Hello, community! One of the main tools in SEO optimization is keywords. However, not many webmasters understand that mindlessly adding the same keywords to every article is a very bad idea. After all, this can seriously harm the site. This is called keyword cannibalization. That is what we will talk about in today’s review.
We also recently covered GEO instead of SEO and how these types of optimization differ. We recommend checking it out!
What Is Keyword Cannibalization?
Let’s start with the problem. Most optimizers usually do the following:
- Choose a keyword or several keywords.
- Create a separate page for further promotion around them.
The scheme is quite simple and classic. However, over time, other pages may appear on the site that use the same keywords. In this case, they may start pulling authority away from each other, causing the first page to lose authority in the eyes of search engines, while the second one never reaches the same positions.
This phenomenon is called cannibalization in SEO. It happens when several pages on the same site use the same keywords at once. This significantly complicates the promotion of each page. It can also harm the positions of pages that were previously in Google’s TOP results.
How to Find Pages That Compete with Each Other?
To detect keyword cannibalization, you can use additional tools.
The hardest way is to do it manually. To do this, you would need to analyze the site using something like Google Search Console and almost manually surf through each keyword. Obviously, this is not the best option.
Instead, you can try using something like Ahrefs. Such services offer their own audit tools. With their help, you can analyze pages and find those that compete with each other.
Semrush even offers specialized tools specifically for finding keyword cannibalization. So the choice here depends on your budget.
Why Does Keyword Cannibalization Happen?
There are several common scenarios where a similar problem can arise. Sometimes webmasters make mistakes even unintentionally:
- When publishing many articles on the same topic. Even if the goal is to cover a broad issue. In such cases, it is better not to use the same keywords to avoid promotion problems.
- Google may incorrectly identify the main page that should serve as the locomotive for others. This happens when internal linking is poorly implemented.
- In online stores, situations sometimes arise when commercial pages start competing with informational ones. And this is probably one of the most common examples. In this case, users risk landing on informational pages, which creates a risk of losing conversions.
In general, there are many other examples. However, they would not all fit into a single article.
How to Prevent Keyword Cannibalization?
This phenomenon usually appears where there is no full-fledged content strategy. In other words, when articles are written and published without any global idea.
The best solution to prevent cannibalization is to maintain something like a journal of articles and keywords.
You should also always work with all existing materials. If you already see that authority has been distributed between several pages, it is better to optimize them. The best option is to merge two pages into one. Or create internal links from the weaker URL to the main one. This also works.
Why Use Canonical Tags?
One way to effectively prevent keyword cannibalization when promoting in Google is to use canonical tags. They help show which page is the main one and which is secondary.
A canonical tag can be added to the HTML code of the page. This should always be done if you use several pages with the same keywords but want to focus on one of them.
Canonical tags help in many cases. For example, when a site has a search form or when you use multiple languages. However, it is important to understand that you should not ignore other ways to prevent keyword cannibalization. Canonical tags are very useful, but they do not always work perfectly.
Conclusion
Keyword cannibalization is one of those SEO mistakes that can remain unnoticed for a long time, but gradually worsen promotion results. When several pages compete for the same queries, it becomes more difficult for search engines to determine which one should be shown to users.
That is why it is important to think through the site structure in advance, distribute keywords between materials, and regularly conduct SEO audits. This approach will help avoid internal competition, maintain search positions, and make promotion much more effective.
Have you ever faced a similar problem when promoting your own websites? Share your experience in our Telegram community, where we always talk about relevant optimization methods and ways to get traffic!
Sincerely, Your Geek!
Frequently Asked Questions
Keyword cannibalization is a situation where several pages of the same site are promoted for the same keywords and start competing with each other, which can negatively affect their search positions.
You can use SEO tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush, which help identify pages with the same keyword queries and internal competition.
The best solution is to have a clear content strategy, properly distribute keywords between pages, and, if needed, merge similar materials or use canonical tags.