What is Keyword Cannibalization? (And How Do I Fix It?)

Keyword cannibalization happens when two or more pages on the same website use the same or similar keywords and try to rank for the same topic. These pages end up competing with each other in search engine results.

It may sound like duplicate content or content overlap, but it’s not exactly the same.

The main issue is intent. If our pages aim to help with the same user need, they may stop each other from ranking well. Let’s look at the differences and learn how to spot and fix keyword cannibalization in our SEO plan.

What’s the difference between keyword cannibalization, content overlap, and duplicate content?

They may seem similar, but each one is different:

• Content overlap is when many pages (even on other websites) talk about similar topics. These pages may not use the same keywords but still answer the same user questions. This shows a weak content plan.
• Duplicate content means the exact same content is used on more than one page. This often happens on websites with many product pages or location pages.
• Keyword cannibalization is when pages on the same website use the same keyword and try to answer the same user intent.

The key difference? Keyword cannibalization hurts SEO from inside the same site. It becomes a problem when the pages don’t give users different or unique answers.

Why is keyword cannibalization bad for SEO?

We’ve heard the saying: “Too much of a good thing can be bad.” That fits keyword cannibalization well.

If we try to make many pages rank for the same keyword, we end up causing problems like:

1. We split our ranking power

When many pages fight for the same keyword, they all lose power. Instead of one strong page ranking high, we get many weak pages. That lowers traffic, clicks, and trust.

Google’s top two results get the most clicks. So, combining pages could help us rank higher and get more visits.

2. We confuse search engines

If we have more than one page for the same keyword, search engines may not know which one to show. This can lower our rankings or show the wrong page to users.

3. Users click on the wrong page

When search engines pick the wrong page, users don’t find what they need. This lowers our click rate and increases bounce rate.

4. We waste crawl budget

Search engines only spend so much time on our website. If they spend that time crawling similar pages, they may miss our most important ones.

5. We lose backlink power

Backlinks help a page rank better. But if different pages use the same keyword, other websites may link to different ones. This spreads out our backlink strength. One strong page with all the links would do better.

6. We miss the chance to rank better

If we join similar pages into one strong page, we help it rank higher. This also makes our site look more trustworthy and helpful to search engines.

Real Example: Stampli’s SEO problem
Let’s look at a real company – Stampli. They had two pages that ranked for “best accounts payable software”:

• One was a product page, ranked #3.
• The other was a blog post, ranked #10.

They would want the product page to rank better because it leads to more sales. But the blog post might be stopping it from reaching a higher rank.

Also, the 10th spot only gets about 2.4% of clicks, while the 3rd spot gets 11%, and the 1st gets 27.6%.

If Stampli moves the blog’s best content to the product page and adds a 301 redirect, they can combine all the ranking power into the stronger page. This may help the product page reach the top spot.

Final tip: Keep it simple and clear
To avoid keyword cannibalization, we should:

• Create one strong page per keyword.
• Update older content instead of making new, similar pages.
• Use 301 redirects when combining pages.
• Always focus on user intent.

Fixing cannibalization can boost our SEO and help us rank better with less effort.

What are the common causes of keyword cannibalization?

Keyword cannibalization usually happens by mistake. Unless someone is using old SEO tricks like keyword stuffing, it is not done on purpose.

Most of the time, it happens because we didn’t plan or check our content properly. Here are the main reasons:

1. Blog posts on the same topic

As our website grows, we may write new blogs that are too similar to old ones. This happens when we don’t check what we’ve already published. That’s why regular blog audits are helpful. They help us find and fix old content that doesn’t work well.

2. Blog posts and category pages compete

Sometimes, blog posts and product or service pages target the same keywords. This can be a problem if the blog post ranks higher than the page we really want to show, like a product page.

3. Using the same anchor text in internal links

If we link to different pages using the same words (anchor text), we confuse search engines. Each page loses strength. It’s better to use one keyword for one page only when linking internally.

4. No keyword or content planning

If we choose keywords just because they look good, we may pick ones that are too close in meaning. This causes overlap. Good planning helps us avoid this.

5. Duplicate content on local pages

When brands make separate pages for different locations, they sometimes copy the same content. This creates competition between those pages.

6. Same product description on many pages

E-commerce websites may have the same product in different sizes or colors. If the product descriptions are the same, those pages compete with each other.

How do we find keyword cannibalization?

Before fixing the issue, we need to find out where it’s happening. Here are a few easy ways:

Manual check using Google search

One simple way is to use Google to search for a keyword on our site.

Use this format:
site:yourdomain.com “target keyword”

This shows all pages with that keyword. Just because many pages appear doesn’t mean they all rank for the keyword. But it helps us know where to start.

Check the top results from the search first—those are likely to be the pages ranking for that keyword.

Use Google Search Console (GSC)

GSC helps us find out which pages rank for the same keyword. Follow these steps:

• Go to Google Search Console.
• Click on “Performance” → “Search Results”.
• Click “Add Filter” → Choose “Query”.
• Type your keyword.

You’ll now see a list of pages that have shown up for that keyword.

Click on “Pages” to check which pages are competing. Look at the number of clicks and impressions for each page. This helps us decide which pages to fix, merge, or update.

Also, we can use “&filter=0” at the end of the search to see real, unfiltered results. This shows pages that may compete, even if they don’t usually appear together in your personal search results.

Tools that can help

We don’t have to do everything manually. Some tools can make this easier and faster:

1. Semrush

Semrush has a “Cannibalization Report” in its “Position Tracking” section. It shows keyword overlaps and rates the health of our site.

We can also use its Keyword Research tools to:

• Check keyword intent.
• Pick the best page for the main keyword.
• Find other keywords for the second page.
• Merge content or update one page to target a new topic.

2. Screaming Frog

Screaming Frog scans our site and finds similar content, titles, and page descriptions. It also shows problems with internal links and tags that may cause keyword overlap.

3. Ahrefs

Use Ahrefs’ Site Explorer. Go to “Organic Keywords” and click “Multiple URLs Only.” This shows all pages ranking for the same keyword. You also get extra data like keyword difficulty, monthly traffic, and rankings.

4. TrueRanker

TrueRanker is an affordable tool that focuses only on keyword cannibalization. It connects with Google Search Console and gives clear suggestions to fix problems.

What to look for

When we check our website for keyword cannibalization, here are the signs to watch for:

1. Many URLs ranking for the same keyword

If more than one page shows up in Google for the same keyword, those pages are fighting with each other. Even if one page ranks well and the other is far behind, it still weakens both. This also hurts the site’s overall strength.

2. Rankings drop even after adding new content

If our new content is too similar to what we already have, it won’t rank well. In fact, it may even hurt the ranking of older pages.

3. Low click-through rate (CTR)

Sometimes, the wrong page shows up higher in search results. If that page doesn’t match what users are looking for, they won’t click on it. This causes low CTR.

4. High bounce rate

If visitors land on our page but quickly leave, it means the page didn’t help them. This can happen when the wrong page ranks for a keyword due to keyword cannibalization.

How do we fix keyword cannibalization?

We need a smart way to combine pages and make each page’s goal clear. Here are three options:

Option 1: Combine similar pages

We should combine pages when both target the same keyword and answer the same question.

When to use 301 redirect vs. merging content.

Use a 301 redirect if one page is clearly doing better than the other. A 301 redirect sends users and search engines from the weaker page to the stronger one. This passes most of the SEO value to the better page.

If both pages are doing okay and each gives different helpful info, we can merge them. By joining their content, we can make one stronger page that gives a better answer.

Even after merging, we should still use a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. This way, we don’t lose any backlinks or traffic.

Option 2: Change the keyword focus

If we have two pages with the same keyword, we can change the keyword for one of them. Let’s say we have two blog posts about small business accounting software:

• The Best Accounting Software for Small Businesses.
• Top-Rated Small Business Accounting Solutions.

We can change the first one to target “best software for new small businesses”, and the second one to focus on “cloud-based accounting tools.”

Before picking a new keyword, we must make sure it fits our brand. For example, if we don’t offer cloud-based tools, we shouldn’t write about them.

Also, we should check that people are actually searching for the new keyword. Picking a keyword with no search volume won’t help our rankings.

Option 3: Add canonical tags

A canonical tag is a small piece of code that tells search engines which page is the “main” one. It helps when we have two pages with similar content.

This doesn’t stop search engines from seeing both pages, but it tells them which one to treat as the most important.

Still, we shouldn’t rely only on canonical tags. They help, but they don’t fully fix keyword cannibalization. It’s best to use them along with the other methods above.

Option 4: Fix our internal linking structure

We need to check how we link between our pages. A strong internal linking setup can stop keyword cannibalization.

• First, pick one main keyword for each page.
• Then use that keyword (or a similar one) as the anchor text when linking to that page from others.
• Make sure links are shared fairly between important pages.

For example, if one blog post has 50 links from other pages and another has only 5, search engines may think the first one is more important. This can make it harder for the second page to rank well.

Option 5: Use “noindex” for weak pages (only as a last step)

Sometimes we need to stop a page from showing in search results. This is done using a “noindex” tag.

When should we do this?
If we have a very specific article that helps explain a bigger topic but doesn’t bring traffic, we can use a noindex tag. This way, visitors can still read it on our site, but it won’t fight for rankings with better pages.

But this step is risky.
If we noindex a page, we might lose its traffic and backlinks. Also, if other pages are linking to it, those links can break if not checked properly. So, we only use this method if nothing else works.

How do we stop keyword cannibalization before it starts?

We must plan well. Here are simple steps to follow:

Create a keyword/content map

This means deciding the main keyword for each page before we write it. It helps in many ways:

• No two pages will have the same keyword.
• Each page will match the goal of its keyword.
• We can focus on every small part of a topic using long-tail keywords.

A good way to do this is by using a pillar and cluster system.

• Pick 3 to 5 main topics that fit our brand.
• Then create many smaller blogs (clusters) around each topic using related long-tail keywords.
• This helps show search engines that we are experts in that area.

Work together as a team

SEO is not something we add later. It should be part of everything we do on our website.

• We must talk often with the content team, SEO team, and even web developers.
• If the product team is launching a new page, we should know what keyword they are using.
• Then we can plan blog content that supports the product page, not competes with it.

Working together can help us avoid problems like keyword cannibalization and make our whole site stronger.

Do regular content audits

We should check our content often. This helps us catch early signs of keyword cannibalization.

Look out for these signs:

• Website traffic is going down even though we are adding new content.
• More people leave our page quickly after clicking it (high bounce rate).
• Fewer people are clicking our pages in search results (low CTR).
• Our rankings are dropping or changing often.

These things might seem normal if we look at them alone. But when we check everything together in a full content audit, we may see a bigger problem, like keyword cannibalization.

Use tools to make audits easy

There are tools like Semrush Site Audit that help us check our website.

• We can get reports every week by email.
• These reports help us fix problems before they grow.

Here’s what we can watch:

• On-page SEO health: find weak or repeated content that may hurt our search rankings.
• Keyword cannibalization: see if two or more pages are ranking for the same keyword.
• Broken links and redirect problems: fix these so search engines can reach all our pages.
• Track our fixes: compare old and new reports to see if our changes worked.

Want to do a better audit?

It depends on our business type. We can use a local SEO audit guide if we work in a small area. Or, we can follow an enterprise SEO audit guide if we run a large business. These guides give simple tips to help us start audits and stop keyword cannibalization before it hurts our site.