Correct Internal Linking Flow / Keyword Cannibalization

[bjs2010]

Hi,

Would like some advice re our internal linking structure and possible keyword self cannibalization on our ecommerce site.. Will try and give you an overview. Imagine this page structure:

Site
       Brand 1
       Brand 2
                  Brand 2 Shoes
                             Products
                   Brand 2 Sweaters

Then say in Brand 2 Shoes page we have the shoes, e.g., the products labeled as

Brand 2 Shoes "Name of Model"
Brand 2 Shoes "Name of Model"

Now, what I'm worried about is that if I do a search for "Brand 2 Shoes" it should bring up my landing page right? But it doesn't, it brings up some of the products instead...

I'm worried that we may be self cannibalizing some of the keywords - and thinking of changing the product page to be "Brand Name of Model Shoes" or "Name of Model Shoes by Brand"

Any ideas or comments appreciated!

Thanks all

[Cyrus-Shepard]

This is a common problem > product pages ranking instead of landing pages (or category pages). There's no silver bullet, but a few tips I can give you.

1. Make sure the landing/category pages is optimized with lots of unique content. A category page that simply links to products is going to have a hard time ranking post Panda. This means unique text, photos and external links.

2. Make sure your product pages all link back to the category/landing pages with proper anchor text. Breadcrumbs at a minimum.

3. Link your category pages to other category pages

4. Optimize your product pages for the most unique thing about them. Instead of "Brand B shoes red size 11" optimize them for "red shoes, size 11, brand B"

Keep going in this direction and you get the idea. Cheers!

[bjs2010]

Thank you