How to prevent cannibalization

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Fighting cannibalization is not easy, especially if the project is large. Finding and fixing competing pages takes a lot of time. So, instead of fixing errors, it is better to try to avoid them.

Here are the basic recommendations:

Before creating a website, collect a semantic core and develop a structure based on it. Each page should have its own goal and its own set of keywords. We wrote in detail in this article how to netherlands phone number material prepare website pages for search queries .
Correctly distribute queries into groups, take into account semantic connections, analyze the top results and adhere to a single strategy.
Build a logical site structure. The SILO structure is especially effective against cannibalization; it organizes content into separate thematic blocks and thus reduces the risk of internal competition.
For each page, write a unique title, description and h1, avoid duplication.
Create a relevance map. This is the name of the site content optimization plan. It contains key phrases, page titles, and meta tags. The relevance map helps avoid content overlaps and confusion in the work of optimizers and copywriters.
Example of a relevance map
Example of a relevance map

Use internal linking . Distribute weight between pages correctly. This will help search engines understand which page is the main one for the request.
When you create a new page, check if there are any similar or related ones.
Query cannibalization is a common occurrence, and it is impossible to insure against it 100%. Therefore, even if you follow the listed recommendations, still regularly monitor how pages are ranked in search engines. This will allow you to identify problems in time and maintain a high site rating.