An SEO Guide to Finding and Fixing Keyword Cannibalism

If you’re an SEO, you’re likely always on the lookout for opportunities to optimize your website and content. But what happens when you realize that you may be inadvertently hurting your own rankings? This is what’s known as keyword cannibalization, and it can be a real problem if you don’t know how to fix it. In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to know about keyword cannibalism so that you can avoid it in the future.

What is keyword cannibalism?

Keyword cannibalization is the act of bidding on the same keyword in multiple ad groups or campaigns. It’s considered a wasted effort because it could be better spent elsewhere and may actually hurt your chances of appearing in search results.

There are two main types of keyword cannibalization: within an ad group, and across ad groups. Within an ad group, you might have multiple ads targeting the same keyword. This is generally not recommended because it can confuse Google and result in lower Quality Scores. Across ad groups, you might be targeting the same keyword in different ad groups. This is generally not recommended either, because again, it can confuse Google and result in lower Quality Scores.

The main thing to remember with keyword cannibalization is that you want to avoid it if at all possible. If you do have it, try to fix it by consolidating keywords into one ad group or campaign.

How does keyword cannibalism 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 result in search engines not knowing which page to rank for the keyword, and as a result, neither page may rank well. In addition, if you have two pages that are very similar, Google may view this as duplicate content and penalize both pages.

To avoid keyword cannibalization, you want to make sure that each page on your website is focused on a single keyword or phrase. You can do this by doing keyword research and then creating unique content for each page that is targeted toward that specific keyword. If you have pages that are similar, you can either combine them into one page or 301 redirect one of the pages to the other.

In summary, keyword cannibalism can hurt your SEO by causing confusion for search engines and potentially leading to penalties. To avoid this, make sure each page on your site is focused on a single keyword and has unique content.

What are some common causes of keyword cannibalism?

Common causes of keyword cannibalization, but the most common is simply having too many pages on your website that are targeting the same keyword. This can happen for a number of reasons, including:

-You have multiple pages that are very similar in content and are targeting the same keyword
-You have a blog and you use the same keyword in multiple blog posts
-You have an e-commerce site and you have product descriptions that use the same keyword

Another common cause of keyword cannibalization is using different variations of the same keyword on different pages of your website. For example, if you have a page that is targeting the keyword “dog food” and another page that is targeting the keyword “food for dogs,” you are effectively cannibalizing your own keywords.

The best way to avoid keyword cannibalization is to carefully plan out the keywords you want to target for each page on your website. Make sure that each page has unique content and is targeting a different, specific keyword. And finally, use tools like Google Keyword Planner to help you find new and unique keywords to target.

How do you find out if you’re guilty of keyword cannibalism?

If you think you might be guilty of keyword cannibalism, there are a few things you can do to check. First, take a look at your website’s analytics to see which pages are getting the most traffic. If you see that one page is getting significantly more traffic than the others, it’s a good indicator that you may be cannibalizing your keywords.

Another way to check is to do a search for your main keyword and see which page comes up first in the results. If it’s not your home page, then you may be guilty of keyword cannibalism.

If you are indeed guilty of keyword cannibalism, don’t worry! There are ways to fix it. One way is to simply 301 redirect the offending page to your home page or another relevant page. This will help Google understand which page should be ranking for your keywords.

Another way to fix keyword cannibalism is to make sure that each page on your site is optimized for a different keyword. This way, Google will understand that each page is unique and should be ranked accordingly.

If you think you may be guilty of keyword cannibalism, there are a few things you can do to check and fix it. By following the tips in this article, you can help ensure that your website is optimized for the best possible results in Google!

How do you fix keyword cannibalism?

If you’re not sure what keyword cannibalization is, it’s when you have multiple pages on your website that are targeting the same keyword. This can be a big problem because it can confuse search engines and split your traffic between the pages.

So, how do you fix keyword cannibalism?

The first step is to identify which pages are targeting the same keyword. You can use a tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs to do this.

Once you know which pages are competing for the same keyword, you need to decide which one should be ranked. Usually, it makes sense to keep the most relevant page and redirect or delete the other ones.

However, there are cases where it might make more sense to keep both pages and just make sure they’re very different. For example, if you have a product page and a blog post that’s reviewing the product, both could rank for the same keyword. In this case, you would just make sure that the content on each page is very different.

Keyword cannibalization can be a big problem for your SEO but it’s usually fairly easy to fix once you identify the issue. Just remember to keep your most relevant page and make sure all of your other pages are very different from each other.

Conclusion

Keyword cannibalization is a common issue that can have a negative impact on your SEO efforts. However, by taking the time to find and fix instances of cannibalization, you can help improve your website’s ranking in search engines. Use the tips and techniques outlined in this guide to help identify and fix keyword cannibalization on your website.