We talk about keyword cannibalization when a site's SEO is altered by a misuse of keywords and, in particular, an excessive use of the same keyword.
More frequent on large sites, which therefore contain more pages, it creates confusion for search engines, in short for Google. How can you detect and avoid the phenomenon?
Here is everything you need to know to better understand keyword cannibalization and address it.
1. Everything to know about keywords
Before explaining how to choose the right keywords, we'll remind you what a keyword is. Remember, a few months ago we offered you a glossary containing 30 SEO definitions.
It states that keywords are the queries typed by internet users into search engines and that they should appear on every page of your website. That's why, before writing your content, you must define the different keywords.
There are several types of keywords:
- Generic keywords
- Long-tail keywords
- Semantic keywords
- Evergreen keywords
- Local keywords
- Event keywords
2. What is keyword cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalization is a strong term used when there is a problem of competition between several pages of a website. It happens, most often on large sites, that the same keywords are used for multiple pages, or that the same topic is covered several times.
This problem can harm the site's SEO, which is no longer optimized.
Why? Because using identical or very similar keywords on different pages of a site creates a form of confusion. Search engines, and especially Google, can no longer rank those pages. It is this confusion that harms SEO.
3. Keyword cannibalization and SEO: an unhappy marriage
You should know that using the same keywords in multiple posts is not a problem. Keyword cannibalization occurs when, on the same site, a keyword is used more than 10 times across multiple articles.
- This practice is often used by websites that severely lack coherence, hence search engines' distrust.
- They rank pages based on relevance and do not index posts if other posts on the same site have identical or similar keywords.
- This highlights a lack of information or incomplete content.
4. How to identify keyword cannibalization?
Identifying keyword cannibalization is not that difficult. You can of course do it yourself using a simple Excel spreadsheet.
You just need to list the keywords from the different articles and to compare their presence. At the same time, you should analyze each page's traffic and compare their rank. With the information gathered, you'll be able to identify cases of keyword cannibalization.
It is also possible to use tools designed for this purpose such as:
- Ryte Search Success which gives you a report on any potential cannibalization present on your site,
- Oncrowl which allows you to perform a audit on a site's SEO,
- Linkdex which offers solutions to optimize the SEO of all your web pages.
5. How to fix keyword cannibalization?
If you find that keyword cannibalization is present on your site, you need to fix it in order to quickly benefit from an optimal SEO.
When a case of cannibalization is confirmed, you should first look at each page's rank. Sometimes two pieces of content do not have the same value or the same potential. If a weaker article is ranking better, you need to fix it.
You have two options:
- The first is to merge the two pieces of content in order to create a single one that will be more relevant. It is often unnecessary to change the length of the article because, contrary to popular belief, long articles can be easy to read if they are well written, well spaced and coherent.
- The second is to rewrite one of the two texts, or even both, focusing each on a specific topic and a primary keyword.
6. Reducing the risks of keyword cannibalization: it's possible!
When you write a new page for your website, you should choose its topic, make sure it hasn’t already been covered, and determine the keywords.
Once this final step is completed, make sure there are no other pages on your site containing the same keywords. Of course, you should also add a list of long-tail keywords for each article.
Make a list:
Each piece of content must be unique, offer new ideas and a more specific angle.
To reduce the risk of cannibalization, you should also check internal linking.
If you identify high-potential content, insert links in the weakest articles. links to the pages you want to promote for your SEO. This technique also has the advantage of keeping a visitor on your site longer. A page should not be a dead end; it should lead to other content!
Also remember to properly write the URLs, meta descriptions, titles, and subheadings. It is not uncommon for subheadings to be similar from one article to another.
7. Beware of overly popular keywords
We mistakenly think it is easy to select the right keywords for an article.
- However, if you write content for a seaside hotel and you want to include generic keywords such as "hotel near the beach" or "hotel with sea view", you risk not being well ranked.
- Why? Well, because these queries are too popular! They are the most used and they almost always lead to a popular site such as a booking platform or the hotel of a well-known franchise.
- Ideally, include several types of keywords so that Google and other search engines place you in the first two pages.
8. Low-popularity keywords: is that a solution?
Since it is not recommended to rely on the most popular keywords, you may need to turn to those that are less popular. Know that this solution can be beneficial.
Even if the queries are fewer, you can attract to your site anaudience that is targeted and therefore of high quality.
Focusing on quality rather than quantity can be a winning strategy because the conversion rate is significantly higher, which positively impacts your business.
9. How to avoid competition between keywords?
Avoiding competition between keywords is entirely possible and even easy. To achieve this, you need to reflect on your business. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Who do you want to attract to your site?
- What sets you apart from your competitors?
Once you have answered these questions, you will be able to identify the keywords that fit you and that will not compete with other sites.
For example, you can replace hotel near the beach with family hotel near the beach or even hotel with free parking by the sea.
10. How to choose the right keywords?
Making the right keyword choices comes down to balancing the selected keywords. At the beginning of this article, we mentioned the different types of keywords.
For good SEO and less competition, you should choose:
- Generic keywords: seaside hotel,
- Long-tail keywords: hotel with family room, hotel near shops, hotel with free parking,
- Semantic keywords: sea holidays, family holidays, beach stay,
- Keywords evergreen : book a hotel room, room with a sea view,
- Local keywords: hotel in Toulon, hotel near the Grand Beach,
- Event keywords: book summer holidays, weekend at the sea.
Each piece of content should be based on a new keyword research. You will not find the same queries on the homepage as on the services page.
Understanding keyword cannibalization, knowing how to identify it and how to fix it are valuable skills for having a well-ranked website. Take the time to check your pages' rankings and, even before writing an article, determine keywords and topic !
