What is the commonly heard term “keyword cannibalization” in SEO? Explaining the issues and solutions

Words you hear at least once when involved in SEO.

One of them is “cannibalization.”

However, even if you’ve heard the term, many may not know the exact meaning or specific issues associated with it, right?

In SEO, cannibalization refers to a situation where articles within your own site compete with each other, pulling each other down.

If you have issues like “ranking instability” or “not appearing in top results” on your website, it might be due to cannibalization.

So, this time, we’ve compiled everything from the definition of keyword cannibalization to how to find and resolve it.

If you’re a web administrator wondering, “What is keyword cannibalization?” or “What’s the problem with keyword cannibalization?” be sure to refer to this article.

What is Keyword Cannibalization?

Firstly, cannibalization means “eating the same kind.”

In SEO, keyword cannibalization refers to the situation where multiple pages within your site are competing for the same keyword to rank.

It’s often shortened to “cannibal,” and you might also hear it expressed as “cannibalize.”

Keyword cannibalization occurs when there are multiple similar pages targeting a specific keyword.

For example, let’s say you have the following two articles on your site:

• What is SEO On-Page Optimization? Introducing the Basic 20 Tactics [With Checklist]
• All About SEO On-Page Optimization! Introducing the 20 Tactics Needed for Top Rankings

Both are articles about on-page SEO optimization, right?

In this case, both might potentially rank for the keyword “SEO On-Page Optimization.”

At first glance, having your page appear multiple times in the search results for a keyword might seem beneficial for eliminating competition. However, in reality, your site’s pages are competing against each other.

Keyword cannibalization is not penalized by Google, but addressing it is necessary to optimize search rankings.

Issues with Keyword Cannibalization

The major problem with keyword cannibalization is its negative impact on search rankings.

There are two main factors contributing to this:

Firstly, having multiple pages with very similar content makes it difficult for Google to decide which page to show for a specific keyword.

The second factor is that user and Google evaluations become dispersed.

For example, let’s say for the keyword “How to Start SEO,” “Page A” appears at 8th position, and “Page B” appears at 10th position.

Both pages cover the topic of “How to Start SEO.”

In this case, user access and backlinks are split between the two pages.

However, if the information from both pages were consolidated into one, access and backlinks would concentrate on a single page, leading to a higher evaluation from Google.

Not just evaluations, but conversions (CV) are also divided in the case of unintentional cannibalization. Especially in cases where an unintended page appears in the top results, users may not visit the intended page, leading to a decrease in CV rate.

Keyword Cannibalization Often Happens Unintentionally

Keyword cannibalization typically occurs unintentionally.

Running a site over an extended period naturally leads to an increase in the number of similar pages and the keywords targeted for optimization.

Especially for e-commerce sites with thousands or tens of thousands of products or frequently updated corporate blogs, unintentional keyword overlap is not uncommon.

According to a study by Ahrefs, a page ranking first for a keyword can also appear in the top 10 results for about 1000 other related keywords.
Reference: ahrefs blog – How many keywords can you rank for with one page?

Considering this, even if you consciously follow the SEO basic principle of “one page, one keyword,” cannibalization can still occur.
※ “One page, one keyword” principle: Focus on one keyword per page for optimization.

So, what are the specific factors causing keyword cannibalization? Let’s find out in the next chapter.

Two Factors Leading to Keyword Cannibalization

There are mainly three factors that lead to keyword cannibalization:

Let’s explain each of them.

Factor 1: The page contains targeted keywords

When keyword cannibalization occurs, it often happens because the same or similar keywords are used in the following parts of the page:

For example, imagine an article on the theme of “SEO” that repeatedly uses the keyword “case studies” in its headings.

In such a case, when search engines index the page, they may recognize it as a page highly relevant to “SEO case studies.”

As a result, there is a potential for competition with an article specifically targeting the keyword “SEO case studies,” leading to keyword cannibalization.

Even if the keywords are not an exact match, similar keywords can still cause cannibalization.

It’s worth noting that frequent use of targeted keywords in the main text, headers, sidebar, and footer can also lead to cannibalization.

Factor 2: The content itself is similar

If the content itself is similar, cannibalization naturally occurs.

When we say “similar content,” we don’t limit it to what is commonly known as “duplicate content.”
※ Duplicate Content = Content that matches or closely resembles other content. Copied content from your own or other sites.

Cannibalization can occur when the content addresses the same search intent, even if it’s not an exact match.

For example, imagine having the following two articles on your site:

• Article explaining how to create a homepage
• Article explaining the procedure for creating a homepage

Even if they have different targeted keywords and structures, both articles provide answers to the question, “How do I create a homepage?”

In other words, since the user’s search intent is the same, the content becomes similar, leading to cannibalization.

Now, in the next chapter, we’ll introduce Google’s John Mueller’s views on keyword cannibalization.

Google’s Perspective on Keyword Cannibalization

What does Google think about keyword cannibalization?

In March 2018, there was a post on Reddit with a question from a user:

How is keyword cannibalization seen by Google? People believe that having multiple pages about the same topic confuses search engines and that hurts their chances of ranking.

Source: reddit – I am John Mueller, Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google. AMA.

In response, Google’s John Mueller stated the following:

We just rank the content as we get it. If you have a bunch of pages with roughly the same content, it’s going to compete with each other, kinda like a bunch of kids wanting to be first in line, and ultimately someone else slips in ahead of them :). Personally, I prefer fewer, stronger pages over lots of weaker ones – don’t water your site’s value down.

Source: reddit – I am John Mueller, Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google. AMA

From this statement, it’s clear that creating multiple pages with similar content doesn’t work in favor of SEO. If you already have similar pages on your site, integrating them to create a more comprehensive page is likely to be more effective for SEO.

However, it’s important to note that there are cases where keyword cannibalization needs improvement and cases where it doesn’t. In the next chapter, we’ll introduce good and bad instances of cannibalization.

Good and Bad Cannibalization in SEO

Surprisingly, in SEO, there are two types of cannibalization: good cannibalization that doesn’t need to be addressed and bad cannibalization that should be dealt with.

Good Cannibalization

Pages that consistently appear at the top of search results (1st or 2nd position) are considered good cannibalization, and they usually don’t require intervention.

As they dominate the top positions, there’s a benefit of reduced access to competing pages, increasing the chances of users recognizing your site.

Good cannibalization often occurs when Google determines there are different search intentions for the same keyword.

Bad Cannibalization

On the other hand, bad cannibalization is happening in situations like the following, and it requires attention:

• Search rankings are not stable

  On Monday, “Page A” was ranked 5th for the keyword “SEO External Measures.” However, on Tuesday, “Page B” is ranked 9th, and “Page A” is not displayed, and so on.

• Unintended pages are displayed at the top

  Want to display “Page A (2021)” containing the latest information at the top, but the previously created “Page B (2016)” is ranking higher, and so on.

• Not appearing on the first page at all (high-quality but not ranking)

  In this case, you may not realize that cannibalization is the cause. First, it’s necessary to confirm whether cannibalization is occurring or not.

If you observe the above signs on your site’s pages, there’s a high possibility of cannibalization. Refer to the later section on “Methods to Resolve Cannibalization.”

3 Methods to Identify Keyword Cannibalization

To identify keyword cannibalization on your site, you can use one of the following three methods:

Let’s explain each method in detail.

Method 1: Using Google Search Console to Find Cannibalization

Google Search Console is a free webmaster tool provided by Google.

With Google Search Console, you can check whether cannibalization is happening for each search keyword.

Check for keywords exhibiting the phenomena mentioned earlier, such as:

Now, let’s go through the actual steps:

1. On the left side of the Google Search Console dashboard, select “Search results.”

2. Click on “+ New” at the top of the screen, choose “Search query” (you can also select the display period as per your preference).

3. Enter the keyword for which you want to check for cannibalization and click “Apply.”

4. Choose “Page” at the bottom of the screen.

You’ll see a list of pages that appeared when the keyword was searched. If URLs other than the content aiming for top display are shown, consider addressing those pages.

Method 2: Using Ahrefs to Find Cannibalization

Ahrefs is a paid tool, but by combining it with a spreadsheet or Excel, you can easily discover keyword cannibalization.

A significant feature of Ahrefs is that, unlike Google Search Console, it can extract all cannibalizations within a site in one go.

It’s a method recommended by the Ahrefs official blog, so if you already use Ahrefs, give it a try.

The process involves three steps:

Method 3: Conducting Google Search to Find Cannibalization

The last method we’ll introduce is using Google Search.

This method can be used not only to investigate potential overlapping keywords before creating new content but also to find existing cannibalization.

1. Enter “site:siteURL keyword” in the search bar and execute the search.

2. Check each page displayed among the indexed pages for the searched keyword.

Now, if you have identified a page where keyword cannibalization is happening using any of the methods mentioned earlier, it requires attention and resolution for that page.

In the next section, we will introduce methods to resolve keyword cannibalization.

5 Methods to Resolve Keyword Cannibalization

There are multiple methods to resolve keyword cannibalization, and we’ll introduce five approaches here.

However, there is one important point to note.

Content causing cannibalization for a specific keyword might be generating significant traffic and conversions for other keywords.

When addressing cannibalization, always check the rankings and traffic for other keywords before making changes.

Now, let’s look at each method in detail.

Method 1: Adjusting Keywords Within the Page

Sometimes, simply rewriting parts containing keywords, such as titles and headings, can resolve cannibalization.

When you discover cannibalization, check if keywords frequently appear in the following parts of unintentionally competing pages:

Avoid using keywords on pages where you don’t want them to rank and incorporate keywords on pages where you want them to rank. Titles, in particular, have a significant impact when search engines rank keywords, so give each page a unique title to create clear distinctions between them.

Method 2: Deleting the Page

If content like the following is hindering the page you want to rank, consider deleting it:

Content that is not beneficial for users can negatively impact the overall evaluation of the site. Additionally, removing unnecessary content can optimize crawling and have positive effects on SEO. If there’s content you absolutely don’t want to delete, you can use the “noindex tag.”

※Noindex Tag: A tag that instructs Google not to index a page. If you want to learn about using the noindex tag, refer to this article:
What is noindex? Explaining SEO effects and 3 major usage patterns [Google’s opinion also]

As a reminder, always check the rankings and traffic for other keywords when considering deletion.

Method 3: Integrate Pages Using 301 Redirects

If the content of two pages is similar, consider integrating them into one page.

If the pages already have backlinks and rankings, use a 301 redirect.

A 301 redirect is a process of permanently redirecting a web page to another location.

For example, let’s say “Page A” and “Page B” are causing keyword cannibalization. In this case, set up a 301 redirect on “Page B,” specifying “Page A” as the destination (main) page.

From then on, users visiting “Page B” will be automatically redirected to “Page A.”

A significant advantage of using a 301 redirect to integrate pages is that the evaluation of the redirected page is carried over to the destination.

Therefore, the previously earned evaluation is retained, and the destination page is strengthened.

For the main page (the page you want to rank for the specific keyword), you can supplement its content with what was present in the similar pages. This enhances the comprehensiveness of information, leading to further improvement in evaluation.

Method 4: Normalize URLs with Canonical Tags

There may be instances where you want to keep similar pages causing cannibalization on your site.

In such cases, using canonical tags for URL normalization is recommended.

The canonical tag is used to convey to search engines the preferred canonical page URL for evaluation.

For example, if the content of “Page A” and “Page B” is similar and causing cannibalization, and you want “Page A” to rank higher, you can add rel=”canonical” in the <head> tag of “Page B,” specifying the URL of “Page A.”

This allows Google to recognize “Page A” as the canonical page.

An advantage of using canonical tags for URL normalization is that the page you don’t want to rank higher can still be kept on the site. Unlike a 301 redirect, users can continue to view both pieces of content.

Method 5: Optimize Internal Links

Another method to resolve cannibalization is optimizing internal links.
※Internal Links = Links that connect articles within the site

Specifically, remove internal links to the page you don’t want to rank higher and gather internal links to the page you want to rank higher.

The reason is that Google references internal links to assess the importance of a page.

The more internal links a page has, the more it is recognized as an important page.

However, pay attention to anchor text in internal links.

Include keywords in the anchor text to the page you want to rank higher, and conversely, remove keywords from the anchor text to the page you don’t want to rank higher.

This way, you can show Google which page is more relevant to a particular keyword.

[Summary] Avoid Keyword Cannibalization and Aim for Higher Search Rankings!

How was it?

This time, we introduced the definition and issues of keyword cannibalization, as well as methods to identify and resolve it.

Keyword cannibalization occurs when similar content increases.

If left unnoticed, it can negatively impact SEO, causing issues such as:

• Unstable search rankings
• Unintended pages appearing higher
• Not appearing on the first page despite being high-quality

First, check the status of keyword cannibalization on your site using the methods introduced in this article:

If, even after checking and addressing keyword cannibalization on your site based on this article, your rankings don’t improve, feel free to contact our Xscore.