What is keyword cannibalization?

Keyword cannibalization is the act of ranking one’s own pages lower than pages with similar content, often as a result of utilizing too many keywords in a given search engine. While it may seem like a harmless practice at first, overuse of keywords can ultimately lead to decreased traffic, negative search engine optimization (SEO) results, and loss of ranking on search engine results pages (SERP).

How to find keyword cannibalization issues

Keyword cannibalization is when one keyword is ranking higher for a page than you would have liked. It’s a common issue, and one that can be easily avoided by taking a few simple steps. When you’re researching keywords, be sure to include a variety of different phrases. This will help you target more specific traffic from your site. Additionally, use longtail keyword research tools to identify keywords that are not typically found on search engine results pages (SERPs). This will allow you to rank higher for those specific terms. Finally, make sure to avoid using too many common keywords together – this will cause your site to rank lower for those terms.

Option 1. Do a content audit

One of the most important steps in optimizing your content for search engine ranking is ensuring that you are writing quality, keyword-rich content. keyword research is essential to this process, as is making sure each and every word counts towards ranking well.

If you notice that a specific keyword or phrase is being overused on your site, it’s best not to include it at all – cannibalization will only result in lower search engine rankings. Try to balance relevance with variety by including keywords throughout your posts at around 1-2% of total word count (or select specific pages where this might be more applicable).

Option 2. Look at historic rankings

Keyword cannibalization is when your website or blog posts are ranking for too many different keywords, which results in lower traffic and revenue.

To avoid it, you need to make sure you are targeting the right keywords and not over-optimizing your website. Additionally, you can use historic search engine ranking data to see where your site or blog posts have ranked for specific keywords. This will give you an idea of how competitive the market is and help determine if a different approach might be more successful.

If your site or blog posts are ranking for multiple keywords but generating very low traffic levels, it might be time to rethink how content is being created and delivered. Maybe focusing on just one keyword would work better?

Option 3. Run a site: search

If you are noticing that your traffic is dropping significantly and keyword cannibalization might be to blame, it is best to run a site audit. This will help you identify any specific issues with your website’s design or content, and can also reveal any duplicate pages or content that isn’t relevant to your business.

You can use the free SEO Guidance tool to search for keywords that are being used on other sites in order to prioritize which ones should receive more focus from your marketing efforts. However, make sure not to overspend on AdWords or PR campaigns just because you see high competition for those keywords. Remember – smart marketing always takes into account the budget constraints of a business owner!

Option 4. Check for multiple ranking URLs

If keyword cannibalization is causing your website traffic and ranking to drop, it might be best to check for duplicate ranking URLs. This refers to pages or posts that are ranking for the same keyword on different domains or URL locations. Duplicate content can lead to lower search engine visibility and decreased organic search traffic.

To find duplicate ranking URLs on your site, use the free SEO Palette tool. This will help you identify any pages with similar title tags and keywords, as well as any other variations of those words that may also rank in search results.

Negative Effects Keyword Cannibalization Can Have On Your SEO

If you’re not careful, keyword cannibalization can have a negative impact on your SEO ranking. This occurs when you choose one or more competing keywords to rank for instead of your target keyword. As a result, your content’s authority and search volume decreases, which will ultimately hurt your ranking. To avoid this negative trend, make sure to focus on high-quality, relevant content that appeals to a wide audience. Additionally, make sure to regularly update your links to reflect changes in the competition. By doing so, you’ll keep your content ranking high and cannibalization at bay!

You’re Diminishing The Authority Of Your Page

Keyword cannibalization is when website page’s content starts to dominate search engine results pages (SERPs) with the use of a single keyword. This can have negative consequences for your website’s SEO and ranking, as well as those of pages that are related to yours.

By using keywords strategically and evenly throughout your website, you’ll be able to minimize the chances of keyword cannibalization happening in the first place. Additionally, monitoring traffic analytics will help you identify any changes in ranking or traffic that may be attributable to it.

Google May Devalue The More Relevant Page

Google is continually looking for new pages that will show up in search engine results pages (SERPs). If your website’s pages are dominated by a specific keyword, this can have negative effects on your SEO. Google may start to devalue the more relevant page – potentially ranking it lower in search engine results than other, less-established pages.

To avoid this situation, you should use a keyword research tool to find the right keywords for your website. Then make sure those keywords are being used correctly – in the right places and on the right content types. Doing so will help maintain your page’s ranking and visibility within search engine results pages (SERPs).

You’re Squandering Crawl Budget

Keyword research is an important part of search engine optimization (SEO). However, when you heavily rely on a single keyword, your site’s ranking potential will be lower and your crawl budget will be squandered. Additionally, negative SEO is often more likely to occur in such cases – making it difficult for you to achieve good organic traffic.

To make sure that your website remains competitive and gets the clicks it deserves from search engine users, it’s important to target different keywords across different niches, domains and countries.

It’s A Sign of Poor Page Quality

Keyword cannibalization occurs when one of your keywords is being heavily used on pages with poor quality content. This can lead to a negative effect on your SEO ranking as it makes it difficult for Google to accurately display the search engine results page (SERP) for those pages.

Your Conversion Rate Will Suffer

Keyword stuffing is when you include too many keywords in your content without providing any useful or interesting information. This can have negative consequences for your website’s SEO, as well as its traffic and conversion rates.

To avoid this problem, make sure to research relevant keywords and choose the right ones for your website’s niche. You can also use keyword-rich titles, meta descriptions, etc., but it’s important to keep all of these elements relevant to the post itself.

Furthermore, be mindful of duplicate content – if one page on your site has a lot of content that is similar to what exists elsewhere on the same site (keyword-wise), it could lead to a decrease in traffic and conversions. To prevent cannibalization (when different pages are ranking lower because they’re linking back to similar pages), consider using different anchor text links or Alt tags!

Examples of Keyword Cannibalization

Keyword cannibalization is when a keyword is overused on a website, and this can decrease the traffic and conversions that the website receives. To avoid this problem, make sure to use unique and targeted keywords throughout your site content. Additionally, optimize your titles and tags to help diversify the reach of your keywords. Doing this will help to keep your website traffic healthy and your search engine ranking stable.

Ever-Changing Ranking URLs

Whenever you deploy a new keyword strategy, it is important to make sure that it doesn’t cannibalize your current traffic. This is because search engine results pages (SERPs) are constantly changing, and if your ranking falls, you might not be able to regain it easily.

So as not to lose rankings due to aggressive bidding on keywords belonging to competitors and using different keyword combinations with the same name/title – something which can often lead to lost traffic – monitoring of website SERPs should always be on-go. Any changes in rank will give you an indication of how well your new strategy is working so far!

Fluctuating Ranking Positions

Keyword cannibalization is a phenomenon where one of your keywords starts ranking high on search engine results pages (SERP), which causes other related keywords to start ranking lower. This can have a negative impact on your website’s ranking position and can even lead to its deletion from the search engine results page (SERP).

To prevent this from happening, you need to use different keywords in different places throughout your content – title tags, meta descriptions, etc. You should also back up your SEO data on a regular basis so you can track changes over time.

Ranking Keywords Struggle to Increase

Keyword ranking struggles are unfortunately all too common. While there are a few key things that can help alleviate the problem, such as regularly monitoring search engine rankings and making amendments to your SEO strategy when needed, the root cause of ranking difficulties is often due to keyword cannibalization.

When you add a new keyword into your SEO campaign, make sure it doesn’t cannibalize the ranking of any of your existing keywords. In addition, try to avoid using too many keywords in titles tags and meta descriptions – this will only lead to decreased visibility for both yours and other related pages’. Finally, make sure you’re targeting keywords that are specific to your business and target audience – this way you have better chances of success with increased traffic.

The Wrong URL Ranks

It is important to make sure that the URL of your website ranks well for the keywords you’ve selected. This can be difficult if you happen to select a keyword that is already being used by other websites in your niche. In this case, it would be best to choose a keyword that’s not being used as much and research search engine algorithms so you know how long it will take for your site to rank high with this keyword.

In addition, always optimize your pages according to search engine guidelines – using rich content, relevant keywords and images. Doing so will help improve traffic flow towards your website and increase business prospects too!

Conclusion

Keyword cannibalization is when a website’s traffic is cannibalized by search engine traffic for a different keyword. This can happen when a website’s pages are ranking for too many different keywords, which results in traffic from search engine queries being siphoned off to other pages on the website. To avoid keyword cannibalization, make sure to research which keywords are ranking for your specific niche and target those keywords exclusively. SeoGuys offers helpful tips on keyword research and search engine optimization, so be sure to check out us!