Keyword cannibalisation resolution

When several pages target one intent, they split signals and Google picks inconsistently. Most advice says merge them, which is often wrong. This skill decides per case between merge, differentiate and demote.

The skill file

---
name: keyword-cannibalisation-resolution
description: Use when two or more of your pages trade places for the same query, or when a page that used to rank has been replaced by a weaker one from your own site.
---

# Keyword cannibalisation resolution

When several pages target one intent, they split signals and Google picks inconsistently. Most advice says merge them, which is often wrong. This skill decides per case between merge, differentiate and demote.

## What you need first

- Search Console query data with page-level breakdown, 3+ months
- The pages competing for each query

## Method

1. For each query, list every URL that has received impressions. Flag any query where the top URL has changed more than twice in the period - flapping is the signal, not merely having two ranking pages.
2. Read the competing pages and decide whether they serve genuinely different intents. Two pages about "pricing" and "pricing vs competitors" are different; two overlapping guides are not.
3. Where intent is the same, merge: keep the URL with more links and history, fold the unique content in, 301 the other.
4. Where intent genuinely differs, differentiate instead of merging: rewrite titles, H1s and opening paragraphs so each targets its own intent unambiguously, and cross-link them with descriptive anchors.
5. Fix internal links regardless of route. Cannibalisation is frequently caused by internal anchors pointing the same phrase at two different URLs.
6. Re-check after a full recrawl and confirm one URL now holds the query consistently.

## What this produces

A per-query decision - merge, differentiate or demote - with the internal-link changes that make the decision stick.

## Where this goes wrong

- Merging pages that serve different intents and losing both rankings
- Ignoring internal anchor text, which is often the actual cause
- Acting on a single week of data where normal fluctuation looks like cannibalisation

---

From the QuQi skill library - https://www.quqi.io/skills/keyword-cannibalisation-resolution

What you need first

• Search Console query data with page-level breakdown, 3+ months
• The pages competing for each query

Method

1. 01 For each query, list every URL that has received impressions. Flag any query where the top URL has changed more than twice in the period - flapping is the signal, not merely having two ranking pages.
2. 02 Read the competing pages and decide whether they serve genuinely different intents. Two pages about "pricing" and "pricing vs competitors" are different; two overlapping guides are not.
3. 03 Where intent is the same, merge: keep the URL with more links and history, fold the unique content in, 301 the other.
4. 04 Where intent genuinely differs, differentiate instead of merging: rewrite titles, H1s and opening paragraphs so each targets its own intent unambiguously, and cross-link them with descriptive anchors.
5. 05 Fix internal links regardless of route. Cannibalisation is frequently caused by internal anchors pointing the same phrase at two different URLs.
6. 06 Re-check after a full recrawl and confirm one URL now holds the query consistently.

What this produces

A per-query decision - merge, differentiate or demote - with the internal-link changes that make the decision stick.

Where this goes wrong

• Merging pages that serve different intents and losing both rankings
• Ignoring internal anchor text, which is often the actual cause
• Acting on a single week of data where normal fluctuation looks like cannibalisation

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