Are you having trouble ranking your website due to keyword cannibalisation?
Even if you think you are not, keyword cannibalisation might still be affecting your SEO ranking. You must be aware that a bad SEO ranking, means less online visibility and business.
But don’t worry, in this blog we will tell you everything that you need to know about keyword cannibalisation. We will discuss what it is and how it hinders your SEO success. In addition, you will be provided with 5 proven techniques to help you avoid this problem. So, let’s begin!
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What is Keyword Cannibalisation?
Keyword cannibalisation occurs when more than one page on your website targets the same keyword or satisfies the same search intent. This leads to your pages competing against each other for the same Google ranking. This problem mainly occurs when you are publishing similar content or not redirecting your old content while replacing it.
How Does Keyword Cannibalisation Impact Your SEO?
Although it may seem like a small problem, keyword cannibalisation can adversely affect your business in the long run. There are several reasons for why it has such a negative effect which are discussed below.
1. Decreases Page Authority
By writing similar content with the same search intent and keywords, you are dividing your click-through rate (CTR) among multiple pages. This results in these pages competing against each other instead of ranking for that keyword against your competitors. This decreases your authority by signalling search engines that your content from a single page does not carry a comprehensive answer to the search query.
2. Wastes Crawl Budget
If you are a small company you might not know about the crawl budget. The crawl budget is the number of times a search engine crawls your website in a single time period. This basically means that, by providing irrelevant or repeated content, you are wasting your resources that can rank you higher. In addition, inefficient use of the crawl budget leads to low SEO ranking of your high-value pages.
3. Decreases Conversion Rate
Keyword cannibalisation lowers your CTR, significantly reducing your lead generation and conversion rate. Conversion rate is the number of visitors that take the desired action on your website. A lower conversion rate could mean lower sales and revenue which could lead you to a financial crisis. Therefore, it is essential that you avoid duplicate content and keyword cannibalisation.
How to Avoid Keyword Cannibalisation?
Now that you understand how bad keyword cannibalisation is, let’s provide you with five proven strategies to avoid this issue. These strategies include the following:
1. Conduct Regular Content Audits
The most essential step is to identify keyword cannibalisation for which you will need to conduct regular content audits. Analyse your content and the rankings to highlight the keywords you are being ranked for and spot if they satisfy the same search intent.
2. Create a Targeted Keyword Strategy
Developing a targeted keyword strategy is also very crucial when it comes to avoiding keyword cannibalisation. A targeted keyword strategy ensures that the content you plan on creating is not repeated or for the same search intent before you start writing.
3. Track Keyword Rankings and Performance
Tracking your keyword rankings also provides you with insights on how your content is performing. An analysis of keyword performance can show you how your content has performed over time for each page. This makes it easier to spot keyword cannibalisation on your website.
4. Prioritise Topics over Keywords
While developing your content strategy, prioritise topics over keywords to avoid repetition. When you are using keywords to create content topics, it could result in duplicate content, leading to multiple pages being ranked for the same keyword or search intent.
5. Determine the Importance of Each Page
All of your website pages do not carry equal importance. Some pages are designed for converting while others keep the traffic engaged. Determine which page is most important to you and prioritise it over others when selecting target keywords for its content.
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A Quick Recap
Keyword cannibalisation is a huge problem for businesses as it impacts their online presence. It can decrease your page authority and waste your crawl budget. This leads to a reduction in your conversion rate which could cause a financial crisis.
Therefore, to ensure a consistent stream of leads and a high conversion rate you must avoid keyword cannibalisation. Firstly, you need to identify keyword cannibalisation by tracking your keyword rankings and conducting regular content audits. In addition, you need to design your content strategy in such a way that prioritises topics over keywords, reducing the chances of repeated content.
If you want to avoid the trouble of optimising your SEO, book a call with SEO Syrup the best SEO service provider in the UK. Our team of SEO experts are always ready to help you out.
