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The Cannibalization report identifies cases where your own pages compete against each other in search results — splitting ranking signals and potentially hurting both pages. Navigate to Reports → Cannibalization to access this report.

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What Cannibalization Looks Like

When two or more pages target the same keyword, Google doesn’t know which one to rank. The result:
  • Both pages rank lower than a single, strong page would
  • Rankings fluctuate as Google alternates between the competing pages
  • Click-through rates drop because neither page has a stable position

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Reading the Report

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Overlap Pairs

The report shows pairs (or groups) of pages that share significant keyword overlap:
  • Pages involved — The two or more competing URLs
  • Shared keywords — Which queries both pages rank for
  • Ranking positions — Where each page appears (e.g., Page A at position 8, Page B at position 14)
  • Traffic estimate — Combined and individual traffic for the shared keywords
  • Severity — High (both pages on page 1), Medium (pages 1–2), Low (deeper positions)

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Severity Prioritization

Focus on high-severity overlaps first — these are cases where consolidation could move a single page from position 8 to position 3, with a significant traffic increase.

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Taking Action

For each overlap, you have three options: Merge the competing pages into one comprehensive piece:
  1. Choose the stronger page (more backlinks, better performance history)
  2. Incorporate unique content from the weaker page
  3. Set up a 301 redirect from the weaker page to the stronger one
  4. Use the Longform Editor to refine the merged content

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2. Differentiate (When pages serve different intents)

Sometimes two pages cover the same topic but for different audiences or funnel stages. In that case:
  1. Sharpen each page’s focus — make the targeting distinct
  2. Update titles and meta descriptions to emphasize the difference
  3. Adjust internal linking so each page owns its specific angle
  4. Re-target keyword focus to reduce overlap

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3. Remove (When one page adds no value)

If one page is clearly weaker and adds nothing the other doesn’t cover:
  1. Redirect it to the stronger page
  2. Remove it from your content registry
  3. Update any internal links pointing to the removed page
Always set up a 301 redirect before removing a page. Deleting without redirecting loses any backlink equity the page has accumulated.