Keyword cannibalization
Keyword cannibalization happens when several pages on the same website target the same search term. Instead of strengthening each other, they compete — the search engine often alternates between them, and neither ranks well.
Keyword cannibalization is a home-made problem: two or more of your own pages answer the same query with the same intent. The search engine has to decide which one to show — and often switches back and forth. The signal is spread out instead of concentrated.
You can spot it in Search Console: for the same search term, different pages appear in turn, all with a mediocre position.
The usual fixes:
- Merge — turn two weak pages into one strong one and redirect the old URL.
- Differentiate — give each page its own intent and its own keyword.
- Show a hierarchy — the secondary page visibly points to the main page.
In btlabs Core, the internal SEO index detects cannibalization automatically and shows the most important cases in the cockpit.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions.
Has classic SEO become obsolete with AI search?
No. Google AI overviews mostly cite pages that already rank well classically. SEO remains the ticket in — AI optimisation (GEO) is the extension with citable answers, structure and visible authority.
What happens to my Google ranking?
No copy-paste nightmare: content is imported cleanly, all old URLs are 301-redirected. That keeps intact the structure your ranking depends on. Speed is a confirmed ranking factor — how it plays out in your case is Google's call.