Keyword Cannibalization is a technical term used to define a competition among multiple webpages of a website, and each targets the same keyword or long-tail keywords. This practice triggers competition among those pages in search results. Eventually, it can adversely affect the authority of each web page. Actually, search engine bots get confused over content as to which page to rank up. It, ultimately, harms your website’s SEO performance and effort also. So, addressing this problem is a must to retain and even enhance your visibility online.

This blog will help you to find, fix, and prevent the instances of keyword cannibalization. Let’s start with how to find.

Finding Keyword Cannibalization

This discovery involves multiple steps, which are given below.

1. Conduct a keyword audit.

Being a technical matter, an SEO expert or digital marketing professionals are hired to look into it. They start with auditing your existing content and keywords used in it. For sure, they simplify it by using tools like Ahrefs, Google Search Console, or SEMrush. They automatically highlight the ranking keywords on targeting web pages.

Focus Areas:

• Experienced providers of SEO keyword research services create an end-to-end list of keywords on all pages.
• They discover which keyword is responsible for ranking those web pages.

2. Check for Multiple Rankings

Multiple pages might be ranking with the same keyword. So, you need to try these hacks:

• Google Search: Input the target keyword in Google with your website’s domain name. It should look like this: eminenturetechnologies.com “keyword research.” As you press the enter button, all pages indexed for that keyword will pop up.
• Excel or Google Sheets: Now, focus on organising keywords with their corresponding web page’s URLs in an Excel sheet. It will visualise which pages are overlapping.  

3. Analyse click-through rates (CTR).

Now, shift your focus to discovering page-wise CTR (or click-through rate) of webpages ranking with the same keyword in Google Search Console. If the ranking pages are more than one, it signals that they may be competing for clicks with one another. This will distribute the traffic, which is counted lower than usual on each page.  

4. Use SEO Tools

Now, get insights into overlapping keywords with the help of SEO tools like Screaming Frog. They help in reaching out to web pages that may be cannibalising one another.  

5. Look for User Intent Misalignment

Furthermore, SEO service providers often measure the content of web pages to see if they serve information that users actually look for. Sometimes, the target keywords serve different purposes or deliver unique value propositions. But they may confuse search engine bots and users also.

Fixing Keyword Cannibalization

The identified cases of Cannibalization are then fixed through corrective actions.

1. Consolidate Content

If multiple web pages’ rank is clashing, combine them into one lengthy page. The process of consolidating the content involves these steps:  

• Discover the best content from all cannibalised pages and plan their consolidation.
• Redirect old URLs to new ones while optimising them for preserving their equity.

2. Optimise for Different Keywords

Sometimes, you don’t want to remove multiple pages. So, let it be while trying these hacks:

• Optimise each one for different target keywords or phrases, complementing the primary keyword.
• Edit the content, which should be focused on target-specific sub-topics or related long-tail keywords.
• Accordingly, change their headings, meta descriptions, and content to bring the new focus into light. 

3. Use 301 redirects.

Once pages are merged, integrate 301 redirects to allow easy transition of users from the old URL to the new one. This practice will upkeep the incoming traffic, and also, search engine bots will be directed to the right content without compromising the SEO values of your website.

4. Update Internal Linking

Keywords without relevant pages won’t prove valuable. So simultaneously, review and update internal links after updating the content and keywords. Ensure that the primary page that you want to rank up is properly internally linked. This will boost your presence and online visibility because the optimised keywords and pages signal search engine bots to prioritise and hence improve their authority.

5. Reassess content quality.

Despite proper link and content optimisation, web pages do not perform as expected. Its reason might be the quality of content or improper information. So, you need to update the content frequently as the trend changes. Keep it as answering users’ searches. Also add visuals to make it stunning and engaging.   

Preventing Keyword Cannibalization

Last but not least, focus on preventing cannibalization. This practice can sometimes cause irreparable damage to your website’s domain authority and online reputation. These tips can help in preventing it.

1. Develop a Keyword Strategy

Always focus on which keywords to target. It requires a proper keyword strategy outlining specific keywords to target with specific web pages. Some experienced SEO service providers or companies emphasise these aspects:

• Segment primary and secondary keywords for each page.
• Create a list or spreadsheet to mention target keywords as per offerings.    

2. Create a Content Calendar

Religiously maintain a content calendar to strategise and schedule publishing of new content. This SEO practice eliminates the chances of unintentional creation of multiple web pages that target similar keywords.

3. Conduct Regular Audits

Make it a regular practice to audit web content and address any instances of Cannibalization as early as possible.  However, the size of your website and content updates can be lengthy. But avoid delays in its detection.

4. Focus on User Intent

For engaging content, always study the trend. Understand user intent and then impart genuine and proven information that they actually look for. This will secure the originality of your website. Also, search engines will take it as a positive step that emphasises solutions corresponding to users’ queries.

5. Train Your Team

Train your content team about the significance of existing and new algorithms that focus on keywords, content, and internal linking. Encourage them to follow the updates before moving ahead with a new project.

6. Monitor Performance

Monitoring can bring a big change in your SEO and content strategy. So, ensure content audits take place on a regular basis. You may use analytics tools for speedy monitoring of page ranks and traffic patterns. An instance of Cannibalization can hamper its scalable flow.

These practices can guide you to see a big difference in your website’s online performance.

Conclusion

Keyword Cannibalization can downgrade your web performance and SEO effort. It directly impacts your online visibility, which attracts leads. That’s why leading SEO service companies ensure finding the case of Cannibalization in time and fix this issue. And also, they prepare a proper strategy to eliminate the scope for this issue to happen.