How to Find and Fix Keyword Cannibalization?

Keyword cannibalization is when multiple pages on a website target the same or similar keywords and compete against each other to hurt the site’s organic performance.

For example, let’s say we have two pages about technical SEO. If we could get more organic traffic overall by combining the two pages into one, that’s a cannibalization issue. The existence of those two pages is eating away at our organic performance.

Why is Keyword Cannibalism So Bad for SEO?

Diminishes Page Authority

You want your most authoritative pages to rank the highest because they are the ones most likely to result in higher click-through rates and conversions.

Yet, instead of providing that one strong authoritative page, with keyword cannibalism, you are splitting the results and ranking potential among two or more semi-relevant marketing pages.

Interferes with Ranking of Relevant Pages

Google utilizes keywords as a way to understand what your web content is about.

If you use the same or similar keywords for more than one page, Google is in charge of determining which page fits best with a query that includes that keyword.

Chances are high that the search engine will get it wrong.

Affects Your Link Structure

Keyword cannibalization can affect your link structure, both internally and externally.

Internally, your links may be leading your visitors to several different pages instead of to the one authoritative page which offers the most value.

Externally, your backlinks will often be split between the pages with the same or similar keywords, not creating the most value for your website.

Tips to Prevent Keyword Cannibalization

Create a Targeted Keyword Strategy

One of the best ways to prevent keyword cannibalization is to hone your targeted keyword strategy. So there’s no competition and problematic overlap.

In a nutshell, this means optimizing different pages to target different keywords and search queries.

So instead of having five pages competing for the search query “SEO tips,” you can optimize each page for a similar. But separate query like “digital marketing strategy,” “marketing techniques,” “SEO for beginners,” and so on.

Track Keyword Rankings and Performance

Having a keyword strategy isn’t enough. Once you have identified the keywords you want to work with, you also need to track their performance over time.

Consistently tracking digital keyword analytics will help you understand which keywords are ranking. Which ones have too much competition, which may be caught up in cannibalization, and which ones need a boost.

You can track keyword rankings, performance, and other analytics directly through your website analytics tool. Or you can use external tools.

Focus on Topics First, Keywords Come Second

Sometimes keyword cannibalization happens because marketing teams become more focused on optimizing keywords than creating content around relevant topics.

If you’re running behind keywords, there’s a chance you’ll neglect the topics and content quality. Which will eventually slow your progress towards meeting your marketing goals.

So instead of pouring all your resources into digital keyword research, make it a part of your marketing strategy to focus on topics as well.