Keyword cannibalization sounds terrifying and can spell disaster for search engine optimization. It is a common misconception that targeting multiple pages on a website for a single keyword can be advantageous for the site and the keyword. As any good SEO company in Toronto will tell you, the exact opposite is true. Optimizing multiple pages of a site for a single keyword won’t just be detrimental – it could get the site blacklisted on search engines based on the severity of their algorithms. So, how does keyword cannibalization destroy search engine optimization efforts?

 

Professional SEO Companies in Toronto Avoid This Because:

 

It Impacts Crawl Depth

Let’s face it – SEO is usually done for Google over other search engines. Keyword cannibalization forces Google’s algorithms to pick between multiple pages optimized for the same keyword. This heavily impacts the crawl depth of the search engine, as it is forced to filter out other pages in favour of one it assumes is the best. This could mean that the page that is chosen by Google isn’t the most relevant for that keyword.

 

SEO Isn’t as Effective

It’s simple physics – spreading force over a large surface area reduces how much pressure is exerted. Similarly, spreading keyword optimization, backlinks, and anchor text across multiple pages as opposed to a single page can reduce the effectiveness of the SEO for that keyword. In Toronto, SEO companies employ best practices to ensure that every keyword is effective and focused on a single page to combat this.

 

Internal “Cannibalization” Occurs

The term cannibalization refers to this – the site’s pages begin to compete with each other to rank for the same keyword. This results in the overall ranking of the entire site depreciating significantly. It is a huge SEO faux pas.

 

Keyword cannibalization is something to be avoided at all times, which is why it is always highly recommended that you hire a professional SEO company in Toronto when you need your site optimized. With a working knowledge of current best practices and skilled team of SEO specialists, cannibalization won’t be something to worry about.