Keyword Cannibalization: What is It & Why Avoid It?

Usama

December 10, 2024

When a person creates a website, the number one priority of most people is to increase SERP ranking as soon as possible. They want to become Google’s favorite and dominate the search engine results. In this quest, you might find that some of your web pages rank for the same keyword. This is a good thing, right?

No. You might assume it’s a good thing because, in the end, what matters the most is your ranking in Google, but it’s not true at all. Ranking for the same keyword on different web pages can have a negative effect on your website.

Because web crawlers might rank a different web page that won’t bring you any leads, it can dilute the website’s authority and confuse users and search engines.

That’s why addressing keyword cannibalization is essential for maintaining a strong online presence and maximizing organic traffic. But how can you do it?

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about keyword cannibalization and how to find, fix, and prevent it. Let’s get started.

What is Keyword Cannibalization?

Keyword cannibalization refers to a situation in which multiple pages on a website target the same keyword or keyword phrase. Instead of benefiting from a joint effort to rank higher for that keyword, these pages compete against each other in search engine results.

So, instead of competing with your competitors, your web pages are competing with each other. Let’s understand it better with an example.

Suppose you’re running a website dedicated to digital marketing strategies and tactics. One of your primary areas of focus is “SEO.” So you create several blog posts centered around this topic, each aiming to target the keyword “Seach Engine Optimization.”

Some of these blog posts are named as:
– The Basics of SEO for Beginners
– Learn SEO From Start

These articles cover different aspects of social media marketing. But all of them share a common search phrase. As a result, search engines might struggle to determine which article is the most relevant for different search queries related to social media marketing.

So what’ll be the result of this?

The articles might compete against each other for search engine rankings. It ultimately results in lower rankings overall.

How Do I Find Cannibalized Keywords?

Do you suspect that your website might have some keyword cannibalization issues?

I’ll share some of the most important ways to determine if your website suffers from a similar issue.

Analyze Your Website

The most common way to check this issue is by looking at search queries on your website. Check terms that are relevant to your industry.

For example, you're a company that offers book publishing services. So you most often upload content like book publishing, tips for authors, etc.

You should search for similar keywords such as "book publishing agencies" or "tips for marketing books for writers."

Now, you should check the search results. Are any of your articles with the same keyword ranking in SERP?

Make a list of the pages that are ranking with the same search terms.

Using External Tools

You can use keyword research tools to understand better the search terms ranking on Google. Some of these tools are Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, and Google Search Console. It'll save a lot of your time and money as well. You can get complete data from your website.

In a nutshell, here is what you can do to find cannibalized keywords.

List all web pages targeting the identified keywords. Include blog posts, product pages, category pages, etc.
Use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and SEMrush to track each page's keyword rankings. Look for variations and competing pages for the same search term.
Review organic traffic data for each keyword-targeting page. Identify pages drawing traffic for the same search phrase.
Compare content on page ranking for the same search terms. Look for similarities in topic, information, and structure.
Determine the intent behind search terms. Check if multiple pages serve the same intent. Consider whether separate pages are necessary.
Evaluate internal links between pages targeting the keyword. Note if you're
consistently internal linking between them.

You can also use Google Analytics to study user behavior. Look for high bounce rates on pages targeting the same keyword.

Manually search for target keywords and observe which pages appear in search results. Note if multiple pages from your site show up. This is also a good way to find cannibalized keywords.

How to Fix Keyword Cannibalization?

Now it’s time to fix these issues so you can make your website rank higher. Although there are plenty of strategies that you can implement, I’ll share the three best ways through which you can resolve this problem.

Optimize Your Content

You should change the optimization settings if you notice that different website pages rank for the same keyword or scratch term. What do I mean by that?

It means you should change keywords, use synonyms instead of actual topics, change your content structure, or improve your content.

Delete Your Posts

Re-optimizing your content will not be effective all the time. Sometimes, you have to solve this issue with a different approach. In this case, you have to do the harder thing:

Deleting your post.

However, deleting it is enough if you notice some overlapping or duplicate content. But remember, if your post generates a high amount of organic traffic, sales, or leads, then avoid deleting the post and try any other ways to fix the problem.

Merge Your Page's Content

Suppose you're writing for the keyword "best demand generation tips," and there are two articles on the same topic. Then what should you do?

You can combine them into one post.

This way, you don't have to delete your content. All you need to do is merge it without hurting your website ranking.

Tips to Prevent Keyword Cannibalization

You can find and fix this issue, but do you know something better than that?

It is avoiding this issue. So you don’t have to spend hours fixing it. That’s why I’ll share some of the best tips through which you can prevent it and step up your digital marketing strategy.

Make A Perfect Keyword Strategy

Keywords are so important to rank your website. You might know its importance if you've been working on search engine optimization. Don't just focus on search volume or search rankings.

Add Value To Your Audience.

The solution to preventing this problem lies in this strategy. This will ensure that your content doesn't overlap and no pages on your website compete against each other. While creating a keyword strategy, ensure every page targets a different search phrase. Let me make it clear with an example.

Instead of having multiple pages competing for the search phrase "best smartphone," you can optimize each page for related but distinct terms like "top mobile devices," "high- performance phones," "latest smartphone reviews," and more.

You're staying on topic, but the content for every term is broader and relevant to the industry. But how can you do this research?

You can find these search phrases manually by checking Google search terms or Al tools like Answer the Public.

Monitor Ranking and Performance Of Your Content

You're wrong if you think having a comprehensive keyword strategy is enough. You need to ensure that your content is performing well. But is it beneficial?

Yes. You need to find relevant search phrases for your company website and track your performance. If you keep tracking and monitoring your content, then it'll help you:

Know which keywords are ranking
Performance of content
Which content is caught up in cannibalization

You can check it using external tools or one of the ways I mentioned in this blog. Remember, tracking data is extremely important because you'll get a better idea of whether your keyword strategy is effective.

Instead Of Keywords, Prioritize Topics

Do you know the most common reason for this ranking problem?

It's because most marketing teams focus solely on securing the top position on Google and optimizing the content. They forget what matters the most is adding value.

If you're also working with this approach and running behind keywords only, it's time to change your approach. That doesn't mean you should avoid doing any research. It means you should also focus on topics and content.

Here's how you can get started.

Search for topics that are most relevant to your audience. Check topics that spark your audience's interest.

When your audience sees that you're talking about things that benefit them, they will eventually establish loyalty towards your brand. It'll increase your authority in the industry. Many people don't know how they find topics that the audience is looking for. If you're struggling with the same problem, I'm about to give you a solution.

You can check Quora and Reddit and see what type of questions people are asking. Moreover, ask for feedback and conduct surveys and social media polls.

But the best way to do this is by checking Google's "people also ask" feature. These are questions that your audience is looking for, and you can answer them.

Make Monthly Audits Important Part Of Your Website

You've done all the steps I mentioned above. What's next?

It is regular auditing. Because you don't want to post content that no one reads. Suppose you're writing on "best anime of 2023," but is anyone looking for it? Or, more precisely, is anyone reading your content?

You can find this by regularly auditing your site. But that's not all. Many people start auditing with the notion of checking website visitors only. But that's wrong. Instead, you should ask yourself these questions.

Are your chosen topics still up-to-date?

Is the information you're sharing still current?
Are the numbers and facts accurate?
Are you focusing on the most important search terms?
Which subjects and keywords align best with your marketing objectives?

Create Comprehensive Pages

Many topics are broad, and you can't cover them in one blog post. What should you do in this case?

Break the topic into several sub-posts.

For example, consider "healthy breakfast ideas." It is a broad topic, and you might have various articles covering different aspects of it. You'll likely see different results if you search "healthy breakfast ideas" on Google. One might focus on easy recipes, another on quick options, and another on kid-friendly choices.

Imagine if all these articles were on your website instead of being spread across different sites.

Because most of these topics share the main search term and have overlapping content, it'll only create unnecessary competition, and nobody wants that. Moreover, most of these topics are ranked for the same keyword. It's equivalent to cannibalization.

You should avoid this by making one page with all the relevant topic information.

Wrong Approach = Writing Different Articles or Guides
Right Approach = One Detailed Page

This might result in a lengthy post; consider adding a clickable table of contents. This way.

readers can easily jump to the sections they're interested in.

Is Keyword Cannibalization Bad?

It is a bad practice because it can hurt your website's organic performance. Suppose you have two pages targeting the same keyword. One holds the top spot in rankings, while the other page, the one we'd rather see ranking, is nowhere to be found.

It might seem like classic keyword cannibalization, where one page draws traffic from the other. Some of the negative impacts of this issue are as follows.

Diluted Authority: When multiple pages compete for the same search term, the authority and ranking potential divide, making it difficult for any single page to achieve a strong position in search results.
Confused Search Engines: Search engines might struggle to determine which page to rank higher, leading to inconsistent rankings and potentially causing your best content to be overshadowed.
Wasted Effort: Creating multiple pieces of content for the same search phrase consumes time and effort. If these efforts are spread thin across similar topics, it can lead to inefficiencies.
Negative User Experience: Users who encounter identical content across different pages might feel frustrated, leading to a higher bounce rate, penalties, and lower engagement.
Inteffective Conversion: When users land on different pages with similar content, they might not find the exact information they were looking for, reducing the chances of conversion.

Conclusion

If we look back then a few years ago, keywords were the most important thing. Even SEO experts focused on keyword stuffing, but later on, it was revealed that it's a black hat strategy that can penalize your website.

Likewise, search phrase cannibalization is a poor practice that should be resolved soon otherwise your website ranking will keep lowering. It's true that initially, you might see some progress, but in the long run, it has negative effects that can impact your website growth.

That's why you should follow SEO strategies that don't put your website at any risk. Fixing it is relatively easy, but if don't have enough time to manage it, we can do it for you. We have helped several businesses reach exponential success and top rankings in Google.

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