Keyword cannibalization
SEOmatic is the SEO agent that works from your real Google Search Console data and makes the fixes on your site. Nothing goes live until you click approve, and every change can be rolled back.
Two pages splitting one query usually means neither ranks as well as one would. But most "cannibalization" reports are noise: a homepage and a product page both showing for the brand name is normal. This skill finds the cases that actually cost clicks.
Prerequisite
Search Console must be connected. If a tool reports it is not, give the user this link and stop: https://app.seomatic.ai/connect/gsc - it is one browser step, then re-ask. Do not substitute guesses for GSC data.
1. Pull the real conflicts
gsc_insights action cannibalization (28 days, minImpressions 50).
It returns queries where several of the site's pages earn impressions. Then
gsc_performance action query_pages on the top candidates to see each
page's own clicks, impressions and position for that query.
2. Keep only the ones that cost something
A conflict matters when:
- Two pages both sit in positions 5-30 for the query, and neither is clearly winning, or
- The ranking URL flips between pages week to week (
gsc_performanceactiondimension_breakdownwithdimensiondate andfilterQuery), or - The page Google prefers is the wrong one (a blog post outranking the money page for a buying query).
Drop brand queries and cases where one page has over 80% of the clicks. Those are already resolved.
3. Pick the winner and the fix
site_pages action crawl both pages. Then choose one of four fixes:
| Situation | Fix | Task type |
|---|---|---|
| Same intent, one page clearly stronger | Merge the weaker into the stronger | consolidate |
| Different intents, wrong page ranking | Retarget the weaker away from the query | cannib_retarget (needs queries) |
| Weaker page has no value of its own | 301 it to the winner | redirect |
| Both deserve to exist | Clarify with internal links pointing at the winner | internal_links |
redirect removes a URL from the index. It needs the user's explicit
sign-off on that specific URL, and task_manage action decide requires
confirmDestructive: true for it. Never set that on your own judgment.
4. Present it
For each conflict: the query, both pages with their own numbers, which page should win and why, and the fix. Five real conflicts beat fifty rows.
Offer to stage the work
Staging needs a paid SEOmatic plan (the key carries the agents:act scope).
It costs no credits, runs nothing, and always waits for the user's approval.
On a free key the staging actions are locked and say which plan includes
them: describe the specific fix instead so the user can pass it on.
Check task_manage action list first so you do not stage a duplicate.
Then task_manage action create with up to 5 tasks: consolidate, cannib_retarget (with queries), redirect, or internal_links as chosen above. Each task
needs targetKey (the full page URL, or a topic for content work), a
title that states the goal in the user's words ("Get 'pricing calculator'
onto page 1", never "Optimize meta tags"), and a rationale with the
numbers behind it. Quote cost from each task's estimatedCost.label.
- Tell the user the cards are staged and where to approve them.
- Never approve on the user's behalf. Approval happens in SEOmatic, or
through
task_manageactiondecideonly after the user says yes to that specific task. - Approved auto-executable tasks start within seconds: read the result back
with
task_manageactiongetbefore you claim anything changed.
What not to do
- Do not redirect anything without the user naming that URL and agreeing.
- Do not report brand-query overlap as a problem.
- Do not pick the winner by URL shape. Pick it by intent and its own numbers.