Cannibalization vs long tail keyword dilemma

[mkupfer]

Hi all. I have a dilemma that I'm trying to work out a solution to and could use some input.

We offer a Foreign Qualification (FQ) service for businesses, and thus "foreign qualification" is a strong keyword for which we currently hold great ranking position for our service page.

FQ is different in each state, so we have a series of blog posts focusing on the requirements for each state. "Alabama foreign qualification" is one of many long tail keywords (50 states x various phrasings) we're targeting here.

The problem is that it's impossible to write 50 blog posts that are not very similar content, since the process is similar, just not identical, in each state. I'm worried about duplicate content penalties here.

I'm thinking that I'd want to create a landing page that serves as a hub for each of these blog posts, perhaps with a reference table for the 50 states too, and set the blog post canonicals to this landing page (thereby pushing all state-focused long tail KWs there). However, I don't want to take away ranking strength of the aforementioned service page for the primary keyword.

If I do this, and also link the new landing page to the service page using "foreign qualification" as the anchor text, am I more likely to add or take away from the strength of the service page?

Thanks for any and all insight!

[gavindufffriday]

You could avoid repetition by instead creating a single long-form blog post that details ONLY the differences in each state.

The days of creating a blog post for each specific keyword you're targeting (especially by state) are long gone, and no matter how you do it, it will look like overkill. This is not blog content that you're talking about anyway, it's functional content.

Once you've created that long-form piece detailing the differences in each state, then that page should also link to the core services page (for those who want more information). And in turn, the core services page could list each state at the bottom, and these link to the blog post but go directly to the part about that state, e.g. http://www.fq.com/regional.html#alabama

This way, you also now have internal anchors containing the states, the states are mentioned on your core services page, and hey presto - you have somewhere concise & non-spammy to send paid traffic to as well.

Hope that helps!

[EGOL]

The problem is that it's impossible to write 50 blog posts that are not very similar content, since the process is similar, just not identical, in each state.

It is possible.

It's not easy.  It's not fun.  But, it's possible.

[mkupfer]

Thanks for the suggestion. Makes total sense and is probably the best course of action. I was looking at the content I had inherited and trying to organize it better, when really what I need is new content.