Search engine ranking is a crucial element of any website. It is essential in helping business websites reach out to their target audience. For the past years, businesses have taken their part in ensuring that their websites are filled with elements such as keywords, backlinks, meta descriptions, anchor links, alt tags, etc. These elements are essential in securing an SEO-friendly website and help increase a webpage’s SEO ranking. If a business website’s ranking increases, it is more likely to appear on the top search engines in the online community. The more they appear on these search engines, the closer they reach their target audience.
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Exposure is one of the goals of having an SEO-friendly website. This is very important, especially in a competitive world like digital commerce. Although there are many ways a business website can be SEO-friendly, there are still some inevitable issues that may arise. One of them is known as keyword cannibalization. These issues can be deadly for the website and the business if not properly handled. As an entrepreneur, you must prepare yourself with enough knowledge on how to battle these keyword cannibalization issues and ensure the safety of your website, the business, and your clients.
What is Keyword Cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalization occurs when a business website has too many identical keywords throughout its pages. When two or more similar keywords are present on your website content, it can result in search engine confusion. One of the two website pages you created can affect the ability of the other to rank higher. When there is keyword cannibalization, significant search engines like Google will need help to determine which of your website content they should rank higher.
Keyword cannibalization issues are also considered an SEO concept that can significantly impact your rankings once mishandled. When a search engine detects keyword cannibalization on your website, it can result in them giving the wrong rank to your content. In some occasions, the priority content of websites loses the opportunity to get more traffic due to a failure to avoid keyword cannibalization. In the end, both pages had the chance to increase their overall ranking.
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Reasons Why You Should Learn Keyword Cannibalization Issues
Mastering how to find keyword cannibalization is a must for every business website owner. Not because you have successfully launched a website means you should stop from there. Once you equip yourself with enough knowledge on avoiding keyword cannibalization issues, you can save yourself from
1. Hurting Your Backlinks
Backlinks are essential for successful search engine optimization. These links are crucial in linking content to your business website from other connected authority websites. Backlinks help boost your productivity and search engine ranking; that’s why it is directly affected if keyword cannibalization issues are present. Once you miss the chance to find keyword cannibalization issues current on your webpage, the backlinks attached to your website will all be worthless. Instead of going to another website page, the links you connect will split between the two web pages putting your effort to waste. If these keyword cannibalization issues occur, improving your website would be impossible.
2. Getting Poor Web Page Quality
One of the reasons why online visitors log on to your website is to get helpful and exciting content. They seek an answer to their problems which they believe they will see once they visit your website. Keyword cannibalization issues break the function of the keyword you put across your website pages. When this occurs, it will appear as if the content you post on your business website is running thin. A good quality page must have unique keywords that tackle specific topics related to the business’s niche. Usually, there should only be one keyword per website page. When you have similar keywords all over your pages, your online visitors will think that your contents are poor quality. Getting ahead by learning how to identify keyword cannibalization issues can help you sort out your keywords well. Once you battle keyword cannibalization, creating only the best and most effective website content your audience will surely enjoy will be easier.
3. Having Low Conversion Rates
Conversion is a secret weapon for every online business. In this world where competition is tight, you must know how to grab every opportunity that comes along your way. Online visitors who visit various websites aren’t always sure what they genuinely want until they see something interesting.
As a business owner, you must exhibit specific strategies to approach these potential customers smoothly and lead them into the checkout process. One way you can do that is to ensure that online visitors can easily see your website online. Search engine optimization plays a crucial role in helping you create more conversions. When your SEO ranking is high, you can gain website traffic. This is one of the reasons why you should learn what is keyword cannibalization.
Understanding how to avoid keyword cannibalization can save you from losing potential conversions. When keyword cannibalization is present on your website, your website contents seem to be “fighting” each other. As a result, your website conversion suffers.
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How to Avoid Keyword Cannibalization
Understanding what is keyword cannibalization isn’t enough to save you from the troubles. As a wise and practical website owner, you must equip yourself with awesome hacks. You must secure yourself with a set of tips and tricks on how you can successfully battle keyword cannibalization issues that may hinder your e-commerce success.
1. Run A Keyword Research
One of the best ways to avoid keyword cannibalization is through keyword research. Keyword research helps online businesses to get more specific with the keywords they are using. Using keyword research can help you identify the best keywords you can use in each of the website content you post on your business website.
One of the benefits many website owners can get from keyword research is finding new ways to describe the content they are about to post. Now that competition is everywhere in digital commerce, it is advantageous if you can stand out from everyone. You can easily avoid keyword cannibalization issues when your content has the best keywords to drive more engagement and conversions. Through regular keyword research, you will find more leads and a set of keywords that is not just timely to use but also suitable for your chosen market niche. Focus on long-tail keywords when you conduct keyword research to avoid keyword cannibalization issues. These types of keywords are considered to be more potent because they drive better credible website traffic.
2. Be Specific
The next tip you can do to identify keyword cannibalization issues and prevent them is to be specific. In digital commerce, every term created is somehow connected to the previous words used by many websites. To avoid keyword cannibalization issues, you should use more specific times than the general ones widely used by your competitors. For example, if you want to refer to “clothes” in your website content, you can add additional words to make your keyword more unique and specific. Instead of using the term “clothes,” you can use “fashionable winter clothes,” “kid’s school apparel,” “coats for men,” or “trendy prom dresses.”
Equip your keywords with other related words like shirts, pants, hats, jackets, etc. Break down your keywords into broader brackets. Applying this strategy can make it easier to categorize the content you post on your website and avoid keyword cannibalization. Doing this can also help you end up in the appropriate search results section. The more you become specific with your keywords, the higher the chances you can avoid keyword cannibalization.
3. Update Your Website
Last but not the list in this guide to keyword cannibalization is keeping your website updated. Keyword cannibalization is one occurrence that is likely to happen if a website isn’t inspected regularly. This is one of the common mistakes website owners often commit unconsciously. It is not enough that you managed to create a post that is hyped and liked by your online visitors. You must also do your part in ensuring that your platform is well-functioning at all times.
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As a website owner, you must ensure that your online store can perform its duties well, specifically in catering to the needs of your online community. You must always check if the features you offer are still working or if the content you posted is still relevant to your niche. Doing this step can help you quickly find keyword cannibalization within the pages of your business website.
Conducting regular updates on your website can help you identify keyword cannibalization and immediately find a way to fix the problem. If you have multiple website pages experiencing keyword cannibalization issues, you will have enough time to pick your best website page. After that, you can also start creating new and improved content different from what you made.
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Not because you have successfully launched a website here in Strikingly means you should stop from there. To be an effective website owner, you must always ensure that everything you put on your website is updated and makes sense. Remember that no matter how pretty your websites are, your online audience will only seek more if they are contented. You can find the best partner in website building, like Strikingly, who knows what they are doing in e-commerce and website building. It would be best if you kept yourself empowered by genius ways and a helping hand from our reliable Happiness Team to improve your services to your online visitors.
If you want to know more about website design and e-commerce, chat with us today, and we’ll get you started.
