How To Identify & Eliminate Keyword Cannibalization To Boost Your SEO
seo

01-Nov-2022

How To Identify & Eliminate Keyword Cannibalization To Boost Your SEO

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If you've been in the SEO game for any length of time, you've probably come across the term 'keyword cannibalization.' But what is it, and how can you identify and eliminate it to boost your SEO? In this blog post, we'll explore what keyword cannibalization is and how it can hurt your SEO efforts. We'll also give you some tips on how to identify and eliminate it so you can focus on more effective keywords.

What is keyword cannibalization

  • Keyword cannibalization is the act of using the same keyword on multiple pages of your website, or using very similar keywords on multiple pages of your website. This can be a problem because it can confuse search engines as to which page to rank for that keyword, and it can also split the search engine ranking signals for that keyword, diluting their power.
  • There are a few different ways you can identify keyword cannibalization on your site. The first is to do a site search for each of your important keywords. For example, if you sell shoes, you might do a site search for 'shoes' and look at the results. If you have more than one page ranking in the top 10 results, then you likely have keyword cannibalization.
  • Another way to identify keyword cannibalization is to look at your Google Analytics data. Go to Acquisition > All Traffic > Channels and then click on 'Organic Search.' Then, click on 'Keywords.' This will show you all the keywords that are sending traffic to your site from organic search results. If you see multiple pages ranking for the same keyword, then you have keyword cannibalization.
  • The last way to identify keyword cannibalization is to use a tool like Screaming Frog SEO Spider. This tool will crawl your entire website and give you a list of all the pages on your site along with the meta data for each page. This includes the title tags and meta descriptions. You can then scan through this data to

How does keyword cannibalization hurt your SEO?

  • When it comes to SEO, keyword cannibalization is when you use the same keyword or very similar keywords on more than one page of your website. This can hurt your SEO in a few different ways.
  • For starters, it can make it difficult for Google to determine which page is most relevant for a given search query. If you have two pages that are both optimized for the same keyword, Google may not be able to decide which one is more relevant and as a result, neither page may rank as well as it could.
  • Additionally, keyword cannibalization can also lead to lower click-through rates (CTRs) from the search engine results pages (SERPs). If a searcher sees two results from your website for the same keyword, they may be less likely to click on either result since they don't know which one will be more relevant to their needs.
  • Finally, too much keyword cannibalization on your website can make your site seem spammy to Google. If you're using the same keyword over and over again on multiple pages, it's a sign to Google that you're trying to game the system and stuff your pages with keywords. This could result in lower rankings or even getting banned from Google entirely.
  • So how can you avoid keyword cannibalization? The best way is to carefully plan out your website's hierarchy and silo structure before you start writing any content. That way you can ensure that each page on your site is targeting a different keyword 

How to identify keyword cannibalization

When two or more pages on your website are competing for the same keyword, it's called keyword cannibalization. This can be a major issue for your website because it can split your search traffic and make it harder for you to rank in search engines.

There are a few ways to identify if you have keyword cannibalization on your website:

1. Check Your Google Analytics Account

2. Use A SERP Tracker

3. Conduct A Manual Search

If you suspect that you have keyword cannibalization on your website, there are a few things you can do to fix it:

1. Merge Pages Together

2. Redirect One Page To The Other

3. Noindex One Of The Pages

How to eliminate keyword cannibalization

If you're wondering how to eliminate keyword cannibalization, then you've come to the right place. Cannibalization occurs when two or more pages on your website are competing for the same keywords. This can lead to lower rankings and traffic for both pages.

There are a few ways to identify keyword cannibalization:

1. Use Google Search Console: Go to Google Search Console and click on 'Search Traffic' > 'Queries'. This will show you the average position and impressions for each query. If you see two pages with the same keyword that have similar positions and impressions, then they're likely competing with each other.

2. Check your analytics: Look at your website's analytics to see which pages are getting the most traffic for specific keywords. If you see that one page is consistently getting more traffic than the other, then it's likely that the other page is being cannibalized.

3. Use a tool like Screaming Frog: Screaming Frog is a tool that allows you to crawl your website and collect data about your internal links. This includes information about what keyword each page is optimized for. If you see that multiple pages are optimized for the same keyword, then they're likely being cannibalized.

Once you've identified which pages are being cannibalized, there are a few things you can do to fix it:

  • By Consolidated content: If two pages have similar content, then consolidate them into one page.

Conclusion

Too much of a good thing can actually be bad for your SEO health. That's why it's important to identify and eliminate keyword cannibalization on your website. By following the tips in this article, you can rest assured that your website is optimized for maximum search engine visibility — and that means more traffic and leads for your business.

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