Keyword cannibalization is a situation where two or more pages on your website are targeting the same keyword or keyword phrase. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as:
- Creating similar pages over time without a clear plan
- Publishing a new version of a page without redirecting the old one
- Creating different paths to the same product category
- Optimizing similar pages for the same keyword
- Not optimizing subcategory pages
Keyword cannibalization can hurt your SEO performance in a number of ways. It can:
- Decrease your search engine rankings
- Reduce your website traffic
- Decrease your conversion rates
If you think you may be experiencing keyword cannibalization, there are a few things you can do to fix it.
1. Identify the pages that are cannibalizing each other.
The first step is to identify the pages on your website that are targeting the same keyword or keyword phrase. You can do this by using a variety of tools, such as Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush.
Once you have identified the cannibalizing pages, you need to assess whether or not they are actually competing with each other. If the pages are targeting different search intents, then they are not cannibalizing each other. However, if the pages are targeting the same search intent, then they are cannibalizing each other.
2. Decide which page you want to keep and which page you want to remove.
Once you have identified the cannibalizing pages, you need to decide which page you want to keep and which page you want to remove. The best way to do this is to consider the following factors:
- Which page has the highest search engine rankings?
- Which page receives the most traffic?
- Which page has the highest conversion rates?
Once you have considered these factors, you can make a decision about which page you want to keep.
3. Redirect the non-preferred pages to the preferred page.
If you have decided to remove one of the cannibalizing pages, you need to redirect the non-preferred page to the preferred page. This will tell Google that the non-preferred page is no longer relevant for the keyword or keyword phrase that it was targeting.
You can redirect pages using a 301 redirect. A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that tells Google that the non-preferred page has moved to the preferred page.
4. Optimize the preferred page for the keyword or keyword phrase.
Once you have redirected the non-preferred pages, you need to optimize the preferred page for the keyword or keyword phrase. This means including the keyword or keyword phrase in the page title, the meta description, and throughout the page content.
You should also use other on-page SEO techniques, such as internal linking, keyword density, and image alt tags.
5. Monitor your search engine rankings and traffic.
Once you have fixed the keyword cannibalization issue, you need to monitor your search engine rankings and traffic to make sure that the fix has been effective. You can use Google Search Console to track your search engine rankings, and you can use Google Analytics to track your website traffic.
If you see that your search engine rankings or traffic have decreased after you fixed the keyword cannibalization issue, you may need to make further adjustments.
Keyword cannibalization is a common SEO problem, but it can be easily fixed. By following the steps above, you can fix keyword cannibalization and improve your website’s SEO performance.
Here are some additional tips for preventing keyword cannibalization:
- Create a content plan and assign a unique keyword to each piece of content.
- Use keyword clustering to group related keywords together.
- Avoid using the same keyword on multiple pages.
- Use different meta descriptions for each page.
- Vary the content on each page to make it unique.
- Use internal linking to connect related pages.
By following these tips, you can help to prevent keyword cannibalization and improve your website’s SEO performance.
Read the blog: Google Releases August 2023 Broad Core Update