Multiple rankings for the same keyword: when do they help, and when do they hurt?

Having multiple pages from the same website rank for the same keyword is not necessarily a problem. Multiple rankings may be beneficial if the pages serve different search intents, can appear simultaneously, and offer no clear advantage if combined. If the pages repeatedly replace one another in search results, or their content is similar enough that merging them could improve performance, it is worth checking for keyword cannibalization. What matters is not the number of ranking pages, but whether each serves a distinct purpose and whether the additional clicks from a second ranking justify the cost.

Keep multiple rankings when each page serves a different need

In a 2024 article, Ahrefs used “keyword rankings” as an example: at the time, an explanatory article appeared in a featured snippet while a tool page ranked fourth. Both pages had ranked simultaneously for more than six months without replacing one another. They served different purposes: the first answered “What does this term mean?” while the second let users check rankings.

Forcing these pages into one could mean having to choose between providing an explanation and offering a tool. Targeting the same keyword is therefore not enough to make one page redundant. The ranking positions and duration described above were recorded at the time. They do not describe current rankings, nor does a search engine guarantee those placements.

Investigate alternating rankings, but do not assume stable rankings are best

The same article described how several Ahrefs case studies repeatedly replaced one another in search results for “seo case studies” and “seo case study.” The website later created a roundup page linking to the individual case studies. That page ranked better than the earlier pages, and some of the case studies also appeared as sitelinks. The author suggested that shared terms in the titles and URLs might have triggered keyword cannibalization, but that cause had not been confirmed.

Merging pages can improve results even when their rankings are stable. The same article described two guides with similar content that had both ranked in the top ten for a long time without replacing each other. Yet a new guide combining their information performed better. When assessing multiple rankings, consider at least the following questions:

• Do the pages appear simultaneously, or do they repeatedly replace one another?
• Does each page address a different need, or do they simply repeat answers to similar questions?
• Can merging them preserve the necessary content without sacrificing their distinct purposes?

At Procrustes, our services also include planning pages and content topics for the websites we work on. We turn questions that genuinely matter to clients into articles and continue writing and updating that content.

An extra ranking does not mean twice the benefit

Ahrefs’ observations also show that two ranking pages can receive very different numbers of clicks. A second page may bring limited additional traffic. It could also push an existing valuable page lower in the results, reducing that page’s clicks. Traffic to the new page alone is therefore not enough to establish that the website benefits overall.

Costs matter too. Serving another search intent might require building a free tool, which can cost more than writing an article. The author also noted that, on that website, a second page rarely maintained a stable top-ten position over the long term. Multiple rankings mostly arose unintentionally, rather than through a fully controllable strategy. These observations reflect one website’s experience and should not be treated as rules for all websites. The article compared traffic volume, which is not enough to determine visitor quality or conversion performance.