Are your pages competing with each other?
When two pages target the same query, Google has to choose one, and it may choose the page you did not want. The pages split their own signals and neither ranks as well as a single, focused page would.
Compares the titles and H1s of a set of your pages for overlapping intent. Saved to your account if you are signed in to a paid plan.
How this check works
Shipwork reads the title and H1 of a set of your pages, extracts the significant words, and measures how much any two pages overlap. Pages whose titles and H1s overlap heavily are likely competing for the same query. It is a fast signal from what a crawler reads first, not a full keyword analysis.
What the keyword cannibalization checker compares
The check reads the title and H1 text captured from a set of crawlable pages, extracts significant words, and compares the resulting token sets pair by pair. When two pages cross the tool's overlap threshold, it reports that their titles and H1s target overlapping keywords. If no pair crosses that threshold, it reports that no checked pages target the same keywords.
This is a fast on-page signal, not a query report. It does not read your Search Console performance data, determine which URL ranks for a search, interpret body copy for every page, or prove that Google treats two pages as competitors. Similar title/H1 language is a reason to investigate intent, not an automatic instruction to merge pages.
How to interpret an overlap finding
Open both URLs and ask what job each page serves. Two product pages with similar names may represent distinct products, while a blog guide and a collection page may be trying to answer the same query with different formats. Check the actual query and page data in Search Console if available: repeated alternation between your URLs for the same query is stronger evidence than a title comparison alone.
A clean result means only that no pair in the checked set crossed this text-overlap threshold. It does not prove that no cannibalization exists: pages can compete through different wording, and the crawl may not include every URL. Conversely, shared brand names or standard template wording can create overlap without a real intent conflict. Review both the finding and the page purpose before changing URLs.
Common causes and why they matter
Sites often accumulate two pages for one topic over time: an old campaign page remains live after a new category page launches, several blog posts answer the same question, or location pages use almost identical headings. If the pages satisfy the same intent, signals such as links and relevance can be divided, and a search engine may select a less useful URL. That can also make internal links and analytics harder to interpret.
The opposite mistake is treating every repeated phrase as a problem. Product templates naturally repeat brand and category terms, and similar wording alone is not a reason to delete valid pages. Keyword cannibalization describes competing intent, not simply repeated text. Duplicate titles and near-identical body copy are related checks with different evidence; use the duplicate content check when that is the concern.
Fix the actual intent conflict
If both pages satisfy the same need and one can replace the other, choose the stronger URL, move any unique useful content to it, update internal links, and redirect the retired URL with a permanent redirect. Update the sitemap so it lists the kept canonical page. Before redirecting, confirm there is no distinct product, language, legal or user need that requires both pages.
If both pages deserve to exist, clarify their roles in titles, H1s and body copy. For example, make one a category for browsing products and the other a guide explaining how to choose among them. Add contextual links between them and ensure each page offers content specific to its purpose. A canonical is for duplicate or substantially equivalent URLs, not a general tool for resolving two pages with different content and goals.
When to use related checks
Use this checker to shortlist pages with overlapping title and H1 language. Use content quality to inspect other on-page content concerns and duplicate content for repeated titles or descriptions. Use canonical check to verify which URL a page declares as canonical after you decide that URLs are duplicates or alternate versions.
For query-level evidence, connect Search Console and compare the URLs shown for the same query over time. The keyword cannibalization guide covers how to choose between consolidating, differentiating and re-aiming pages. Shipwork's checker is a diagnostic lead; the page-level decision depends on the search intent and business role of each URL.
Questions
What is keyword cannibalization?
How do I fix it?
Is this the same as duplicate content?
How do I check for keyword cannibalization on my website?
Does keyword cannibalization checker use Google Search Console data?
Should I merge pages with overlapping titles?
Is keyword cannibalization the same as duplicate content?
Can a canonical tag fix keyword cannibalization?
Keep reading
What this reads
- Reads public pages from outside your network, the way a crawler does.
- No signup, and nothing is stored on the free checks.
- One of 83 checks across discovery, content, markup, trust and catalogue data.
Cool, just ran an audit and got some insights! Let’s see if I can fix them :)
Whoah! this site is crazy, nothing to roast at all
cool as heck, tried it on my blog and the insights it gave are helpful and not bluff.