solution depends on individual cases. Let us brief you on some ways that commonly fix the issue.

1. Restructure Your Website

The simplest way to fix the cannibalization issue is to restructure your website. Analyze your most authoritative page and make it a landing page. After that, link it to the other pages that fall under your targeted keyword.

For example, a shoe showroom can make its most authoritative and important page say ‘shoes’ and then link all the different categories of shoes under that same page.

2. Consolidate and Merge Your Content

 

When you find out that you have two similar pages targeting the same keywords, merging and consolidating them could be a better option.

This will help you create more authoritative and strong content using the underperforming pages.

If you can’t identify your primary page, start analyzing the statics such as search traffic, bounce rate, dwell time, and page conversion. 

This will help you determine the better of all.

There may be a case when you can’t determine because one page receives most of the traffic, and the other page’s content converts more users.

Then, you can focus on the one that receives the most traffic. This will maintain your ranking, and later your strong content may convert more traffic.

3. Remove and Redirect Cannibalized Pages

You can use 301 redirects to resolve cannibalizing issues. It is the simplest of all.

When you find out your site has more similar pages targeting similar keywords, you can use 301 redirects to the most important page.

To identify the strongest page of all, you can consider inbound links that are directed to this page, its organic visibility, and search traffic. After identifying, remove the others and use 301 to redirect their URLs to your chosen page.

After that, update the inbound links directing to the pages you deleted.

4. Canonicalization

Canonicalization is when you tell search engines that the particular URL is the master copy of a page.

There are times when you can’t remove the page, causing cannibalization because the pages may contain different contexts. In that case, you can use canonical links.

You can select the main pages from all and signify Google using the canonical links that you prefer that page, and it should rank in search results. This also tells Google to combine the rank signals from similar pages and direct them to the canonical page.

This way, you will not require to delete the other pages, and they can still be on your site and can be accessed by users.

5. Re-Optimize your cannibalized Pages

There may be cases when you have unknowingly caused cannibalization. 

When you have not optimized your page at the meta-level, its title tag, and URLs, it may be cannibalized when you do not use keyword variations.

For instance, an e-commerce store sells shirts in different colors.

Even when the product pictures are different, you didn’t optimize its title tag, headings, and subheadings. It’s easy to catch URLs with common title tags and headings.

In that case, you can re-optimize your pages as per your product and fix your issue.

6. Alter your interlinking structure

If your site contains multiple contents that link to other content, you can improve your internal linking to direct the most important page of your site. 

Internal linking also affects the ranking of your pages. Links are important to enhance the authority of a web page. Correct internal linking is important because Google may rank your less important content higher than the important one.

You can alter your internal linking structure so that your priority content gets the proper internal linking and can rank better. Direct your less important content to the most important one.

This will signal to Google that it should prioritize the linked content.

How to Avoid Cannibalization Issues in the Future

Regularly monitor and audit your site. When you are finding new keyword opportunities for your website, keep in mind what you have covered before.

You can do it while you do keyword research.

You can use the above-suggested methods to determine if you have created similar content before. These will give you an insight, and you can avoid keyword cannibalization. 

To conclude-

You may unknowingly get trapped in keyword cannibalization if you run a big website. It’s a common SEO issue many people don’t even notice.

However, it still affects their ranking and prevents them from performing well.

You can regularly monitor your site and avoid your chances of getting trapped in a cannibalization issue.

A strong piece will always lead to great ranking but make sure you do not keyword cannibalize your site. 

This will help you rank higher and get the attention you deserve.

We hope this article has helped you learn what keyword cannibalization is, how you can detect it and how to fix it.