SERP Similarity Score

What Is the SERP Similarity Score?

The SERP Similarity Score answers one of the most common SEO questions: should I create one page or two separate pages for two similar keywords? A high score means Google treats both keywords as the same intent — one page is enough. A low score means users expect different content, and you need separate pages. This analysis prevents keyword cannibalization and saves you unnecessary content production.

The SERP Similarity Score (also called SERP Overlap Score) quantifies the overlap of organic top-10 results for two different queries. If “SEO freelancer” and “SEO consultant” share eight out of ten results, the similarity score is 80%. A high score indicates that Google treats both queries as synonymous or semantically very similar.

This score is a valuable tool for keyword strategy. Keywords with a high SERP Similarity Score can be served with a single page — separate pages would cannibalize each other. Keywords with a low score, on the other hand, require their own specialized content. This way you avoid keyword cannibalization and use your resources efficiently. Tools like Sistrix, Ahrefs, and SEMrush offer SERP overlap analyses.

In practice, use the SERP Similarity Score to validate your Topical Map. Group keywords with high overlap on one page and create separate content only for keywords with low overlap. Monitor the score over time — it can change with Google updates. A declining score indicates that Google is differentiating intents more precisely and you may need to adjust your content structure.