Keyword cannibalization is an important topic with any website. It typically becomes a problem when over zealous website owners and designers decide they want to choose 1 primary search term that they want to rank for.
Definition of Keyword Cannibalization:
“The act of placing the same keywords or phrases on multiple pages of a website in titles and content in order improve ranking in the search engines… leading to confusion with search engines on which page to rank in the results.”
This is extremely important to the general health of websites. I see people so often trying to rank well for certain keyword phrases using this technique. But unfortunately, their efforts are misguided. Placing the same keyword in every title, every page, and every piece of content you create is a very bad idea. The common misguided notion goes something like this:
“Well… I really want to rank well for the keyword “Las Vegas Real Estate”, so I’m going to place that phrase in every title and every piece of content I create. After all, Google loves keywords, and the more I use it, the better chance I’ll have of ranking.”
Let’s explore why this doesn’t work:
Google ranks each page of a website independently of each other
You may have a home page, and 10 articles that all include the same keyword phrase in the title and body… but guess what? Only one (possibly 2) of those pages are ever going to rank in the search engines for that specific keyword phrase.
Using the same keyword doesn’t help gain extra relevance
Creating multiple pages with the exact same keyword phrase in the title and content does not force the search engine spider to interpret the site as being more relevant for that same keyword phrase. All it does is force the spider to choose which page is the best. One page will rank, and the others won’t show up at all.
The quality of your content will suffer
If you are using the keyword “Las Vegas Real Estate” in every title of every article, what are you readers going to think? Need I say more???
You are severely limiting your search engine traffic potential
Many of you probably understand the concept of the long tail by now. It works. Don’t get me wrong, “Las Vegas Real Estate” is a great keyword. But do you really want to put all your eggs in one basket when there are literally thousands of variations of that phrase that could do just as good or better? Why waste your time trying to get every page of your site ranking for the same term when there are so many others out there waiting to be ranked for? Think about it.
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Meta tag titles are typically the biggest problem with keyword cannibalization. Not only on the home page, but on sub pages and article pages as well. Each page needs to have it’s own unique title. This will give you the most likelihood of ranking for many different keywords and give you the most traffic potential.
Probably the most common place for keyword cannibalization is in blogs. People will create blog post titles that are often very similar to each other, and this becomes a problem because most blogs are set up by default to make the article title the meta tag title. Thus creating the keyword cannibalization effect with multiple articles.
Tips on Avoiding Cannibalization
- Write unique Meta tag titles for your home page and sub pages. Use specific words that describe that page. If you can’t think of anything besides “Las Vegas Real Estate”… seek professional help. Or try this keyword suggestion tool.
- If you have a blog, make sure your article titles are unique to what you are writing about. Using variations of a keyword are fine: “Las Vegas Condos”, “Las Vegas Real Estate Agent”, but don’t over do it. Try to appeal to your readers first, and to the search engines second!
- Choose which pages are the best candidates for certain keywords, and send internal links with the anchor text of those keywords to that page.
- Start broad on your links, and build out. Your home page and top level pages probably have the most potential for ranking with more competitive broader terms. Make sure you target those tougher terms on your top level pages (shallow pages), and work on the more specific long tail keywords with articles, and blog posts (deep pages).
~ Secret Tip ~
If you are really struggling with how to title pages, and can’t think of any more good keyword phrases to use, try using a good keyword research tool. Google Keyword Suggestions, SEO Book’s Keyword Research Tool, or even Wordtracker or Nichebot. Start by searching for a broad term, and use the results to find the most relevant, and the most popular keywords for your page. You may just find that the keyword you wanted to use in the first place doesn’t get as many searches as you thought… and that there was a related phrase you should have been using all along. Hint: I do this every time I write a new article…
So go get to work! Remove all those duplicate Meta tag titles. Do some keyword research. I think you’ll find that with a little work, you’ll see a much bigger return on your investment with broader search traffic.
Related posts:
- The 5 Step Website Error Checkup
- Video Tutorial: Practical Competitive Keyword Research
- The Top 10 Most Common SEO Mistakes
- Follow-Up Post on Building Incoming Links to Your Site
- Professional Website Review Service (SEO Audits)
Research really is the key to not over doing one key word. I believe the best point of this post is how the same title spread across one website will show a very poor message to your client. I don’t think many real estate professionals think of that when they are looking to increase their traffic through SEO work on their websites. Write for people first and then the search engines as they say.
Justin – Those are great keyword research websites and good information. I have always wondered what the impact would be of repeatedly using the same keywords.
I would love to know what website you are referring too!
Hi Tony,
I’m not referring to any site in particular with the illustration. I use Las Vegas all the time as an illustration for different real estate related keywords.
There are many many sites that have problems with this, but I’m not one to point out mistakes on other people’s sites unless they hire me to do so!
And don’t forget that if you use a title like, “Las Vegas Real Estate” over and over again you could be subject to a duplicate content penalty.
I agree you do not to over do it when it comes to keywords. The Google keyword suggestion tool is grteat place to see what you should target.
Very good information Justin. There is an agent in my area who blogs constantly but puts the same titles in over and over again. I thought it looked bad but who was I to judge.
Thank you so much for this post !
I never even thought about this as an issue and I hold up my hand as guilty – I shall change my ways now for sure