Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on your website are targeting the same keyword or phrase. While this might seem like a good idea, it can actually hurt your SEO rankings and make it more difficult for search engines to determine which page should rank for that keyword. Let’s take a closer look at keyword cannibalization and how to avoid it.
What is Keyword Cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalization is when multiple pages on your website target the same keyword or phrase. This often happens unintentionally, because you might not realize that two different pages are targeting the same keyword.
However, this can be detrimental to your search engine rankings, as it makes it difficult for search engines to decide which page should be ranked for that particular keyword or phrase.
Additionally, it can lead to confusion for users who are searching for specific content but are presented with multiple pages with the same content.
How Does Keyword Cannibalization Affect SEO?
When multiple pages are targeting the same keyword, it makes it difficult for search engines to decide which page should be ranked higher and which one should be ignored.
This can lead to none of your pages ranking at all, resulting in lost traffic and potential customers. It also means that you’re missing out on valuable backlinks from other websites since they may not link to multiple pieces of content with duplicate keywords.
Additionally, keyword cannibalization can prevent new content from getting indexed if there’s already an older piece targeting those keywords.
Search engines will likely prioritize the older piece since it has more authority, meaning your new content won’t get seen by users. This can mean that you’re not able to reach a new audience with your latest blog post or product launch.
The Solution
Fortunately, there are ways to fix keyword cannibalization and ensure that your SEO efforts are paying off.
The first step is to identify any instances of keyword cannibalization on your website by running a crawl analysis using an SEO tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs.
Once you know which pages are targeting similar keywords, you can start making changes so each page targets a unique set of keywords instead.
You can also disavow any low-quality backlinks pointing toward these pages so their authority isn’t diluted by linking them together too much.
How To Avoid Keyword Cannibalization?
The first step in avoiding keyword cannibalization is to identify which pages on your site have overlapping keywords. You can do this by using tools such as Google’s Search Console or SEMRush’s SEO Audit tool.
Once you have identified which pages are targeting the same keyword, you will need to make sure each page has unique content and titles that differentiate them from one another.
Additionally, you should also make sure each page is optimized with the correct metadata (title tags, meta descriptions, etc.) so that they stand out from one another and don’t appear as if they are all targeting the same keyword.
Another way to avoid keyword cannibalization is by creating separate landing pages for different keywords related to the topic of your website or blog post.
For example, if you have a blog post about “SEO best practices” you could create two separate landing pages; one focused on “SEO best practices” and one focused on “SEO tips” so that each page targets a unique set of keywords instead of competing against
each other for the same ones. This will help ensure that both pages appear in search engine results and will improve your overall SEO performance.
Why Is It Important To Avoid Keyword Cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalization not only hurts your chances to rank for specific terms, but it also affects how people perceive your brand online.
When customers visit different pages of your website looking for information about a certain topic but find duplicate content instead, it can give them a bad impression of your business overall.
It’s also important to note that even if two separate pages aren’t targeting identical keywords, they still might be competing with each other for similar terms—which could still lead to search engine confusion and decreased rankings in SERPs.
That’s why it’s important to do thorough research before creating any type of content so that you won’t end up competing with yourself online.
Also, Read:
- How to Find the Right Keywords for Your Website
- Understanding Bounce Rate: A Beginner’s Guide
- Understanding Shadow Bans and How to Fix Them?
- How Google Uses NLP For Their Search Engine
- A Comprehensive Guide to Google Search Console for SEOs
Conclusion: What Is Keyword Cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple web pages target the same keyphrase or term on your website, making it difficult for Google (and users) to understand which page should rank higher in search engine results.
Fortunately, there are several steps you can take in order to avoid this issue and optimize your website’s SEO performance including identifying overlapping keywords using tools such as Google’s Search Console or SEMRush’s SEO Audit tool; ensuring each page has unique content and titles; optimizing metadata (title tags & meta descriptions), and creating separate landing pages focusing on different topics related to your original blog post or webpage topic.
Taking these steps will help ensure that each page stands out from one another in terms of its content and its ability to show up in search engine results—and ultimately drive more traffic to your site!
