Beware of Content Cannibalization

[ParsaSafes]

Alright, so this is an interesting concept that is sometimes overlooked but has proven to be detrimental to your rankings. I've gathered a few tips from across different sources to make sure you don't make mistakes like some people do.

The definition:

Content cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on your website target the same or similar keywords, leading search engines to struggle in determining the most relevant result. This internal competition can confuse algorithms, resulting in lower rankings and diminished visibility.

Example:

Imagine you have a website about healthy recipes, and you've written two separate articles:

• "Quick and Easy Breakfast Smoothies"
• "Top 10 Ingredients for a Healthy Smoothie"

In these articles, both might use similar keywords like "healthy smoothie recipes". If search engines get confused about which article to show when someone searches for these terms, it can lead to content cannibalization. To fix this, you might consolidate the information into one comprehensive guide, avoiding the competition between your own pages and improving your chances of ranking higher.

When your content competes against itself, you miss the chance to target a broader range of keywords and attract a more diverse audience.

Solutions:

Content Audit and Consolidation: Check all your articles to see if they talk about the same stuff. If you find any, think about putting them together into one big and strong article. This makes your message clear and powerful, especially for the keywords you want to be known for.

Strategic Internal Linking: use strategic internal linking to guide search engines towards your preferred page. By establishing a clear hierarchy and directing link equity, you can signal to search engines which page should be prioritized for specific keywords.

Keyword Mapping and Optimization: Plan carefully which words go where on your pages. Make sure each page talks about different things with precise words. This makes your content super focused and unique for each keyword you want to rank in.

• I personally like to document these in a google sheet or something similar to keep track of everything.

Update and Republish: Instead of making new stuff about a topic, think about updating and sharing the stuff you already have. This not only makes your content fresh but also makes one page super important for a specific topic.

• It's also worth noting that you won't have to start over to get backlinks and promotion for a page you worked on before.

Canonical Tags: Use canonical tags to tell search engines which version of your page you like the most. This simple trick helps gather all the good points for one page, preventing confusion and competition between your own pages.


Knowing about these concepts helps you avoid problems and lets you come up with ways to make your SEO better. Wish you luck!

 

[Ryuzaki]

For the longest time, I thought "surely Google is not this stupid and will simply rank the better choice of the two pages competing for the same keyword" but the evidence, even to this day, many years later, is that they'll simply de-rank both pages. Which is mind-numbingly stupid. Everyone should take heed and be aware of this concept.

 

[Darth]

For the longest time, I thought "surely Google is not this stupid and will simply rank the better choice of the two pages competing for the same keyword" but the evidence, even to this day, many years later, is that they'll simply de-rank both pages. Which is mind-numbingly stupid. Everyone should take heed and be aware of this concept.

In the last three months Google has shown how incredibly fucking stupid it really is.

 

[wikibum]

Google is not this stupid

It hard to balance out how smart and how stupid they are, which is why a lot struggle with what they should do and don't do. This is especially the case with content.

 

[bernard]

Sundar Pichai seems to have been the wrong choice of CEO.

 

[Mentalite]

Content Audit and Consolidation: Check all your articles to see if they talk about the same stuff. If you find any, think about putting them together into one big and strong article. This makes your message clear and powerful, especially for the keywords you want to be known for.

So this explains those MASSIVE blog posts that always appear at the top of Google.... The more you know.