Keyword Cannibalization
When multiple pages on the same website compete for the same keywords, potentially hurting rankings for all affected pages.
Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on your website target the same or very similar keywords, causing them to compete against each other in search results. Instead of having one strong page ranking well, you end up with multiple weaker pages splitting the ranking potential.
This can hurt your SEO in several ways: Google may not know which page to rank, so it might choose neither or constantly switch between them; your pages compete for the same backlinks and internal links; click-through rates may suffer because users see multiple similar results; and you waste crawl budget on redundant content.
Common causes include creating multiple blog posts on the same topic over time, having product pages and category pages targeting the same keywords, or optimizing multiple service pages for identical terms. Sometimes cannibalization happens accidentally as websites grow and content accumulates.
Fixing keyword cannibalization involves auditing your site to identify competing pages, then deciding to either consolidate content into one authoritative page, differentiate the pages to target different keywords, use canonical tags, or implement redirects. SERPView's Keyword Cannibalization Report helps you identify exactly which pages are competing for the same keywords so you can take action.