Glossary · Technical
Keyword cannibalization
Definition. Keyword cannibalization happens when several pages on the same site target the same query and intent, so they compete with each other. Search engines pick one, often not the one you would choose, and the signals that should accumulate on a single page are divided.
It is the most common self-inflicted problem on sites that scale content quickly, because each new post is planned in isolation.
The fix is usually consolidation: merge the pages, redirect the weaker URLs to the stronger one, and update internal links. Rewriting one of them to target a genuinely different intent also works.
The discipline that prevents it is one angle per page, decided at the brief stage rather than discovered in an audit.
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Related terms
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Duplicate content
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More in Technical: Internal linking · Anchor text · Orphan page · Crawl budget · Indexation · Canonical URL · Duplicate content · Core Web Vitals
Frequently asked questions
What does Keyword cannibalization mean?
Keyword cannibalization happens when several pages on the same site target the same query and intent, so they compete with each other. Search engines pick one, often not the one you would choose, and the signals that should accumulate on a single page are divided.
Why does Keyword cannibalization matter for AI SEO?
It is the most common self-inflicted problem on sites that scale content quickly, because each new post is planned in isolation.
What is the most common mistake with keyword cannibalization?
The discipline that prevents it is one angle per page, decided at the brief stage rather than discovered in an audit.
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