Keyword cannibalization is a common SEO issue that can hurt your website’s performance by causing your own pages to compete with each other for search engine rankings. This article will provide an in-depth look at what keyword cannibalization is, why it’s problematic, and how you can identify and resolve these issues to improve your SEO strategy.
What is keyword cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on your site target the same keyword or similar keywords with the same search intent. This can create confusion for search engines, making it difficult truemoney database for them to determine which page is most relevant for a given query. As a result, your pages may end up competing with each other in search engine results pages (SERPs), which can dilute your rankings and overall SEO performance.
For example, if you have two blog posts optimized for “best running shoes,” they could cannibalize each other’s rankings, with neither page ranking as well as it could if the content was consolidated into a single, stronger page.
Why is keyword cannibalization bad?
Keyword cannibalization is harmful for several reasons:
Diluted Authority : When multiple pages compete for the same keyword, they divide the backlink profile and internal link structure, diluting the overall authority that could be concentrated on a single page.
Lower rankings : Search engines may have difficulty identifying which page is most relevant for a keyword, which leads to lower rankings for all competing pages.
Decreased click-through rate (CTR) : If your pages are appearing lower in the SERPs due to cannibalization, they may receive fewer clicks, reducing your overall website traffic.
Wasted crawl budget : Search engines allocate a certain amount of crawl budget to your site. Cannibalized pages can waste this budget, leaving more important pages undercrawled or ignored.
How to Identify Keyword Cannibalization
Identifying keyword cannibalization requires careful analysis of your site’s content and rankings. Here are some effective methods for uncovering cannibalization issues:
Perform a content audit :
Analyze your website content to identify pages that target the same or similar keywords. This process is particularly effective for small to medium-sized websites where manual auditing is manageable.
Analyze historical rankings :
Use tools like Ranktracker's Rank Tracking to analyze the historical performance of specific keywords. If you see multiple URLs fluctuating in the rankings for the same keyword, this could be a sign of cannibalization.
Google Site Search :
Perform a Google search using the site:(e.g.) operator site:yourwebsite.com "keyword")to see which pages Google has indexed for a given keyword. This can help you identify overlapping content that may be causing cannibalization.