If you have several pages on your website that contain the same keyword with different intents, then you may be exhibiting what’s known as keyword cannibalization. In such a situation, it’s important to separate pages with high and low values. One example of a low-value page is one that contains outdated information or an irrelevant topic. If possible, you should consider removing the page from your website. This step will clean up your website and prioritize your SEO efforts.

Cannibalization is an unintentional by-product of SEO

Keyword cannibalization is when more than one page on the same website targets the same search term. Google only shows one result per domain, so the more times a page uses a particular keyword, the lower its rank is. Fortunately, you can clean up keyword cannibalization issues as part of your overall SEO strategy.

Listed below are a few tips to ensure your pages are free of keyword cannibalization:

Keyword cannibalization is when more than one page on your site uses the same focus keyword. This can occur either intentionally when you target the same keyword or accidentally when you have similar content on several pages. Cannibalization is harmful to your SEO efforts because it divides link equity among the pages and decreases their authority. This will affect their rankings. Therefore, it is important to separate your keywords and content on different pages.

When analyzing cannibalization issues, consider the type of site you have and how you can fix it. If you have multiple pages that target the same intent, you can use 301 redirects to find out which one is stronger. You can also consider inbound links and historic traffic to help you determine which page is the most valuable to your visitors. If all of your pages have the same content, you may want to try 301 redirects to remove duplicate content from your website.

It hurts SEO

If you don’t have a comprehensive content strategy, you’re at risk of keyword cannibalization. To avoid this, you should periodically audit your pages and identify keywords you might be using in an unnatural way. Keyword cannibalization hurts SEO, so it’s essential to fix it before it harms your rankings. Here are a few ways to spot keyword cannibalization:

One of the first ways to spot if your pages are keyword-cannibalized is by examining your website’s SERPs. If you see a lot of pages that rank for the same keyword, that’s a sign of keyword cannibalization. This will result in fluctuating SERP positions, decreasing your domain authority, and harming your keywords. If the problem isn’t fixed immediately, it can cause a downward spiral of your SERP rankings.

Another way to identify cannibalization is to use a ranking tracker. These tools allow you to see which pages are ranking for certain keywords. If you find that one page is over-indexed for a specific keyword, you can fix the issue by creating new pages around those keywords. It may also be necessary to change the site’s structure to place the most popular and authoritative pages at the top.

Another way to spot keyword cannibalization in SEO is to make sure you don’t duplicate your own keywords. You’re competing with yourself in Google. Since Google is unable to tell the difference between two posts about the same topic, it will rank them lower than they would otherwise. Fortunately, this is a fairly easy task to solve. All you have to do is be careful where you’re distributing your keywords. If you’re unsure, ask a friend or colleague for advice.

The solution to keyword cannibalization in SEO is relatively easy. You can either redirect the pages to another page or remove the cannibalized keywords altogether. Alternatively, you can create a single comprehensive post that focuses on the main keyword. Ideally, it will also be part of your overall SEO strategy. So how do you prevent and fix keyword cannibalization? Here are some tips:

Using duplicate keywords will not only harm your SEO strategy but also make it impossible to rank for relevant terms. It confuses Google and lessens the authority of your website. Ultimately, SEO is a long-term strategy and it is essential to fix keyword cannibalization as early as possible. It’s vital to understand the reasons behind this issue and take action accordingly.

Another common cause of keyword cannibalization is the overuse of the same keywords on different pages. When you use the same keyword on two or more different pages, the search engines won’t know which one should rank higher. As a result, they won’t list both of the pages in their search results, making it even more essential to fix this problem as soon as possible. This way, you’ll have a better chance of getting your website listed in the search results.

It’s a problem in technical SEO

When using the SEO tool Yoast, be sure to check the focus keyword. If you see multiple URLs appearing on your Google search result, you are likely experiencing keyword cannibalization. If this is the case, you can fix the problem manually. To do this, simply perform a search using your domain name and keyword. A red bullet point will appear if your focus keyword is already being used elsewhere.

Once you’ve identified the problem, you’ll want to identify how to correct the problem. You can use tools like Google Search Console to analyze your site’s performance. You can see which keywords are generating the most traffic. If you’ve seen multiple URLs for the same query, this is a sign that your SEO efforts aren’t working for you. You can also use a tool like Position Tracking to analyze fluctuations in URLs and the content they link to.

Another way to fix keyword cannibalization in SEO is by merging the two cannibalizing properties into one. This will tell Google that the weaker page is an older version of the content and that the newer page should be ranked higher. Using 301 redirects is a great way to fix this issue. When used properly, this technique can boost a site’s performance by up to 5%.

Another common problem associated with SEO is keyword cannibalization. In this case, two or more pages rank for the same keywords, making it difficult for search engines to decide which page is the best one for a keyword. Often, this is the result of a poorly planned content strategy. For example, a poorly thought-out post will fail to answer user intent, resulting in vague and confusing content.

While this might sound like a daunting task, fixing keyword cannibalization is relatively easy. You can redirect your website to another page that has only a single keyword. If you can’t find a way to remove the page entirely, you can either re-optimize it or remove all mentions of the keyword. It’s important to clean up this issue as part of your overall technical SEO strategy, as it could have a negative impact on your rankings.

As with any optimization strategy, it is vital to understand the entire process. A poorly indexed site won’t achieve a high ranking. Technical SEO ensures your site is properly established and indexed. By using sub-domains, meta tags, and properly-designed site architecture, you can make sure pages load fast. It’s also important to use pagination and canonicalization to guide bots around your site.

While keyword cannibalization is an unfortunate situation, it’s relatively easy to remedy. It’s often a simple matter of restructuring or deleting content that’s overlapping with competing content. If you do find that you’re suffering from keyword cannibalization, you can consider changing your strategy or merging the two content types into one.