In the online marketing industry, they have a saying: if you want your site to be gone, simply hide it on the second page of Google results. It’s not a joke, though; it’s a reflection of a very real fact: you need to rank high on search engines to be seen.
What Is Content Consolidation?
Let’s deconstruct without the hype. Visualize your site as a library. You’ve stocked it with years of pages of content, blogs, service pages, product descriptions, FAQs, etc. But now, you’ve got five separate books that pretty much have the same message. Baffling to readers? Yes. Baffling to Google? You bet.
Content consolidation is the act of taking those duplicate or overlapping pages and condensing them into one good, solid, and useful page. You’re basically shouting, “Hey Google, THIS is the page that counts.”
It’s not about deleting all your content. It’s about taking the best of the best, stripping away the fluff, and putting it all into one useful resource that search engines and your visitors will love.
Why Should You Care? Here’s the Deal
You’re Most Likely Competing Against Yourself
This is referred to as keyword cannibalization. It occurs when several pages on your website are all competing for the same search term. Instead of a single victor, Google finds several average survivors and says, “Meh, pass.” None of them becomes a winner.
By merging your content, you’re offering Google one page upon which to rank. It’s like voting for a spokesperson rather than yelling over one another.
Everyone Wants Everything Under One Roof
Imagine yourself in the shoes of your visitor. You’re looking for information about, say, local SEO methods. You find yourself on a page that provides you with half the story. Another page for another half. A third. That’s annoying.
By taking all those broken pieces and putting them into one complete, well-conceived page, you’re making their life easier. And what do you think happens when people linger longer on your site? Google sees it. And gives you credit for it.
