SEO cannibalization is a problem that affects many websites. This is the situation where multiple pages on the same site are competing for the same organic trafficwhich can result in lower visibility and overall ranking.
Identifying SEO cannibalization is relatively easy. Just search for your main keywords in Google and see if more than one page from your site appears in the results. If so, then you have a cannibalization problem.
SEO cannibalization occurs for a variety of reasons. One of them is the incorrect use of title tags and meta descriptions, causing multiple pages to compete for the same search terms. This issue also occurs when too much similar content is posted on the same site, confusing Google about which page to rank for a given search.
Cannibalization is a serious problem because can weaken the visibility and organic traffic of your entire site. If left unaddressed, SEO cannibalization can have a negative effect on every page on your website and drop your rankings. In this article we tell you everything about it.
What is SEO cannibalization and how can it harm you?
SEO cannibalization is a very common problem on websites, and it can affect even to those who have already been working on their positioning at a technical level. This is a situation where multiple pages on the same site are competing for the same organic traffic.
As we mentioned in the introduction, this can happen for a variety of reasons, such as incorrect use of title or meta description tags, or when publishing too many similar contents on the same website.
It should be noted that, although it seems like a minor problem, SEO cannibalization is very common and that may be harming the positioning of your website without you realizing it. And, when a site cannibalizes its own search engine results, this can have a negative impact on the site’s ranking and visibility.
Therefore, it is important that you know in detail why SEO cannibalization occurs and how you can avoid it to protect your website from this optimization error.
Causes of SEO cannibalization and how to prevent it
As we have seen, at a very general level, cannibalization occurs when there are several pages with the same topic or content and, as a consequence, they compete for the same search terms. Not only can this hurt your ranking, but it can also confuse the users themselves.
For example, imagine you have a website dedicated to selling shoes. Based on your keyword research, you know that many users search for the term “black shoes”. If you have a specific URL dedicated exclusively to the sale of this type of shoes, you are more likely to rank higher in the SERPs.
On the contrary, if your website includes several pages that sell different types and colors of shoes and all of them include the term “black shoes” in their content, you will be cannibalizing your own SEO efforts and confusing your visitors.
The problems of large websites
If your website has many pages and content, you may be cannibalizing yourself without realizing it. The larger your website, the more likely this optimization error will occur.
For example, if you have an online store with a catalog of hundreds of products, it is possible that have several pages dedicated to similar or even identical products. If these pages are optimized for the same search terms, you are cannibalizing your own website.
On the other hand, if you have a blog that publishes guest articles by other authors, it is likely that some of the topics will be duplicated without you noticinga. If every article has the same focus and uses the same search terms, you are cannibalizing your website and creating redundant content.
Is cannibalization the same as thin content?
Although cannibalization and thin content may seem the same, they are two different concepts. Thus, cannibalization occurs when there are several pages with the same topic or content and, as a consequence, they compete for the same search terms.
For its part, thin content is a type of content that does not provide any value to the reader and is often artificially optimized for search engines. The goal of this content is to manipulate the SERPs to improve website performance.
Although cannibalization and thin content can produce the same negative results, cannibalization is a very common optimization error, while thin content usually occurs as a result of an unethical SEO practice.
Tips to avoid SEO cannibalization
As you have seen, SEO cannibalization can negatively affect your ranking and visibility. Learn how to identify it and avoid it with these tips:
- Write different titles for each post or page. Instead of using the same title for all your texts, use unique titles that accurately describe the content of the article. This will help Google better understand the topic of your article and will index it accordingly.
- Use different keywords for each page. If you are optimizing your site for a particular keyword, make sure that word or phrase appears in the title and in the text. Of course, do not use the same keyword over and over again, as this can make Google consider that you are trying to do keyword stuffing and can penalize you for it.
- Link your articles to each other. If you write multiple articles on a similar topic, make sure you link to each other. In this way, you will give Google more clues about the topic of your site and improve the ranking of your pages.
- Write quality content. As you may know, content is king in SEO. If you want your pages to rank well, make sure you write interesting, useful and well-structured texts, each focusing on a different topic. Don’t forget to include relevant keywords, but don’t overuse them.
- Use the “canonical” tag. This tag tells Google which of your pages is the original and therefore the one to index first. In this way, you will avoid getting confused and misclassifying your pages.
Not sure if you’re suffering from cannibalization?
There are several ways to identify if your site is being cannibalized. If you notice that your visits and conversions have not improved in the last few months Even after working on your SEO, this can be a sign of cannibalization. Another way is to analyze the keywords your pages are ranking for. If you see the same keyword appearing on multiple pages, you may be cannibalizing.
In addition to this, there are also some specialized tools that allow you to detect if your website is cannibalizing any of its content. Between them, the best known are Screaming Frog, SEMRush and DinoRank. All of them are paid, but if you think that your SEO positions do not improve due to cannibalization, it may be worth purchasing one of them.
And of course, if you think you need the help of an expert, in We are specialized in resolving all technical and content errors on your website to . If you are having problems positioning your content, do not hesitate to contact us so that we can help you.
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