Do you know what keyword cannibalization is? It is a problem that may occur when different pages on a website are targeting the same keyword, which can lead to lower SEO performance. When it comes to optimizing your website content for search engines, it is important to be aware of keyword cannibalization and how to fix it.
This article will explain what keyword cannibalization is, how to detect it, and how to fix it. Let’s begin.
What is Keyword Cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on a website are all targeting the same keyword. This can cause search engines to confuse which page they should rank for the keyword, as well as dilute the overall SEO authority of the website. When this happens, the search engine will prioritize the page they feel is most relevant for the keyword, but this does not mean that the correct page will be the one that gets ranked.
Additionally, keyword cannibalization can make it more difficult to rank for that particular keyword, since the search engine does not know which page to prioritize for the keyword. If you have multiple pages targeting the same keyword, the overall SEO authority of your website is spread out among them, reducing the potential for ranking.
How to Detect Keyword Cannibalization?
In order to detect keyword cannibalization, you should start by identifying which pages on your website are targeting the keyword in question. This can be done by conducting a keyword audit of your website using an SEO tool such as Ahrefs or SEMrush. These tools will give you a list of keywords that each page on your website is targeting, allowing you to easily identify which pages have the same keyword in their target list.
Once you have identified the pages that are targeting the keyword, you should check to see if any of them are ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs). If one page is ranking for the keyword while the others are not, it is likely that keyword cannibalization is not a major problem, as the search engine has correctly identified which page to prioritize for the keyword.
How to Fix Keyword Cannibalization?
If you have identified keyword cannibalization on your website, there are a few actions you can take to fix it.
Choose the Right Page to Optimize
First, look at the pages that are targeting the keyword and choose the one that is most relevant for the keyword and has the highest SEO authority. This page should then be the one that is optimized for the keyword, while the others pages should be updated to target different keywords.
Consolidate Content
If the pages that are targeting the keyword all have similar content, you should consider merging them into a single page. This will reduce the likelihood of keyword cannibalization, while also consolidating the SEO authority of the website into a single page, which can help with ranking.
Rel=Canonical Tag
If it is not possible to merge the pages into a single page, you can use a rel=canonical tag to tell the search engine which page should be prioritized for the keyword. This tag can be added to the head of the webpage to indicate which page the search engine should consider the authoritative source for the keyword.
Update the Content
Finally, make sure that the on-page SEO elements (such as the title, URL, meta description, and H1 tag) are updated to reflect the keyword optimization of the new page. Additionally, update the page content to make sure it is as relevant and up to date as possible.
Conclusion
Keyword cannibalization can have a major impact on the SEO performance of your website. It is important to be aware of keyword cannibalization and take the necessary steps to detect and fix the issue in order to improve your SEO performance. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily detect and fix keyword cannibalization on your website.