Ways to Prevent Keyword Cannibalization

There is no getting away from the fact that SEO is complicated. You can think you have the perfect strategy to find out you are doing something wrong. The algorithm is updated so frequently that you must stay at the top of your game. Education is the only way you can keep improving your ranking and ensure that your hard work and effort are not going to waste.

For example, some people can shoot themselves in the foot with keyword cannibalization. They believe they are doing something good by targeting the same keywords on different pages. But, it ends up damaging their ranking since they are competing against each other on Google. This is something you want to avoid at all costs. So, here are five ways to prevent keyword cannibalization from derailing your SEO strategy.

Have a Keyword Strategy

Some people do not realise they are creating web pages that are in direct competition with each other. In some cases, they do not see this as a problem and they think it makes their site more authoritative. But, you want to avoid keyword cannibalization altogether. It is no good for your website, and it can damage your ranking. Creating a keyword strategy is one of the best ways to prevent this from happening accidentally or deliberately.

The point of this strategy is to ensure there is no competition between your pages. You are going to be creating different pages that target different keywords. You know exactly what ones are being used on each page, ensuring that there is no overlap. You can research the best keywords and phrases to use and ensure you hit them all on different pages. You know exactly what you are doing because you are tracking everything. Thankfully, there are plenty of tools you can use to research keywords.

Are you not sure how to create a keyword strategy or the best way to turn this into action? Know that you can get assistance with your SEO through professional services. For example, you can consult directly with an SEO expert in London. You can tell them about your concerns over keyword cannibalization and they can take over. They will know the best methods to prevent this from happening to your website.

Focus on Relevant Content

It is easy to get obsessed with keywords. Sometimes, this can be how cannibalization happens. You think that it is best to make sure you are mentioning them all the time and on every page of your site. Know that it is not all about ranking for keywords. Sometimes, you have to focus on your audience and make sure you are creating content they want to read. This is what can help to build trust and ensure you are securing sales.

So, instead of always working content around keywords, you should focus on covering relevant and helpful topics to your audience. You will find that it is still beneficial for your website since you create insightful content. Indeed, it can be a way to improve customer loyalty. Take your time to create this content, carrying out relevant research first and spending time making it flow. If there are keywords you can include naturally, you can do this. But, it should not be your sole focus.

Therefore, start by doing some research to see what your audience is going to be interested in. You can create social media polls or search to see what people are discussing in your industry. You can even ask for people’s opinions or feedback in order to find out what they are interested in.

Merge Content When Necessary

You do not want to have a lot of similar pages on your website. This can get confusing for your audience. Plus, this can lead to keyword cannibalization accidentally. So, what is the best way to avoid this happening? Well, you want to create a condensed website that does not have so many similar pages. Go through your site and make sure you highlight any pages you think are very similar in content.

Once you have identified these pages, the next step is going to be merging the content. You can take the most authoritative page and ensure this is the one you keep. Then, you can add useful content from the other pages to that one. You can create a more comprehensive page for your site and remove unnecessary keyword-targeting pages.

There might be some cases where you do not see the point of merging the content. In this case, you have to be ruthless and delete some pages from your website. Look at the stats and see which one is performing best. Ensure you keep this one and delete the ones that are not. This is going to benefit you in the long run.