What is Keyword Diversification – Cannibalization’s Good Twin

Keyword diversification

Keyword diversification is an important search engine optimization (SEO) strategy involving targeting multiple relevant keywords and key phrases to increase organic traffic to your website. It allows you to tap into more search queries and reduce reliance on a few terms.

Keyword diversification has been called “cannibalization’s good twin” because while keyword cannibalization refers to scenarios where you are targeting very similar or even identical terms that result in pages on the same site competing against each other, keyword diversification aims to target distinct but closely related keywords to attract more visitors interested in your offerings.

Read our guide on How To Do An SEO Content Gap Analysis for Your Website.

Why Keyword Diversification Matters?

There are several reasons why building a diversified keyword portfolio should be part of your SEO plans:

1. Mitigates Risk from Google Updates

If you target just one or two keywords, your organic traffic could get severely impacted in case of a Google algorithm update that suddenly devalues those terms and phrases.

Having a diverse set of relevant keywords minimizes the risk of losing traffic due to such updates. Even if a few keywords get hit, others are still driving interested visitors.

2. Attracts More Qualified Visitors

Different keywords and keyphrases usually attract visitors at various stages of the buyer’s journey. Some terms are more informational, while others indicate an intent to purchase.

By covering keywords across the spectrum, you can bring visitors who are just starting their research and those who are ready to buy. More qualified visitors mean more conversions!

3. Improves Click-Through Rates

When you target multiple closely related keywords around a topic instead of just one dominant phrase, your pages become relevant for more search queries. This relevance signals search engines to rank you higher in results, leading to more clicks and lower bounce rates.

4. Coverage for Long-tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords may not have high search volumes individually, but they collectively add to significant traffic. Keyword diversification provides a means to tap into these large numbers of niche and specific queries.

5. Provides Structure for Scaling Content

Creating content for different keywords naturally leads to information architecture that facilitates content scaling. As you diversify keywords, you address specific sub-topics under a broader subject, making it easier to scale up content.

Now that we have looked at the key reasons keyword diversification matters for SEO let’s examine some ways to put it into practice:

How to Implement Keyword Diversification?

Step 1 – Select a Broad Topic

Start by selecting a broad topic or subject you wish to target, such as keyword research tools. This will be the overarching concept for your batch of keywords.

Step 2 – Brainstorm Keyword Variations

Conduct brainstorming around your selected topic to develop keyword variations and closely related terms. In our example, this may include long-tail variations like:

  • free keyword research tools
  • keyword research tools for SEO
  • best keyword research tools
  • keyword research tools comparison
  • ai keyword research tools

Additionally, identify synonymous terms and phrases like – keyword analysis tools, keyword planning tools, keyword tracking tools, etc.

Use keyword research to find more related terms and low-competition long-tail variations. Expand beyond singular forms to include plurals and adjective variants, too.

Step 3 – Identify Sub-topics for Clustering Keywords

Look at all the keyword variations and synonyms and identify logical sub-groupings based on distinct sub-topics. For instance, for keyword tools, potential sub-groups could be:

  • Free vs. premium tools
  • SEO focused tools
  • tools by methodology (volume-based, AI-powered)
  • Purpose-based (competitor tracking, trends, etc.)

Essentially, cluster keywords share a sub-theme under specific sub-topics. This forms the basis for targeting diverse keywords in a structured way.

Step 4 – Assign keywords to new or existing pages

Once you have grouped related keywords under sub-topics, assign them to relevant pages on your site. You can either:

  • Enhance existing pages also to target additional related terms
  • Create new pages optimized around specific sub-topics and keywords

For our example topic of keyword research tools, potential pages could be:

  • Best Free Keyword Research Tools
  • AI Keyword Research Tools for SEO
  • Tracking Competitor Keywords
  • Monthly Keyword Trends Tool Comparison

Optimizing pages for different keywords based on the underlying sub-topic enables diversification.

Step 5 – Promote Pages Internally

Don’t silo these newly optimized pages. Interlink them with related content assets on your site. This internal promotion enables discovery by visitors who may have arrived on some other page but can now navigate to pertinent pages already ranking for more specific queries.

Step 6 – Expand Diversification Over Time

Keyword diversification is an iterative, ongoing activity. As you keep creating and enhancing content, continue to weave in more related keywords to target. You can progressively grow your keyword portfolio to match your content capacity and SEO needs.

Periodically reviewing search metrics can also reveal rising queries that should be targeted through your pages. The key is to sustain a diverse keyword mix that leverages your content assets.

Keyword Diversification Best Practices

Keep these best practices in mind for effective keyword diversification:

  • Ensure keyword variation pages offer distinct value. Don’t just target more keywords but provide differentiated messaging.
  • Choose keywords that maintain clear topical relevance to reader expectations. Don’t diversify at the cost of on-page experience.
  • Target both short-tail and long-tail variations to balance traffic volume and specificity.
  • Prioritize keywords with sufficient search volumes for your goals and capacity.
  • Use tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to gauge ongoing performance by keyword and refine your targeting accordingly.

Dos and Don’ts

Do

  • Group related keywords under subtopics to structure diversification
  • Interlink related pages to encourage cross-navigation
  • Provide useful, differentiated content for each targeted keyword

Don’t

  • Over-diversify keywords beyond your capacity to create robust pages
  • Choose unrelated, irrelevant keywords that confuse readers
  • Cannibalize yourself by targeting identical or barely distinct terms

Conclusion

Keyword diversification enables you to tap into more searches across stages of the buyer’s journey. By strategically targeting multiple closely related keywords, you generate more qualified traffic while minimizing reliance on just a few terms.

Prioritizing groups of distinct but relevant keywords tied to high-quality content goes a long way in sustaining organic growth. So move beyond optimizing for a single keyword and diversify your approach to win more search traffic!

Looking for help with your SEO campaigns? Our team of experts at Macrohype can assess your website’s keyword strategy and suggest diversification opportunities designed for your business goals. Contact us to learn how we can drive more organic traffic to your site through strategic keyword diversification.

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