Identify Internal Keyword Competition – XOVI NOW Help

Your website keeps growing, and new content is added regularly. But do you still know whether each of these pages serves a specific unique keyword? If not, some pages may be getting in each other's way.

The XOVI NOW Content Relevance Search provides answers. With it, you can check which subpage has the highest relevance to a keyword, how many subpages in total "rank" for a keyword and find suitable content for internal links.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Why are multiple pages per keyword an issue?
What does the Content Relevance Search do?
How do I check pages for keyword relevance?
How do I check rankings for keyword cannibalization?
How can I increase the keyword relevance of a page?
How do I use Content Relevance Search for internal linking?

Why are multiple pages per keyword an issue?

You want to rank well with your pages to attract as many interested people as possible to your website, who then purchase your offers.

However, if two or more similar pages of your website rank for the same keyword, it may result in so-called keyword cannibalization. If so, the search engine does not know which page is the best search result.

If you want to know more: We created an in-depth article on keyword cannibalization for you.

What happens? The pages hinder each other, and rankings fluctuate in mediocre positions. A good ranking cannot establish itself. This means that you also miss out on a lot of potential traffic.

Create exactly one subpage for each relevant keyword. That makes it easy for search engines to decide which page to display for which search results.

Use the XOVI NOW Keyword Planner to assign a subpage to each keyword. This way, you avoid internal keyword competition. You can learn how to work with the Keyword Planner here.

What does Content Relevance Search do?

The Content Relevance Search lists the pages of your domain and sorts them according to their relevance to the keyword you entered.

When you enter a keyword, Content Relevance Search searches your pages for matches to the keyword. The results are then listed in descending order of relevance. Like search engines, we search for the keyword in:

URL
Meta-Titel
Meta-Description
Headings
Content

Keyword matches are colored yellow while missing matches are shown in light gray. You will find the match percentage at the end of each result card.

The results are listed in descending order; the first result matches your keyword best.

How do I check pages for keyword relevance?

Go to: Projects → Site Audit → Content-Relevanz-Search.

Enter a keyword to view your website's most relevant pages.

Let's look at the results with an example: I would like to check for the keyword scratching posts and see

which page has the highest relevance
and whether this page is intended for the keyword

These are the website's two most relevant pages for scratching posts:

A shop category page, Cat Scratching Posts: Best Cat Scratchers, featuring the shop's collection of scratching posts for sale. (100% Relevance)
Also, a shop category page, but with a wider array of cat furniture: Cat Furniture: Cat Towers, Condos, Perches. (50,33% Relevance)

Let's check both pages' rankings to see whether they share rankings for the keyword scratching posts. The first result is the page intended for the keyword scratching posts, while the second is not.

How do I check rankings for keyword cannibalization?

Enter the keyword in the Smart Input in the navigation bar or Keyword Research. Then, look at the Ranking Analysis tab.

Ranking Analysis lists your keyword's top 100 search results, ranking history, and, if applicable, those of your competitors.

Look at the top 100. Check which subpage(s) are currently ranking in which position. If you find more than one URL here, check out the ranking development over time to see which those are.

If you find multiple rankings, answer the following questions:

Are there persistent fluctuations and mediocre rankings?
Is the ranking for the intended page mediocre/bad?
Is the gap between the rankings of both pages relatively small?

If the answer to those questions is yes, keyword cannibalization is likely the cause.

Increase the keyword relevance of the page intended for the keyword and decrease the page's relevance you don't want to rank.

In our case, the intended category page ranks in position 3 for scratching posts. As planned, the cat furniture page does not. There is no keyword cannibalization.

How to increase a page's keyword relevance

Imagine page A is intended for a keyword. However, page B has a higher relevance and ranks for this keyword.

Then you need to increase page A's keyword relevance and decrease page B's relevance.

1. identify and fulfill user intent

Keep in mind that you don't write your content for the search engine but for real people. The search engine is only a means to an end.

For your content to be relevant and exciting to people, it must deliver exactly what users EXPECT in their queries. After all, a search always has a reason.

You can learn everything you need to know about user intent, what it means, and how to recognize and satisfy user intent in search.

Perform a SERP analysis to determine your content's requirements for Google's page 1.

2. Keyword-optimize page A

Your first measure is keyword optimization for page A. In doing so, you strategically place the intended keyword on your page. This includes

Meta-Title
Meta-Description
Heading/ H1
Image Alt-Tags
Subheading (wo sinnvoll)
Body text

We've put together a Keyword Optimization Checklist for you to work through quickly.

3. Optimize your text

Optimize your text with the XOVI NOW Text Optimizer.

The XOVI NOW Text Optimizer compares your text with your keyword's top 10 search results. It pays close attention to frequently used terms that should be present in your text.

Specify whether you want to optimize your text for Google or Amazon. The Text Optimizer instructs you which terms you should use more or less often and which words you still need to include.

Where can I find the XOVI NOW Text Optimizer?

Go to Projects → Text Optimization and click "Start new optimization."

Enter your page's URL as the landing page. If you use a draft from a text document, use your home page as a stand-in.
Select Include product pages if you want a comparison with Amazon.
Click on Start Optimization.
Go to the overview and click on your landing page.
Select the Text tab, load your URL content, or copy your draft text.
The table below shows relevant terms and if and how often they appear in your text. Add or reduce them.

Want to dive right in? We've created a detailed Text Optimizer Guide. You'll learn how to polish off your text for better rankings.

4. Decrease page B's keyword relevance

Page A is optimized and ready to shine? Well done. All that is left to do is get rid of the internal competition. To do that, lower page B's relevance for your keyword.

Check if subpage B is for a different keyword. If yes, repeat steps 1 - 3 for this keyword.

Does the page serve a different purpose if it is not intended for a different keyword? This would be the case with the store page for our example keyword dental care dog. Since the page for the keyword has no rankings, and there is no keyword cannibalization, it can remain as it is.

However, if there is a competing ranking and the page is not intended for another keyword, you have two options:

If both pages' content and purpose are very similar, you can remove page B and set up a redirect to page A. It may be worth migrating content from page B to page A.
Page B remains online, but you "de-optimize" it by removing the keyword in essential places and replacing it with other suitable terms. But, of course, the meaning of the content must be preserved.

How do I use Content Relevance Search for internal linking?

Especially for large websites, the Content Relevance Search is a real work-saver when creating content. With it, you can easily find suitable pages for internal linking. This is especially handy if you don't know the content archive by heart.

Enter the keyword for which you're looking for internal linking pages in the Content Relevance Search. It will then show you which pages are eligible.