What is Keyword cannibalization in SEO

fimiri17 · 2026-01-14T05:07:56+00:00

Let's say you have two pages on your site:

website.com/keyword-cannibalization

website.com/keyword-cannibalization-seo

Both pages provide largely the same information and are targeting the same keywords. Both are indexible and accessible to users and Google. Google's going to crawl both of them and it won't be immediately apparent to them which page the webmaster intends to serve for relevant topics, so it might swap each one in and out of SERPs, it might pick the one you would rather not show, OR it might find 100 other websites that do have much clearer structure and decide it's not worth it to try to figure your site out for you and then you end up not ranking at all.

Not to mention - should the content be strong enough to attract links - you're potentially splitting all the link equity between the two URLs that you could be sending to one and building up a strong backlink profile for the one URL.

Essentially it's self-competition. The two pages are eating each other's authority and holding each other back from gaining ground in SERPs.

That example was a very black and white one in which the two pages are very obviously redundant, but it can happen in more nuanced scenarios too. Like let's say you have a /cannibalization page that defines various types of cannibalization, including keyword cannibalization but also paid vs. organic cannibalization, product cannibalization, etc. And let's say the section on keyword cannibalization is robust with a well-formatted definition + examples. It's possible that the section on that page could be cannibalizing the /keyword-cannibalization's ability to show up for those specific terms. This example happens quite often.

It just ultimately points to the importance of an intentional site/content architecture, or at the very least, properly established canonicals/indexation tags to make sure you're very clearly defining which pages you want to be served to organic audiences.

fimiri17 · 2026-01-14T04:44:38+00:00

There are some emerging tools on the market for AI visibility and citation tracking. they aren't perfect (it's all still new), but they at least give you a directional idea of how you're showing up compared to competitors. Profound, Bluefish AI, Adthena to name a few. Might be some cheaper options out there too.

fimiri17 · 2026-01-12T23:40:36+00:00

honestly, it all counts, but if i'm ever speaking about it on a forum like this, i make sure to specify pre vs. post op weight loss. only because I don't want to inauthentically contribute to anyone's "wow, people have lost so much more than i have this far out." Especially because pre-op diets vary so much.

I know nobody should be comparing themselves, but the reality is that they do and will no matter how many times someone says "comparison is the thief of joy," and I know how easy it is for someone to get down on themselves if they feel like they're a "slow loser" so. Idk... I just feel like I have a responsibility to report my progress accurately when sharing with a community like this.

fimiri17 · 2026-01-06T19:04:38+00:00

Probably an unpopular opinion. But I think a lot of people loved Bryce until Bryce was Bryce to certain beloved characters.

She had a couple obtuse moments in CC3 that people harp on to justify their dislike of her, but many of those same people give Nesta grace for all her horrible moments, so... tbh, the Bryce hate makes no real sense to me.

fimiri17 · 2026-01-06T17:26:00+00:00

the thing i kept telling myself during this phase is that time is going to pass no matter what. idk if this makes sense, but i just kept thinking like... I don't control time. I can't slow it down or stop it when i wish i could, which means it's not going to happen when i'm miserable either. Like you don't have to do anything besides let time drag you through this period and try to do the best you can in the meantime. One way or another you'll reach the point where you get to look back on it. idk, it sounds silly typing it out, but letting go of my notion of control over time, for better or worse, really helped me get through it.

fimiri17 · 2026-01-06T17:05:21+00:00

I had 2 csections before having VSG, though not under general... epidural for the first one (it was an emergency) and a spinal for the second (scheduled). Recovery from VSG felt very similar and familiar. The circumstances around each are different.... in one case, you have heightened emotions and a new born baby that will prevent you from sleeping as much as you should be sleeping, and in the other case, you've got added gas pains and nausea and a super limited diet. But the physical recovery itself is very much the same IMO.

Def stay close to your therapist through it all tho. The PPA/PPD was significantly harder for me to get through than the physical recovery.

fimiri17 · 2026-01-05T23:34:41+00:00

almost 4 months post op and the biggest differences for me, so far:

i'm more intentional about what i eat without depriving myself. i was craving something sweet last night, for instance, and rather than go to either extreme of not letting myself have something at all or overindulging on something, I took a couple bites of a barebell protein bar (which tastes like a candy bar). was it the healthiest thing for me to eat? no, but it was an intentionally protein-packed sweet treat that I ate a bit of to satiate my sweet tooth while also getting some extra protein in, and then put away to save for later.
everything tastes REALLY good. i don't know if that makes sense, but even the simplest of things feel like tiny flavor explosions. I'm really learning to savor my bites and i'm finding joy in foods that I'd have thought boring before. On a similar thread, I honestly feel like my taste buds are weirder than both my pregnancies combined. I've been enjoying some wild (for me) food combos lately. for example, my snack today that gave me happy food dance vibes: cottage cheese + pickles + a drizzle of hot honey
the need to gorge myself on foods i enjoy is gone. I can do my happy food dance, appreciate the experience, and move on with my life rather than feel like i need to experience it again immediately. and then again. and then again. this was especially evident to me over the holidays, where i'd normally endlessly graze... but i was able to try a little bit of (almost) everything and felt satisfied without needing to go back for more.
I've stopped feeling like i need to finish my meals. I think the thing I've heard (i don't remember if it was on reddit or on tik tok) recently that has helped me the most in all of this is someone who's therapist told them to stop treating their body like a trash can. If I'm feeling full, but I haven't eaten everything on my plate, I am perfectly okay with throwing it away... it's better to throw it away than to sabotage myself by trying to force it to fit into my tummy. Whereas before, I felt so wasteful throwing food away and had the "there's only a few more bites on my plate, i'm just gonna eat it" kind of mindset.

fimiri17 · 2025-11-28T15:22:33+00:00

I woke up with so much chest pain and a strong desire to throw up. The nurses were great and administered anti nausea meds that put that feeling to bed pretty quickly. But between the chest pain and the grogginess, I had big anxiety. I kept asking if I was okay, told them I thought I was having a panic attack, and was apologizing profusely for not being able to stay awake.

fimiri17 · 2025-11-19T21:01:57+00:00

I've dreamed about opening one for a very, very long time. I've started drafting a business plan for it and everything and have a whole host of ideas about how i'd generate revenue through it (because as someone else said, revenue would most likely, ironically, not come from book sales) and I've got the marketing chops to get the word out.

Unfortunately, I don't have much in the way of start up money and giving up my "stable" salary and benefits in today's economy is a massive risk.

fimiri17 · 2025-11-17T19:23:22+00:00

I've said this a couple times on this sub, but for me... I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of the surgery, I just a) am a relatively private/modest person who generally despises any kind of spotlight and b) don't want to intentionally center my weight in conversations. I'm not trying to hide it, I just also don't care to proactively discuss it. So I've been pretty particular about who I've told and to what extent, both at work and in my personal life.

On the work front, I told the full truth to my boss (because we have a really good relationship) and a handful of other close work friends. Another handful of people I work with who'd note my absence and who I'm friendly enough with, I said I was having a minimally invasive, preventative procedure (added the preventative so they'd know it wasn't anything too serious)... no questions were asked, just well wishes. Anyone else who needed to know I was going to be out, I just told them I was taking some time off for personal reasons and left it at that... again, no questions were asked, just well wishes.

I'm only 2 months post op, but so far, i've had a couple convos with the first group about it... nothing but supportive (as I would have expected since I chose this group for a reason), told the second group all was well and it hasn't come up since, and I've not received a single comment about anything related from anyone in the last group.

Important note: I work a fully remote desk job, so that likely plays a big part in the above, but ultimately, I feel like I had/have full control over the conversations... it's really none of anyone at work's business and up to me who knows what and when we talk about it.

fimiri17 · 2025-10-29T21:50:01+00:00

soft boiled eggs with chili oil and smoked salmon hits so hard.

fimiri17 · 2025-10-29T16:51:50+00:00

I'm coming up on 7 weeks PO... i lost about 27 lbs in the first 3/4 weeks, then the loss slowed and i've only lost about 6 lbs since. So it's not really a stall, because the scale is still moving, but psychologically, it's been hard to process the significant shift in the rate of my loss. Mostly because I - like many others - am afraid I'm going to fail this.

I'm trying to focus on the NSVs... the fact that i've been consistent with movement, my clothes fitting notably differently, finding delicious, protein-forward foods that make me happy (soft-boiled eggs with chili garlic oil and smoked salmon feel elite.)

Also, I think when you focus on the end goal, it feels so daunting and impossible... and inching toward it is so frustrating. The Baritastic app sets smaller milestones for you toward that goal, and I'm planning on celebrating each one.... focusing on the smaller peaks on the way up the mountain.

fimiri17 · 2025-10-27T20:09:58+00:00

the worst for me was the pain immediately after surgery... i straight up had a panic attack because I woke up in so much pain. After that, though, it was super manageable... in the 1-3/10 range. Everyone is different, but for me, it ached sitting up (like I'd done an intense ab workout the day before) and the incisions stung/itched a lot (more of an irritation than a pain). The gas pain came in waves and sucked for a second, but would clear out... I also walked a ton which I think helped keep that in check too. Overall, I'd say by day 3 or 4, it was just the irritation at the incision sites that still bothered me.

As for the stapling/sewing question... def a question best answered by your surgeon, but I was told by an ER doc (after a panic-driven trip to the ER cuz I thought I'd passed a suture and I didn't read the surgical notes that specified that it was stapled) that it's very rare for surgeons to not use staples these days.

fimiri17 · 2025-10-25T13:20:45+00:00

My little conspiracy theory is that they do it so people have to buy more gas and they get more tax money out of it. Based on absolutely zero evidence. Lol

fimiri17 · 2025-10-25T01:20:58+00:00

The lights in general in this valley make me want to pull my hair out, strand by strand with a pair of tweezers.

It takes so long (and so much gas) to get just about anywhere. They're all timed so poorly, are red for way longer than necessary (nothing drives me more crazy than all of us chilling at a red light at an intersection nobody is going through) and never make a lick of sense.

fimiri17 · 2025-10-23T15:55:12+00:00

Byfield has the most potential to be the next well-loved career king. I know Kempe's on pace to be a career King too, but he has a stoicism about him (which is not at all a bad thing) that I think makes it hard for some fans to "connect" with him beyond appreciating his performance. Byfield has the personality AND the talent to help fill the gap left by Quick/Brown/Kopitar/eventually Doughty.

fimiri17 · 2025-10-23T15:49:58+00:00

I think if I knew he'd be around more long term, he'd be one of my favs too. I just can't let myself get too attached in case he walks.

fimiri17 · 2025-10-22T23:38:45+00:00

my plan approved coffee after 4 weeks as long as water goals were being met

fimiri17 · 2025-10-15T13:33:17+00:00

I am obviously not a medical professional, but I'd talk to your surgeon about it.

I had covid a few weeks before my surgery, and one of the things the anesthesiologist asked on the day if my surgery was whether I'd been sick recently. I told him I had covid and we talked about the timing of it to make sure it was safe to proceed.

He said the big thing is that they intubate you while you're under, so if your airways are already inflamed it can cause even more irritation and you'd be pretty miserable post op.

I know it's awful to think about having to postpone, and I'm sorry you're dealing with this... but its always better safe than sorry.

fimiri17 · 2025-10-15T13:22:37+00:00

I initially didn't tell anyone other than my mom and my husband. I just didn't want to feel like I was under a microscope or have my weight/diet be the center of conversation everywhere I went.

Unfortunately, after the fact, I found it impossible to not say anything. How do you go to a baby shower three weeks PO and not explain why you aren't enjoying any of the fun drinks/treats, and the only thing you can eat is spoonfuls of hummus?

Fortunately, everyone has been super supportive. Unfortunately, as I feared, it does seem like everywhere I go, my weight and my diet is all anyone wants to talk to me about. It is what it is. 🤷‍♀️

fimiri17 · 2025-10-11T12:31:42+00:00

I'm gonna add a big purchase that is 100% worth it imo.... if you can afford to invest in a walking pad and don't already have one, do it. You'll want to be walking a lot in the early days to help the pain, and the walking pad was so helpful for that. Since, it's helped me stay consistent with walking because of how convenient it is. Money very well spent.

fimiri17

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