Keywords are undoubtedly important to the success of your website. However, when used incorrectly, it can sabotage your SEO efforts. One of such incorrect usages is keyword cannibalization. It is a silent SEO pitfall that can hurt your site’s visibility and ranking.
So, in this article, we will be addressing this common SEO issue. We will explain why it matters and how to identify and fix it.
So whether you are an expert or a novice, this guide will help you understand what keyword cannibalization is and how to resolve it. Most importantly, you will be able to improve your website’s SEO, drive targeted traffic, and boost your online presence.
Let’s get started!
What is Keyword Cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalization in SEO occurs when multiple pages on your website are optimized for the same keyword or phrase. This situation causes search engines to struggle to decide on the most relevant and authoritative page.
To illustrate, let’s say you have two pages on your website that go:
- sample.com/best-running-shoes
- sample.com/top-running-shoes-for-athletes
Both are targeting similar keywords like “best running shoes” and “top running shoes”. This can lead to keyword cannibalization, as search engines battle to decide which page to prioritize for the search query “best running shoes”. As a result, your website’s visibility and rankings are affected.
Why is Keyword Cannibalization Harmful for SEO?
There are so many ways keyword cannibalization negatively affects SEO. One of them is that it confuses search engines. When multiple pages on your website target the same keyword/phrase, search engines like Google find it difficult to determine the most relevant and authoritative page. This will reduce rankings to your best-performing pages.
Another reason is that it dilutes link authority. Backlinks from reputable sites are super important for SEO, as they help boost your site’s credibility. But with keyword cannibalization, the value of these backlinks decreases, affecting your site rankings.
Let’s illustrate: you have two similar pages with the targeted keywords “Bridal Outfits in 2025”. Naturally, backlinks with the keywords as anchor texts will be divided between those pages. This action causes search engines to have a hard time deciding which page is the most relevant. As a result, each page’s overall authority and ranking potential are reduced.
Further, keyword cannibalization wastes the crawl budget for your website. Search engines typically have a limited crawl budget for each site. This crawl budget is the number of pages they can index and crawl at a given time.
So when you have multiple pages with similar content, it prevents search engines from crawling important pages on your website.
How to Identify Keyword Cannibalization
Now that you understand the effect of keyword cannibalization, how can you identify it on your website? There are different techniques that can be used to identify pages with this issue. Here they are:
Use Google Search
A simple Google search can give you insight into whether you have keyword cannibalization issues.
Perform a search with the keyword and your domain name “domain: keyword.” Example: “forbes.com:SEO companies.”
If the search result shows multiple pages from your website, it may mean you have more than one page competing for that keyword.
Note: This method does not provide insights like clicks and impressions, making it difficult to determine accurately.
Using Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) provides an overview of your site’s performance. It can help you determine if multiple pages on your website are ranking for the same keyword.
To get started, open Google Search Console, then click on “Performance.”
In the performance screen, you can just scroll down to the statistics section to see the queries (keywords) you are ranking for.
Click on any keyword, and scroll down to see the pages that are ranking for it.
If two or more pages are ranking for the same keywords and competing for clicks, then you may have keyword cannibalization.
Similarly, you can check for individual keywords’ cannibalization.
To do this, navigate to the performance screen, then click “Add filter” and select “Query.”
Type in the keyword you want to check for and click Apply.
Scroll down and click on the pages tab to see the pages that are ranking for that keyword.
Again, if you have multiple keywords competing for the same keyword, then you may have a cannibalization issue.
Ahrefs
The Ahrefs Site Explorer allows you to check if multiple pages on your site are ranking for the same keyword.
To start, navigate to the Ahrefs Site Explorer, enter your domain name, and click the search button.
In the tools overview on the left, find the Organic Search section and click on “Organic Keywords.”
In the organic keyword screen, scroll down to the stat section. Click “Filter,” select “Multiple URLs Only,” and “Apply.”
This will list out all the keywords with multiple URLs (pages) ranking for them.
SEMrush
SEMrush has a special feature to track cannibalization. To access this feature, you have to first set up Position Tracking.
Log in to your SEMrush account and click on the SEO icon. Next, click on Position Tracking. If not already set up, follow the prompts to set up position tracking for your site.
Inside the position tracking tool, click on the Cannibalization tab. Then scroll down and click on the keyword tab under cannibalization to see a breakdown of the affected pages.
How to Fix Keyword Cannibalization
Content Consolidation
One way to fix keyword cannibalization is to merge similar content together to create one authoritative page.
Start by reviewing your website for instances of cannibalization using any of the methods above.
Next, identify any similar competing pages. Review each piece of content, pick out the valuable parts, and merge them into one piece of content.
For example, if you have 2 blog posts, “The Best SEO Agencies” and “How to Choose the Best SEO Agencies.” Both blogs are quite similar and are likely competing against each other for the keyword “best SEO agencies”.
You can merge them into one comprehensive blog that will bring in more traffic.
Add 301 Redirects
After you merge or remove a page, you need to set up a 301 redirect. A 301 redirect tells search engines that an old URL has been moved to a new one.
This step prevents 404 errors and ensures that the juice from the old URL transfers to the new one.
SEO tools like Rank Math and Yoast SEO Premium make it easier to set up 301 redirects on your WordPress site.
Use Canonical Tags
Canonical tags tell search engines which version of a similar or duplicate web page it should rank.
It is not entirely possible to eliminate cannibalization, especially if you are in the e-commerce space or accept guest posts. So you can tell Google to rank specific pages instead of others.
To do this, add a canonical tag ” /> to the duplicate page you do not want to rank.
Change the URL in the tag to that of the page you want to rank instead.
SEO tools like Rank Math and Yoast SEO provide simple fields to add canonical tags to any page on WordPress sites. Just input the URL for the page you want to rank.
Adjusting Internal Linking Structures
Internal linking helps Google and other search engines understand your website. You can use internal linking to increase the authority for cannibalized pages.
To do this, identify the primary pages you want to rank. Next, link the other pages to this page using relevant anchor text.
This will tell search engine crawlers that the page is important, and it will rank higher.
For example, you have 4 blogs on email marketing. You can choose one as the pillar and link the other ones to the chosen blog to increase its authority.
Preventing Future Cannibalization
Know the saying “Prevention is better than cure”? It sure does apply in this case. Granted, you now know how to identify and fix it. However, it is wise to put up measures to prevent it from happening in the first place. And the more content you create, the higher your chances of having keyword cannibalization increase.
So here are some best practices you can implement to prevent keyword cannibalization:
Create Tailored Keyword Strategies
Keyword strategy is important. So to prevent keyword cannibalization, you should plan and document your target keywords. This involves doing thorough research to spot high-traffic, relevant keywords used by your target audiences. You can use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to achieve this.
Afterwards, categorize the keywords and assign each one to specific pages or content pieces. Doing this will help you optimize your content effectively and avoid keyword cannibalization.
Perform Regular Content Audits
Another tip for avoiding keyword cannibalization is to conduct regular content audits. Review your existing content and look out for overlapping pages, outdated posts, or duplicate content. Performing a regular keyword cannibalization audit will help you detect issues early on. And by doing so, you can improve your website’s quality and search engine rankings.
Maintain a Keyword and Topic Map
Organize topics, keywords, and content you have already covered into a list. This list will serve as a content strategy guide, allowing you to reduce content duplication and plan content that aligns with your goal. As a result, you are able to create a clear content structure, improve content relevance, and reduce keyword cannibalization.
For instance, let’s say you have two blog posts:
- “Best Italian Restaurants in New York City”
- “Top Italian Restaurants in NYC”
They both target the keyword “Italian restaurants in New York City”. So to avoid keyword cannibalization, you can map both posts to the same topic, “Italian Restaurants in New York City”.
Overall, maintaining a keyword and topic map helps to prevent cannibalization issues and create a clear content structure.
Conclusion (Outro)
As your website grows and you create blog posts on similar topics, chances are, you will experience keyword cannibalization. And if left unchecked, it can harm your website’s ranking and online visibility. To recap, it is important to:
- Identify similar content that targets the same keywords
- Conduct regular keyword audits to maintain your website’s SEO health
- Optimize your content strategy to avoid keyword overlap and maximize your website’s ranking potential.
By being proactive and taking the steps needed to avoid keyword cannibalization, you are able to protect your website’s SEO health. So make sure to regularly monitor your site’s performance and adjust your content strategy when necessary. When you prioritize your SEO health, you stay ahead of the competition, increase visibility, and ultimately, conversions.
FAQs
What is Keyword Cannibalization in SEO?
Keyword cannibalization happens when multiple pages on your website target the same keyword or phrase. This confuses search engines and dilutes the ranking power of the pages, resulting in a negative impact on your site’s SEO performance.
How Can I Tell if my Website has Keyword Cannibalization Issues?
You can identify keyword cannibalization by performing a keyword audit to spot overlapping terms across pages. Check Google Search Console to see if multiple pages rank for the same keywords. You can also use SEO tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to detect duplication. If several pages compete for identical keywords, cannibalization may be occurring.
What are the Main Causes of Keyword Cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalization often happens due to content overlap, poor keyword planning, or content duplication. When multiple pages target the same keywords or contain similar information, search engines can become confused about which page to rank. This confusion can weaken your site’s authority and reduce its overall ranking potential.
How Does Keyword Cannibalization Affect My SEO Rankings?
This SEO issue dilutes your ranking potential, confuses search engines, and reduces page authority. As a result, you experience a lower website ranking, low visibility, and traffic. Further, it becomes hard for search engines to crawl and index your content effectively.
Can Keyword Cannibalization Happen with Internal Links?
No. It is related to content duplication and keyword targeting on multiple pages. Although internal linking can affect SEO, it does not cause keyword cannibalization.
