Keyword Cannibalization | What It Is and How to Solve Keyword Cannibalization? | SEO Tutorial

 

Consider utilising the best techniques for search engine optimisation and still not obtaining the desired outcomes. Your rate of organic traffic isn't rising, and occasionally it even decreases. Your pages are unable to rank at the top of the SERP since your target keywords aren't moving up the list. You even add fresh content consistently! 

Many things can be taking place while optimising keywords. The most likely offender, though, is a cunning little phenomenon known as keyword cannibalization.

Even the best website content may perform poorly organically as a result, which can be detrimental to the overall SEO strategy.

That reduces your chances of getting higher ranks by making that material more competitive.

However, how to know whether your website is being cannibalised by keywords?

A number of things can be done. Such as, you can quickly determine which keywords, and secondary keywords, are causing issues on your SEO results due to cannibalization and get to work resolving each one by performing a rapid review of your placement, ranking, and organic performance.

What is Keyword Cannibalization?

Digital marketing techniques, nowadays, depend on choosing the keywords to concentrate on when it comes to website content.

Focusing on such keywords raises the possibility that they will be overused which is also known as keyword stuffing.

This can could cause keyword cannibalization and have a negative impact on your performance.

When several pages on your website compete with one another for search engine rankings because they target the same or closely related keywords, it is known as keyword cannibalization.

It implies that different articles on your website may rank for the same query on SERPs.

This may seem like a fantastic way to attract search engine attention and show them that you are an authority on the subject, but it will almost always backfire and have a bad effect on your SEO approach.

Examples of Keyword Cannibalization:

The performance of your website can suffer from a number of detrimental repercussions from keyword cannibalization.

Some of the most typical cannibalization issues that can happen include the following::

• Unpredictable ranking links
• Ranking position changes
• Struggle with ranking keywords 
• The ranking of incorrect website URLs

To learn more about each one, let's delve deeper.

1. Unpredictable ranking links

Did you notice how one keyword constantly changes positions?

URLs that rank are subject to continual changes and it is a common sign of keyword cannibalization which usually means Google is unable to decide which page to rank.

Source: ahrefs.com

This is demonstrated in the sample above, where many URLs alternately appear and disappear for a keyword.

In essence, there are competing and muddled messages in effect.

The user experience and path to conversion are significantly harmed by the positions' frequent fluctuations, especially when one page converts users at a substantially greater rate than the other. 

2. Changes in ranking position

The ranking variation frequently occurs in conjunction with URL changes. You may have noticed that your keyword ranking position varies frequently and consistently.

As URLs change, keyword cannibalization may cause this to occur. Conflicting signals can result in a change in the ranking position.

Source: victoriousseo.com

Let's say a page has more links than another, but the goal and general quality of the content appear to be at odds. In that situation, if one of the URLs appears prominently for a popular term, this may also suggest that your organic traffic may fluctuate fairly substantially. 

3. Struggle with ranking keywords

Even though you have good links and well-written content, there are instances when you expect your site's rating to improve but observe no improvement at all. Although it can be annoying, keyword cannibalization frequently results in problems like this.

What's wrong is that your pages' authority is divided among two or more pages rather than one, which prevents either page from ranking as well as it should.

Links are a critical component of ranking, and when link authority is dispersed across multiple Domains, it can be challenging to evaluate how something is performing.

Checking for cannibalization problems with Position Tracking may be helpful if your position isn't improving.

4. The ranking of incorrect website URLs

On occasion, the incorrect Link will appear in search results for the keyword you entered.

This could be a single product ranking for a keyword you identify with a category or subcategory, or it could be a distinct piece of content from the one that should be ranking—possibly one that was written years ago.

Why SEO Keyword Cannibalization is Harmful?

Five of the most frequent effects of optimising several pages for the same keyword are listed below for a better understanding of the issues.

• Search engines feel puzzled

It's a frequent fallacy that optimising several pages for the same keyword enhances the likelihood that a site will rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs). The first places have a higher CTR, thus everyone is vying for them, so this isn't shocking. This tactic is hazardous since you'll be engaged in a conflict not only with your rivals but also with yourself.

If multiple pages on your site focus on the same keyword, search engines will have difficulty determining which page should appear after a search query. It will only display the best-optimized page for that keyword rather than displaying all of them. Even if this page isn't the most pertinent, search engines will nonetheless view it as the most relevant.

It may also happen from time to time that search engines change the ranks of your pages, making it much more difficult for your main page to climb to the top and stay there.

• It weakens off-page optimisation

It takes a lot of time and works to obtain backlinks. Find a platform that works for you, look into its credibility, match your topics, etc. Your page has a better chance of ranking at the top as more high-quality external links are linked to it.

Source: cognitiveseo.com

Cannibalization of keywords lessens the value of backlinks and lowers their influence on your rankings. Assume you have two pages that are comparable to one another and each has three high-quality backlinks from reliable sources. Yet, compared to one page with six high-quality hyperlinks, their combined value will be insignificant.

Imagine if one of your opponents has the kind of page that was just mentioned. Search engines are more likely to give your competitor's page (with a good backlink profile) precedence over your two pages (which have weak backlink profiles). In other words, even if you and your rival have the same overall number of backlinks, your rival will rank better.

• Reduced internal linking weight

Internal links highlight the importance of the content and make it simpler for users and crawlers to find sites. John Mueller, a Google employee, acknowledged that internal links serve objectives beyond facilitating site navigation. They offer a great method to engage with Google more closely.

• Users' behaviour gets worse

A search engine considers your search intent in addition to the terms you typed when you input a query.

Let's say a buyer types "purchase silver spoon and fork" into the search bar. The SERP, however, can show a blog post you authored on the best ways to select spoons and forks for your kitchen rather than your categories page because multiple pages on your website are optimised for this term.

Some circumstances to watch out for:

Your page is viewed, but no one clicks on your link in the SERP. This lowers the CTR for this page.

When clicking on your website, a user immediately navigates back to the SERP without doing the intended activity. This tells Google that there was anything unfavourable about this page that cost you a chance to make a purchase.

In both instances, it is assumed that the client is upset because the content you are giving does not satisfy their needs. You should consider user behaviour while assessing the quality of a page since search engines do. Almost invariably, low-quality pages are ranked poorly in the SERP.

• Crawl budget gets wasted

The frequency of crawler visits and the number of pages they scan each time is referred to as the "crawl budget." You will use up two rather than one "point" of your crawl allowance if two comparable pages that target the same query are crawled. That might not be an issue for small websites. Yet it's a big problem for e-commerce companies with thousands of pages.

Also, Google will reduce the crawl budget for following visits if it finds duplicate content on your website. Some of your pages might not even be indexed, so you never know.

Is Keyword Cannibalization Bad?

Cannibalizing keywords is not good. Yet it's important to keep in mind that a cannibalization problem only arises when several sites target the same keyword and adversely affect a site's organic performance.

That's not always the case, given that pages frequently rank for multiple keywords.

Consider the scenario when we have two pages aiming to rank for the same keyword. One of them is ranked number one, but the other page—which we'd prefer to rank—is not present. Due to the fact that one page appears to be "cannibalising" visitors to the other page, you could claim that this is a classic example of keyword cannibalization.

Nevertheless, even if that were true for traffic originating from this term, what if each of these pages also ranked for hundreds of other keywords?

So why should traffic from a single keyword bother you?

Since it's doubtful that these two pages are harming our site's overall organic performance, there isn't really a cannibalization issue here. If we combined or removed one of them, we would undoubtedly lose some of our other keyword rankings and see a net loss in traffic.

Keyword Cannibalization Red Flags

Now that you are aware of what keyword cannibalization is and why it harms the SEO of your company, let's explore how to identify it. Signs that your pages are ranking for the same keyword are listed below:

• URL rankings constantly change

Keep track of the web pages on your site that are ranked for the keyword you want. It should ideally only have a one-page ranking for it. It is obvious that there has been keyword cannibalization if you see that one URL ranked for it a week ago, another replaced it two days ago, and today a third URL took its place. Your pages are in direct opposition to one another.

Two of your URLs frequently flip between different SERP positions. There might be commercial and blog pages that have the same query optimisation. 

• Changes in rankings

Source: seobility.net

Increases, decreases, or changes in a keyword's position on the search engine results page also indicate internal keyword cannibalization. Your pages may drop 5–15 spots in the search results. This drop may affect some or perhaps all of the searches that your page is aiming for. But, only sometimes will some of your pages return to the top spots in the SERP. This is due to the fact that they are improperly optimised, which causes the positions they hold on the SERP to be arbitrary and inconsistent.

• Ranking queries don’t move up in the SERP

Following your selection of the keyword you wish to rank for, you must monitor your development. Several pages may be vying for your target keyword if you see that it isn't moving up the ranks despite your active optimisation efforts.

It's also possible that these pages lack backlinks. Spreading backlinks over numerous comparable pages is pointless because their quality affects rankings in a significant way. If you carry out this, none of the pages will have a backlink profile that is powerful enough for search engines to recognise as authoritative.

• The wrong URL is ranking for the right keyword

Check out where the page that you wish to target is listed for the term. It's likely that the offending website was optimised for the same search term if a different page from the one you optimised for this phrase appears in the search results. The website you were attempting to rank at the top of the SERP is really removed from the SERP, and the search bots' "attention" is diverted.

Fixing Keyword Cannibalization 

You may now discover a remedy now that you are aware of what keyword cannibalization is, how it affects your SEO, and how to spot it.

You could wish to carry out a content audit to determine what you presently have and how it is presented to assist you to get started.

Analyzing the effectiveness of your content and discovering both past and present rankings can also be helpful.

Afterwards, take action by reworking your internal linking system, employing redirects, and consolidating or combining information.

• Consolidate or merge content

If you discover that two or more of your website's pages are fulfilling similar functions, think about combining or integrating the content into a single trustworthy page.

Your content marketing approach will become more straightforward as a result, and your site's SEO will improve.

You must first determine whether the sites are distinct, offering something the competition does not, and so still useful, even though they are aiming for the same keyword.

If not, decide how to integrate or consolidate them in the best way possible.

Start by looking at your analytics to see which of the pages is performing better in terms of organic traffic, bounce rate, and other crucial data to assist with this.

The content that converts better is what you want to concentrate on, not necessarily the piece that gets the most traffic.

Then combine the two, adding the content with the higher conversion rate to the page receiving more traffic.

Find a technique to combine pages that have comparable information and are visited by the same people.

To improve your rankings and solve the problem of keyword cannibalization, rewrite them into a single post or article.

• Take a look at your internal linking structure

Modify or add internal linking so that the less important content pages on your website point straight to the more important or reliable source page on a certain topic.

In turn, you'll be telling search engine algorithms that the material that is linked to the most frequently is the most important.

Examine the backlinks on any related pages as well as those in the material that is ranking better.

Are all of the incoming links going to the reliable page or only one of the less reliable ones?

You might need to contact people who are linked to your website and request that they update the link.

• Make use of redirects

You might occasionally utilise 301 redirects if you find that many pages on your relevant themes are showing up in search results for the same terms.

Readers may be directed to the most trustworthy and useful information by these redirects from those relevant pages.

Any content that contains links to the pages that are presently being redirected should also be updated.

• Take website redesign into account

Go ahead and restructure your website if you decide it would be effective after reviewing the information.

For instance, combine your product pages on a landing page to establish a more reliable source. The new landing page will then need to be linked to the various product pages.

How to Avoid Cannibalization in the Future

Cannibalization issues develop when there is no set strategy for content generation. Even authors with the best intentions might create similar content in the absence of a plan.

To avoid cannibalization, keep a record of your thoughts and pay attention to the following:

• Focus keyword: Give each piece of content a unique one.
• Keyword cluster: Provide all additional keywords that the article should rank for in a keyword cluster.
• Content pillar/topic: Aids in visualising all content grouped by topic or content pillar.

Cannibalizing content is less likely to be produced the more deeply you are connected to your work and its intended audience. A strategic SEO expert can assist in directing the procedure and ensuring that the appropriate keywords are assigned.

You can filter content by that topic and double-check that you haven't already written content if each piece of content falls under a particular pillar or theme.

Alternatively, you can use your research process to find information that can be altered rather than recreated. An effective edit on an existing article might occasionally work wonders for your SEO.

Final Thoughts...

The majority of people don't actually experience keyword cannibalization, at least not in the sense that they understand. Several pages about the same subject or pages using the same keywords do not "confuse" Google. It rates them based on what is found on those pages.

As a result of keyword cannibalization, which frequently goes undetected, you are practically in a competitive situation when it comes to Google results. It can consequently reduce your SEO success, marketing ROI, and the likelihood that your target audience will find your most pertinent material.

Keywords are crucial to your internet marketing and website content, regardless of whether you own a small local business or a large global enterprise.

Every SEO plan in use today must include picking the ideal ones for your company and being vigilant about preventing keyword cannibalism.