A recurring issue in search cannibalization analysis is easy to describe: redirects after consolidation point to a generic homepage. Resolving it requires checking the underlying condition as well as the visible result.
Find the likely cause
The destination does not preserve the old page's intent.
Treat this as an explanation to verify against the actual work. Look at the input, the relevant decision, and the final result together. If the evidence does not support this diagnosis, investigate the mismatch before applying a convenient but unrelated fix.
Make the targeted correction
Use a relevant equivalent destination when one exists.
Overlapping pages deserve attention when they compete to satisfy the same task without offering meaningful differences.
Check that the repair worked
Visit the old URL and check whether the new page fulfills the former task.
Repeat the check on the final version that the reader or customer will encounter. An approved draft, a preview, and a published result can differ; the acceptance decision should concern the version people actually use.
Prevent the next related failure
A separate issue to watch for is this: every shared keyword is treated as cannibalization. Compare the actual reader tasks and page roles.
Monitor the useful outcome
Track the clarity of page ownership and relevant query performance after changes settle.
Keep a short record of the original symptom, the evidence behind the diagnosis, and the result of the acceptance check. That record makes the solution reusable when the same condition appears again, without assuming that every superficially similar problem has the same cause.