Keyword cannibalisation, sometimes known as internal SEO cannibalisation, is a major issue that affects the ranking of your pages on search engines.
Keyword cannibalisation occurs when keywords in one page, mimic the keywords in another page. This then causes Google to become confused about what page provides more relevant to the user, because they’re based around the same term, causing you to lose significant position on search engines.
Keyword cannibilisation is apparent between two or more pages, all competing for the same search query. This usually happens when there are duplicate content themes and the keyword/search term itself is quite generic. This can also happen when a subpage delivers a higher ranking in search engines than it’s parent page.
How can I avoid Keyword Cannibalisation?
It can be tricky to avoid cannibalisation of content without interfering with the semantics of pages and the structure of your site. Despite this, structuring your site to have key landing pages that feed into the pages with similar themes can help to ensure the right page is receiving the strongest position on search results. Take these steps to help:
- Find the pages with the same search themes on your website. This could be users searching for a specific service or product.
- Generate a landing page, where users can choose to feed into the similar themed pages.
- Ensure all of these pages internally link back to the main landing page.
- Ensure the landing page has a direct link to it from the homepage.