Keyword cannibalisation is something many marketers don’t even realise they are doing but can impact your rankings significantly. Don’t worry though, it’s not cannibalisation in the traditional sense of the word! (We’re looking at you Hannibal) When it comes to SEO, the term refers to having more than one page on your site targeting the same keyword and search intent.
For example, if you wanted to rank for “board games for parties”, you might create a blog titled “5 of the Best Board Games for Parties”. Fast forward a few years, and there are lots of great new options on the market. You create a new blog with the same keyword to highlight the new greatest list. This is keyword cannibalisation.
Although they are years apart, they have the same keyword and focus and are on the same site. They likely have similar content overall, maybe even some of the best board games are the same. So how will Google rank these? One must be sacrificed for another, and one won’t perform as highly as the other.
Some of the most common problems keyword cannibalisation can create include: