# Keyword cannibalization

> What keyword cannibalization is, how to spot it in Search Console and how to fix it: merge the pages, differentiate them or show a clear hierarchy between them.

Synonyms: keyword cannibalisation, 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](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/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](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/301-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](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/seo-search-engine-optimisation) index detects cannibalization automatically and shows the most important cases in the cockpit.

How to tell more generally whether a page is good enough is covered in [Content SEO: how to tell whether a page is good enough](https://btlabs.dev/en/posts/content-seo-is-a-page-good-enough).

- [SEO](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary?tag=seo)

## Related terms

- [SEO (search engine optimisation)](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/seo-search-engine-optimisation)
- [Search Console](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/search-console)
- [Click-through rate (CTR)](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/click-through-rate-ctr)
- [Citability (AI citability)](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/citability-ai-citability)

## Frequently asked questions.

**Has classic SEO become obsolete with AI search?**

No. [Google AI overviews](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/ai-overviews) mostly cite pages that already rank well classically. SEO remains the ticket in — AI optimisation ([GEO](https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/geo-generative-engine-optimization) ) 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.

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Source: https://btlabs.dev/en/glossary/keyword-cannibalization
Languages: [de](https://btlabs.dev/llms/de/glossary/keyword-kannibalisierung) · [it](https://btlabs.dev/llms/it/glossary/cannibalizzazione-keyword)
See also: [llms.txt](https://btlabs.dev/llms.txt) · [ai.txt (Policy)](https://btlabs.dev/ai.txt) · [identity.json](https://btlabs.dev/identity.json)