In 2021, websites that Google finds easier to crawl are ones that rank better. If you have been trying to get your business website to rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs), you should ensure that keyword cannibalization is not an issue that you are facing.

For those who are new to this topic, keyword cannibalization happens when you unintentionally target the same keyword across multiple posts and pages. A practice like this confuses Google, especially when two or more content pieces are similar in their structure.

In order not to confuse your website visitors, you should work on your keyword placement. Here are some actionable tips to help you with that.

How to detect problems 

First of all, you need to identify all of the cannibalized pages. Doing this is as easy as one search along the lines of “your domain + keywords” and you will see your rankings.
For instance, if you are a call center, typing your brand name and keyword in the following format – [BRAND NAME + “call center”] – can give you a good idea of which pages are ranking for that specific keyword. You will get a list of results, but are they the ones you want?
More importantly, Google can get confused in the future and not know which page to prioritize in the rankings. As a result, you might even lose all rankings for the keyword at once. 

Merge your content 

Merging your content can help you rank the page you want for the specific keyword. To do that, you should take all of the relevant content and put it on a single page. 
You should know that this solution is useful, but doesn’t work for every situation. However, in most cases, merging your content from multiple pages into a single page will simplify and increase your website’s SEO. We recommend adding the content to the page that ranks highest in the SERPs.

Delete some content, if needed 

Deleting web pages may not be something you want to do at first, but it can help you with your rankings. For instance, if a blog post for a specific product or service that you offer ranks a lot higher than the actual product/service page, you may want to delete the content or change the keyword.

Remove keywords 

As we mentioned in the tip above, one of the better ways to maintain specific content is through removing its keyword and replacing it with another one. Altering the keyword on the page or post is a good idea if you don’t want to lose its rankings. However, it is also a slower and more tedious process.

Change your internal linking 

Internal linking is always good for SEO but can also be a problem that leads to keyword cannibalization. If your web content links to other pages on your website, the links may be the elements that you can also improve.
We recommend adding or changing your internal linking so that the less critical content links to the one you want to highlight and prioritize. Doing this will send a signal to Google and, hopefully, get the change you wish to see in the SERPs, with your linked content being the one that should prioritize.

Alter your inbound link requests 

Last in our list of tips is the one focused on link requests. This one requires a more difficult approach, but it can be very important. If you have the time, you should research all related keywords with your brand name and get some software to track your backlinks.
The idea is simple – some of your pages might rank better because they have more (or better quality) backlinks. Contacting the webmasters of those sources and telling them to alter the link requests to the pages you want to prioritize is what you should do. Doing this can also help you increase your on-page SEO and strengthen your rankings.

— Devine Solutions Group is a local resource for effective marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes. Beth Devine is one of the most sought-after marketing experts in the Central Valley. She is the founder and principal of Devine Solutions Group, an award-winning digital marketing agency headquartered in Tracy, CA. Connect with Beth by either calling 833-933-8463 or email her at beth@devinesolutionsgroup.com.