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Cannibalization isn't similar URLs.

Most cannibalization reports are a list of slugs that look alike. That's a guess, not a finding.

Looks like cannibalizationActually is/water-heater-repair//water-heater-installation/different queries · no overlap/blog/tankless-cost//services/tankless/"tankless water heater cost"both rank for the same query
Left: similar slugs, different queries. Right: different slugs, one shared query.

A repair page and an installation page look like duplicates in a crawl. They rank for completely different searches. Merging them would delete a page that works.

Meanwhile a blog post and a service page with nothing in common in the URL are splitting the same query, and nobody notices because the slugs don't match.

How to actually find it

  • You need query and page together. The Search Console interface won't export both at once — use the Search Analytics for Sheets add-on or Looker Studio.
  • Group by query. Any query with two or more of your URLs getting impressions is a candidate.
  • Different cities on different pages are never cannibalization. That's the point of location pages.
  • When you consolidate, keep the page with more clicks, not more impressions. Google usually already picked the winner.
Optimization disclosureThis post was written to rank for keyword cannibalization. If you actually want to talk about SEO, call (502) 963-7305 or email me.

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