Homepage cannibalization is a common issue many websites face when multiple pages compete for the same keywords, and often, the homepage outranks “more optimized” internal pages. This can prevent users from reaching the most relevant content and hurt your overall SEO efforts.
Let’s look at why homepage keyword cannibalization occurs, the problems it creates, and how to fix it to ensure the right pages rank for the right keywords.
Why Does Homepage Cannibalization Happen?
Homepage cannibalization typically occurs because of the authority and backlink strength that the homepage naturally accumulates over time. The homepage tends to get the most external backlinks, which makes it the “most authoritative” page in Google’s eyes.
Here are the primary reasons your home page might outrank your specific service pages:
- Homepage Authority and Backlinks: The homepage often has the highest number of backlinks compared to other internal pages. Because of this, search engines view it as the most important page on the site. This can lead to the homepage ranking for specific keywords, even when those keywords have more relevant pages within the site.
- SEO Focus on Homepage and Category Pages: SEOs often focus their efforts on the homepage and category pages, as these tend to have broader appeal and high-volume keywords. This leaves internal or product pages less optimized, overshadowing the homepage in search rankings.
- Broad Search Intent and Google’s Behavior: Google may sometimes generalize a search query to the broader theme of a website, believing that the homepage best fits the user intent. This is particularly common in local SEO. For example, if users search for an “emergency plumber” and the website’s homepage briefly mentions it, Google might rank the homepage over a dedicated emergency plumbing page.
Consequences of Homepage Cannibalization
When the homepage ranks for keywords that should be directing users to more specific internal pages, it creates several issues.
Users searching for specific information might land on a page that doesn’t directly answer their needs, leading to a frustrating experience. This not only affects user satisfaction but can also impact conversion rates. If visitors have to click around to find the right information, they’re more likely to leave without taking any action.
A homepage that’s trying to do too much is also harder to optimize effectively. You want your homepage to give a great overall impression of your business. But if it’s also trying to rank for every possible keyword, it becomes cluttered and loses focus.
Examples of Homepage Cannibalization
Take for example an HVAC company’s website. If the homepage simply states: “Hi, we are XYZ HVAC serving San Ramon” and includes links to different services, it is considered a “thin” page, and a suboptimal user experience.
On the other hand, a dedicated emergency plumbing page might have thousands of words of optimized content with detailed descriptions of emergency services.
Despite this, Google may rank the homepage higher because of its authority (there’s that damned word again!), leaving the more detailed internal page with fewer chances to rank.
How to Fix Homepage Cannibalization
The good news is that there are several ways to address homepage cannibalization and help ensure your internal pages get the attention they deserve.
One of the most effective ways to tackle this issue is to optimize your internal pages with clear intent.
Make sure that each of your internal pages is well-optimized for a specific keyword and offers detailed, targeted content that clearly communicates its relevance.
You want Google to understand that these pages are the best matches for their respective topics—not just your homepage.
A great home page content strategy is to clearly mention and “tease” the services you offer, link to the individual service pages from these teaser sections on the home page using keyword-rich anchor text.
So, for the “emergency plumbing” example, you might have a small section on the home page showing an image of emergency plumbing services, a linked headline below the image stating “emergency plumbing services” and a teaser paragraph text giving a short description of the service, along with an additional hyperlink in the paragraph with a slight rephrase, “emergency plumber service”.
This can help your home page’s effectiveness in communicating to users and search engines what your site is really about.
Internal linking is a powerful tool for fixing homepage cannibalization. Think of internal links as guideposts for both users and search engines. Instead of linking back to your homepage with vague anchor text like “Learn more,” use descriptive text that clarifies what the linked page is about.
Good internal linking helps distribute authority more evenly across your site and signals to Google which pages are the most relevant for specific topics.
For local SEO, leveraging your Google Business Profile can also make a big difference.
Instead of linking your profile to your homepage, consider linking it to a highly relevant internal page, such as a service page that matches the search intent of local users. This helps guide searchers directly to the most appropriate information, improving their experience and boosting your chances of ranking well.
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SEO Anathema: De-Optimization
A technique known as “de-optimization” can also help your homepage to not outrank your internal offer pages. An example is going to explain it best.
Let’s say a Bay Area dental practice has its homepage ranking #3 for “dental implants San Francisco” when they actually want their dedicated dental implants service page to rank instead.
Current Homepage Issues
The homepage currently contains:
- H1 tag: “San Francisco Dental Implants & Family Dentistry”
- Multiple mentions of “dental implants” throughout the content
- Meta title targeting “dental implants San Francisco”
De-optimization Strategy
Homepage Adjustments
- Change H1 to “Welcome to [Practice Name] – Family Dentistry”.
- Remove or reduce mentions of “dental implants”.
- Ensure that internal links to the service page use clear anchors like “dental implants”.
- Update the meta title of the home page to focus on brand name, location and general dentistry.
Service Page Optimization
- Build deep links from other internal pages to the implant service page using relevant anchor text.
- Create contextual links within blog posts and other content pages pointing to the service page.
- Ensure the service page has comprehensive, unique content about dental implants.
Internal Linking Structure
- Remove sitewide footer/header links targeting implant-related keywords.
- Add more contextual links from high-authority pages to the service page.
- Decrease the number of internal links pointing to the homepage for the target term.
The key is to make these changes gradually while monitoring rankings to ensure the service page naturally takes over as the most relevant result for the target keyword.
Tips to Prevent Future Cannibalization
The best way to prevent homepage cannibalization is by being proactive about how you distribute your SEO efforts. Instead of concentrating all your energy on the homepage, make sure you’re prioritizing the optimization of category and the individual product, service or procedure pages, too.
Doing this, you help those pages stand a better chance of competing in search rankings instead of being overshadowed by the homepage.
It’s also crucial to be mindful of where your external backlinks are pointing. While it’s natural for many of them to link to the homepage, make an effort to obtain backlinks for other pages as well.
“Make sure you build backlinks directly to internal service, product or procedure pages too, rather than just aiming all your efforts at the home page. These little guys need enough juice to compete!”
David Victor, SEO Expert
This can help distribute link authority across your site and ensure that your internal pages have enough “juice” to compete.
And finally, keeping an eye on your rankings is an essential part of preventing homepage cannibalization. Regularly check which pages rank best for your target keywords. If you notice that your homepage is starting to rank for a keyword that would be better suited to an internal page, adjust your on-page SEO and internal linking strategies to help nudge Google in the right direction.
Don’t Let Your Homepage Bully Your Service Pages!
Homepage cannibalization of keywords can hinder your SEO performance and prevent users from reaching the most relevant content.
By optimizing internal pages, refining internal linking practices, and aligning local SEO efforts, you can mitigate the effects of homepage cannibalization.
Ensure that each page on your site is appropriately focused, allowing search engines to understand their specific relevance and rank them accordingly.
