Keyword cannibalization: When two or more pages on the same site target the same search, so they compete with each other and neither ranks as well as one clear page would.
It is also spelled “cannibalisation”. Either way, it is one of the most over-diagnosed problems in SEO.
Overlap is not always a problem
Two pages appearing for the same query is normal. A travel site’s “Two days in Porto” itinerary and its “Where to stay in Porto” guide will both pick up impressions for “Porto”. That isn’t cannibalization: they answer different questions, and Google can show both. The real problem is when two pages serve the same search intent, so Google keeps swapping which one it shows and neither settles. Think of a personal-finance blog with “Best budgeting apps 2024” and “Best budgeting apps for couples” that are 80% the same list.
How to spot it on a WordPress site
Open Search Console’s Performance report, filter to one query, then switch to the Pages tab. If two or more of your URLs share the impressions and the position line keeps jumping, look closer. Check whether the pages really answer the same question, and whether your internal links point at both with the same anchor text. The keyword cannibalization checker runs this comparison across all your queries at once.
What to do
- Merge the weaker page into the stronger one and add a 301 redirect, when they are true duplicates.
- Retarget one of them to a different angle or audience, when both are worth keeping.
- Repoint internal links so the page you want to rank receives the links and the clearest anchor text.
Deleting the weaker page without a redirect throws away whatever links it had. The guide to keyword cannibalization in WordPress covers diagnosis in depth, and choosing between merging, redirecting and retargeting covers the fixes.