What Is Keyword Cannibalization?
When two or more pages on your website are trying to rank for the same phrase or search term, this is called keyword cannibalization. The pages don’t actually help each other; they just confuse Google.
Have you ever thought, “Everything looks fine with my website traffic, so why aren’t my rankings getting better?” Or even worse. “Why are my rankings progressively going down?”
You may be dealing with one of the most common and least understood SEO problems: internal keyword cannibalization.
It’s on most websites. Most people don’t know it’s going on. And if you don’t do anything about it, it quietly limits how much traffic your site can actually get.
Let’s break it down.
Understanding How Google Looks at Keywords
Google is like a library. Google wants to be able to securely point someone to a single clear, authoritative page when they search for an answer. But when a lot of pages on your site talk about the same issue in the same way, Google gets mixed up. It can’t tell:
- Which page has the “main” answer?
- Which page should be at the top of the list?
- Which page best fits what you were looking for?
So, instead of putting one page at the front of the list, Google:
- Divides rating signals between pages
- Changes which page ranks
- Slowly decreases the rankings for all of them in some cases
In a lot of circumstances, neither page ends up winning since they’re constantly “fighting” one another.
Why Website Cannibalization in SEO Happens So Often
This isn’t necessarily always a problem that indicates “bad SEO” right off the bat. It’s usually a problem with growing content.
Some common reasons include:
- Two blog articles that are similar but were posted at different times
- A lot of people generating content without a common SEO plan
- Blog posts and service sites that talk about the same things
- Pages changing over time and getting into each other’s keyword space
A common situation Wes Web often notices that causes this is a service page giving a short overview of a topic while a blog post goes into more detail about the same subject. Google starts showing the wrong page for the wrong queries.
A Real Example: When Two Strong Pages Hurt Each Other
We had the same problem with our client, PEAK Integrative Medicine. On their website, they had a service page about mold and mycotoxin disease treatment and also a blog entry about the signs and symptoms of mold and mycotoxin illness.
At first, everything seemed normal on the outside. Both pages were well-written. Both were getting more visitors.
How the Data Looked At the Beginning
- September: The service page had 221 visits. The blog post had 129 visits.
- October: Both pages kept growing.
- November: The blog post got 344 visits. The service page started declining.
While it didn’t look obviously bad up front, Wes Web wanted to dig deeper. We found that Google Search Console told a different story behind the scenes.
The Actual Issue
Both pages were showing up for the same keywords connected to symptoms. Google saw them as the same thing, and as the blog post got more authority, the service page lost exposure, going down in visits by 43%.
This is a classic case of keyword cannibalization. Keep reading to learn about what Wes Web did for PEAK Integrative Medicine and what we suggest to fix this problem.
How Do I Find Out If My Website Has Keyword Cannibalization Issues?
Here are the most reliable ways to identify keyword cannibalization on your website.
- Use Google Search Console. In the Search Console, click on Performance and then Search Results. Find a keyword, and check out the Pages tab. If more than one URL from your site is showing up for the same search, this is a sign of keyword cannibalization.
- Check for ranking swaps. Google doesn’t know which page to trust if one page ranks for a keyword one month and another page ranks for the same keyword the next month.
- Look for plateaus. When traffic goes up for a while and then stops or goes down even though the content is being improved, cannibalization of your keywords is often to blame.
- Manually look over similar content. Ask yourself, “Do these pages give the same answer?” “Would a user think both sites are equally useful?” “Are more than one page trying to grab the same phrases by accident?” If so, Google probably sees it too.
How Do I Fix Keyword Cannibalization Issues on My Website?
The good news is that this is very fixable. And it often leads to quick growth if done the right way!
- Give each keyword or search term its own page. Make a firm choice. Which content is for learning? Which page is for service offerings? Every page should have one clear goal.
- Make sure your internal links are clean. You have a lot of control over internal links. For PEAk, we only linked to the blog article using keywords relating to symptoms. Then, we only link service-related terms to the page for the service. This instructs Google exactly which site to show for each search.
- Don’t delete the pages or content, but update it accordingly. In this case, we removed mention of symptoms on the service page and moved them to the blog post only. We kept the service page focused on what to do next and how to get help. Now, Google can clearly see better patterns.
- Let Google process the pages again. After the changes were made, the rankings stayed the same for a while. With time to process, things began to grow again in the right way.
The Outcomes
By February, a month when traffic is normally lower because of the shorter amount of days, the number of visits to PEAK’s blog article went from about 129 to 1,096. The service page got back up and running with 208 hits.
One page became the clear winner instead of two pages battling for 300 to 400 visitors between the two. This also helped us to be able to better interpret the data and know how to move forward with growing the site.
How To Avoid Keyword Cannibalization in the First Place
The easiest way to fix keyword cannibalization issues is to avoid keyword cannibalization from the start. Most keyword cannibalization doesn’t come from bad content itself but from a lack of structure and strategy for a growing website.
- Structure your website with intention. A well-structured sitemap makes it obvious to both Google and users where information lives and how to find specific details. Make sure there is a clear distinction between services and educational posts.
- Have a big-picture keyword strategy. Each important topic or keyword should have only one primary page that it lives on. The content that links to different pages should support it, not compete with it.
- Create dedicated pages for dedicated topics. If a topic has enough traction to rank, it deserves its own page. Avoid putting multiple keyword topics onto one page or letting blog posts drift into service-worthy territory. Give Google clarity to drive rankings.
Why Fixing Cannibalization of Keywords Matters
When keyword cannibalization is fixed:
- Rankings are more consistent
- Pages ascend the rankings instead of leveling off or declining
- Google trusts how your site is set up
- You may get more traffic and leads without making new content
You’re not working harder. You’re just allowing your content to operate better together.
Contact Wes Web to Fix Your Website Cannibalization Issues
If your site has issues like these, keyword cannibalization may be the likely culprit for what’s holding your website back.
- Multiple content pages or blog articles about the same thing
- Service pages that “sort of” explain everything
- Traffic that keeps growing and suddenly stops for no reason
One of the best things you can do for your SEO is to fix it. And if you’re not sure if it’s happening on your site or need help figuring out how to fix it, that’s the kind of problem we address every day.
Contact Wes Web today! Your content shouldn’t fight with itself. It should work together for growth.