All SEO efforts have been made with the aim that search engines, especially Google, can understand and web crawlers can crawl your website. As we know that Search Engine Optimization or commonly known as SEO is very important because it is search engine optimization so that the website is on the first page, so internet users can easily find it.
In general, they type keywords or keywords related to their interests, for example: "best SEO service" when they want to choose an SEO service provider company. For this reason, website owners or managers are looking for the best way so that at least their website is in the first 10 rankings of search results.
It would be better if it is in the top 10 ranking, which means it appears on the first page. Unfortunately, sometimes the results are not as smooth as hoped. No one can predict on what page Google or other search engines will place your website, whether 1, 10, or 100. You will lose more and more opportunities if you make some mistakes including keyword cannibalization.
The term keyword cannibalization may be familiar to SEO practitioners and experts, but not to beginners or those who have just entered the world of Search Engine Optimization. So, in order to increase your knowledge about SEO, there's nothing wrong with reading this article so you know the term keyword cannibalization and tips for dealing with it.
Previously, have you ever worked with or paid for an SEO expert? Or maybe have employees who can help solve any problems related to SEO? They can help you dive into issues around keyword cannibalization while also fixing them.
Get to Know What Keyword Cannibalization Affects SEO
You have multiple articles on your website and blog posts that could rank for the same search query on Google. This is what is called Keyword Cannibalization. Therefore, make sure the website pages and or posts on the blog are not competing for the same keywords and phrases.
Sometimes we misunderstand that the more pages that have targeted keywords, the higher the chance to get a good ranking. What you do sometimes actually harm SEO instead of getting good results.
Simply put, when several pages have successive rankings for the same keyword, you are actually competing with yourself. As a result, each website page has a low CTR (Click-through Rate). In addition, authority is reduced and conversion rates are lower compared to one consolidated page.
The Bad Impact of Keyword Cannibalization on SEO
There are many bad impacts that can occur as a consequence that your SEO must accept. Those who experience Keyword Cannibalization do not realize that something is wrong and continue with the strategy that has been implemented.
Compared to pages that are ranked sequentially, for example 5 and 6, an authoritative page actually has the potential to be in a higher position and can convert better. Some of the adverse effects that can occur due to keyword cannibalization are as follows:
- Reduced Page Authority
- Weakened anchor text and links
- Google may devalue more pages that are more relevant
- The quality of website pages is getting worse
- The conversion rate becomes lower
- Reduced website traffic
- Spending budget for crawling
Identifying Keyword Cannibalization
The sooner a problem or issue is detected, the sooner it can be fixed. Some people say that identifying problems such as keyword cannibalization is as easy as creating a keyword matrix. Create a spreadsheet that lists important URLs and related keywords. Another way is to use a tool that functions to create keyword mappings, and find duplicate keywords.
Tips for Overcoming Keyword Cannibalization
How to solve a problem, of course, depends on the source itself. If this is the first time you encounter the problem of keyword cannibalization, please follow some of the tips below which hopefully will help. Because, being on the first page, especially with a high ranking will affect the existence of the website. Usually, people tend to choose to access or visit websites that they can easily find on the first page of a search engine.
1. Website Structure or Reorganization
Taking the most authoritative page and then turning it into a landing page is the easiest solution. Don't forget to make sure that the landing page has links to other unique pages with the keywords you have targeted.
2. Create New Landing Pages
Instead try to create a new, unique landing page that will serve as the authoritative source page and link to all variations from there. It takes more time but can help solve the problem at hand. So, there's no harm in trying.
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3. Merge or Delete Content
If the existing content is not unique enough, it would be better to combine it with other content that has the same targeted keywords. This makes it possible to make that content a more authoritative source. On the other hand, it can solve existing content problems. For content that is irrelevant to the website, you can delete it even though it is quite extreme.
4. Remove Keywords
The existence of some keywords may not be important and removing them is the right choice. Looks like a manual solution but it's very easy to do. Or you can also replace keywords with ones that are more relevant and play an important role in getting higher search results.
5. Change Internal Links
If you have content that is linked to other content, enhance the existing links. Search engines like Google consider that links are important and can be a factor for pages to get high rankings in search results. Include links to content or other pages of your website.
6. Take advantage of Canonical Tags
Did you know that canonical tags can make websites more effective? In addition, canonical tags can guide search engines which pages they prefer. Use canonical tags to tell search engines which pages you want to rank high for that single keyword. Those who have many pages with the same keywords can also implement these tips.
Conclusion
After reading this article, maybe you know why your website or domain is difficult to rank at the top. In fact, we all know that being on the top page with a high ranking is very important, and is the dream of every website owner.
No matter how often the content is updated or added, if Google or other search engines are confused about which posts should rank better, then the optimization results are not as expected.
Don't let your page or post be given the same search query. Immediately solve problems like this keyword cannibalization. So, your website will be in healthy competition, not competing with each other with the content on your own website.