To clarify your doubts about this and find out if it has been affecting your site, let us discuss it in detail below.WHAT IS KEYWORD CANNIBALIZATION?Most of the time, it is explained as something that occurs when you have more than one page targeting the same keyword on your website and that it suppresses the ability of either page to rank or perform the way they should.But this is not true!If two or more pages are optimized to rank for the same keyword, that does not mean they would not rank automatically.Keyword Cannibalization is actually all about intent.This will be understood better with the help of an example.Let’s assume that two pages of website xyz.com are about the same product, namely ABC — one has the product description while the other is the “Buy” page.

The search engine will get confused about which page to rank because both are serving the same purpose.

This is an indication that the search engine is having difficulty in figuring out which page it should rank.This fluctuating position is not only distracting for your regular audience but also harms your SEO rankings.Your ranking position fluctuates often.This occurs alongside the changing URLs.

Even if your content is excellent, there is a confusion of intent, which is why the wrong URL ranks on the search engines.How to Check If Your Site Has Keyword Cannibalization Issues?There are several ways in which you can check if your website has keyword cannibalization issues.

Besides, there is another trick to help you find it.Site: Search Operator — Input “Site:[your domain]keyword” in Google search box to identify the list of pages that are considered relevant and optimized for the same keywords.If you have found out that your site is suffering from keyword cannibalization issues too, then you can continue reading below to find fixes for your problem.How to Fix Keyword Cannibalization Issue On Your Website?As soon as you have identified the keyword cannibalization issue on your website, its time to solve it.

Your solutions depend on your individual problems.Below we have listed some very common keyword cannibalization fixes.Removing and redirecting the cannibalized pagesIf you find that your website features more than one page that has the same intent, it would be best if you remove one of them.

Market Cannibalization refers to the loss in sales or reduction in market share of a product, occurred due to the same company’s introduction of a new product line that wipes out the existing market for its own current products.Instead of appealing to a new segment of the market, the product line appeals to the company’s existing customer base leading to a reduction in the sales volume and demand of its established products.

Now they decide to introduce a new line of laptops with the aim of attracting a considerable segment of the market.

Now soon, ABC notices that regardless of the great launch and successful increase in the sales volume of its latest laptops, the sales volume of its desktop computers has taken a crash-dive simultaneously.

For instance, a food outlet chain can open a new outlet near one of its own old outlets.

They advise businesses to avoid cannibalization while planning marketing and business strategy.

For example, a brand that makes sunscreen lotions may introduce a new sunscreen with higher SPF than its old product.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have left the hype cycle and are now being embraced by more than just the leading companies across industries.

AI-based technologies have gained even more importance in the time since that research took place, which means the case for AI and machine learning in the retail context has only strengthened.The motivating factor behind the rise of AI and machine learning technologies has been the explosion of data available to businesses.

Think of AI solutions as this: those that make use of data to identify decisions are likely to produce the most beneficial outcomes.AI Harnesses the Explosion of Retail Data to Get Pricing RightIn the case of pricing specifically, favorable outcomes include those that minimize cost and customer attrition, and reduce the risk of basket abandonment.

Pricing dynamics ­– including promotional activity and inventory markdowns – increase retention and build customer loyalty.Pricing is also a major contributor to margin leakage, something that businesses can’t afford to go undetected when there’s so much on the line, especially now in pandemic times.

If businesses have the ability to ingest and make sense of the data, they can extract key insights that directly inform decisions big and small.Agile cloud-based technology, fueled by AI and machine learning, removes the need for costly internal infrastructure and resources previously required to support pricing and promotional practices, quickly leveling the playing field in a hypercompetitive landscape – or helping leaders solidify their position.Three steps to Achieving Data-led Pricing in RetailTrue AI-driven pricing optimization, like many new businesses processes, can only be enjoyed after completing AI baby steps in a “crawl, walk, run” evolutionary model:CrawlIn this beginning stage, retailers’ eyes are opened as good analytics (AI) reveal counter-intuitive insights.

They may find that a large majority of promotional revenue comes from just a small fraction of promotions, or that the promotional lift they might see in traditional reporting comes unknowingly from product cannibalization.

Are your website’s organic visitors slowing down?Is your keyword ranking plummeting?You are probably a victim of cannibalization and it wishes to be fixed immediately.

Cannibalization can cause websites to compete for themselves.What is Cannibalization?Cannibalization is a blunder that happens while replica sources or content target an equal purpose.

A way to identify Cannibalization?A top-notch website has pages that pay attention only to particular topics.

In case you don’t choose precise terms, or in case you target more than one word consistent with the web page, you’re diminishing your relevance.

Your site may be ingesting away at its own seek site visitors without your information.You can also find what needs fixing using the tools below – AhrefsAhrefs is a well-advanced SEO tool that helps you to determine if multiple pages are ranking for the same keywords.

You'll then find all the keywords and key phrases which might be inflicting inner cannibalization.Data studioCannibalization explorer within the data studio is one of the qualities and loose equipment to come across inner keyword cannibalization.Social Media CannibalizationIn place of driving visitors to your website, your social media profile can be pulling traffic away from it.

It is a lot more complex than just using keywords and building links.

The ranking factors of a particular keyword will be displayed on the site.

If you rank your website according to these rankings, it can improve your website's traffic and consequently increase the chances of bringing in more traffic.Third is the use of the Google page rank tracker.

The page rank tracker is a tool that helps rank your website based on different elements that Google uses to determine its rankings.

Backlinks are extremely valuable in SEO efforts as they send users searching for more information back to your website.

The more back links you have leading to your site the better.Fifth is the use of keyword cannibalization.

Keyword mapping is the secret to satisfying search intent.Search intent is the reason that drives a user to perform a search on Google (or any other search engine).A keyword phrase is what the user types into the search bar to perform their search query.If your website answers their query best, the search engine will recognize you as the most relevant site and rank you higher in the SERPs, thus rewarding you with your desired search rankings and traffic.What Is Keyword MappingIn essence, keyword mapping can be described as the process of allocating target keyword groups to each page on a website based on in-depth keyword research.Google ranks pages based on specific URLs.

So, make sure each URL is optimized and relevant for the target keywords to help it rank.Typically, target keyword groups nowadays include the primary keyword (keyphrase or focus keyword) that clearly defines the particular page’s topic along with a set of supporting keywords and keyword variations.Why Is Keyword Mapping ImportantThis blog discusses things that have changed recently and the reason why keyword mapping matters for your SEO success.The hint is you have read it in the previous section: “along with a set of supporting keywords and keyword variations.”Let’s say, for example, a blog post you published six months ago wins the #3 ranking position in the SERPs with the primary keyword.

Now how many supporting keywords and keyword variations do you think are ranking?In a nutshell, there could be hundreds of them ranking for your page, we bet.Mapping Subtopics And Supporting KeywordsWhile this is a reason for celebration, this also explains why keyword mapping is so essential for your SEO success.Still didn’t get it?

Now, these supporting keywords comprise of variations such as:What is (the topic)Define (the topic)Definition of (the topic)(the topic) goalsExamples of (the topic)Principles of (the topic)(the topic) best strategyBest practices of (the topic)And the list goes on and on.In a nutshell, this blog post covers every single question that a user who wants to learn more about it or is just new to the topic might have.Now would you’ve been enticed to cover these subtopics in a series of short articles rather than a long-form blog post?If yes, then what do you think?

Is there a possibility that you might have missed the search intent and a strong opportunity to acquire a higher ranking position?Or even worse, would you have ended up causing keyword cannibalization where a set of your posts are competing against each other trying to rank for the same keywords and thus; as a result, no article ranks, or if it does, the ranking keeps shifting?In keyword cannibalization, two or more articles target the same keywords and thus fight each other for ranking.

This makes keyword mapping even more important for better SEO results.As a website owner, your aim should be to understand what type of content Google is counting on to serve to users on the basis of its understanding of the user’s search intent.Even though keyword mapping matters a big deal, mapping your target keywords alone isn’t enough for your SEO success.Go to the efforts of examining the first page of the SERPs to get a clear idea of the supporting keywords and subtopics that are needed to cover the particular topic completely and thus satisfy the search intent.Try to avoid fanning out the target keywords across too many web pages as you’ll end up producing articles that will eventually compete against each other for rankings.

If you have hired a specialized agency to check your website from a technical point of view, you should expect them to cover everything starting with xml sitemaps and ending with on-page optimization.

If you believe that your website is perfect from a technical point of view, an audit will show you that you are wrong.

When it comes to a technical audit, specialists should focus on the following:• Identify crawl errors and provide a crawl report• Check https status codes- these are important for they affect your website’s rankings• Check xml sitemap status- crawlers should be able to find your pages in order to rank them; for this reason, it is important to have all your updated website pages in the sitemap• Check site load time- you would be surprised to see how many websites have slow page load times.

Site speed impacts user experience and your ranking • Ensure your site is mobile-friendly• Audit on keyword cannibalization- pages of the same website that are in competition lead to diminished authority• Check your website’s robots.txt file- this is important to ensure your pages can be crawled• Perform a google site search• Check for duplicate metadata• Check out meta description length • Check for duplicate content• Check for broken links- broken links are responsible for lower rankings.These are just some of the aspects that will be assessed during  technical SEO audit  and as you can see, this procedure is quite complex.

Individual page issues are related to how the page is written and structured.

You have to pay attention to the URL, the length of the article and to creating unique, relevant content that does not have grammar mistakes.

Most websites are not bullet proof from a technical point of view and this means that a technical SEO audit can be used to identify errors.

You can always do better as far as your website is concerned and you cannot know what issue impact your website’s performance without a proper SEO audit.

The sooner you learn what the existing issues are, the faster you can address them.

There are numerous websites out there with duplicate content, broken links, slow loading pages and other problems that affect their success.What to Check During Technical SEO Audit?Website owners who are convinced that they need a technical SEO audit should know what to expect from it and how much money they should invest in this.

This is why it makes sense to do your research and hire an auditor who is specialized in technical audits.If you are wondering what aspects will be checked during  Technical SEO Audit  you should know that a competent auditor will do the following:• Identify crawl errors of your website• Check https status code- this is important so that search engines and users can access your website• Check XML sitemap status- crawlers find your pages thanks to this sitemap and this is why you should make sure all your web pages are updated in the sitemap and that this sitemap is submitted to Google Search Console• Check site load time- you will be surprised to see how many websites have slow page load time.

Site speed influences user experience in a positive or negative manner and you should make sure it does not take more than three seconds for your page to load• Ensure your website is mobile friendly- there are things you can do to make your website mobile-friendly and professionals know how to accomplish that• Check for keyword cannibalization- you do not want two pages of your website competing for the same keyword.