Page B ranking for my target keyword instead of Page A

Is your page B linked to your homepage ?

Google algorithm may still rank Page B because it has stronger authority, backlinks, or user engagement signals that make it more relevant to the keyword, even if it no longer explicitly targets it.

Google keeps picking Page B because it's still the strongest match for user intent, so you'll need to boost Page A's internal links and onâ€'page signals while dialing back Page B's topical depth without noindexing it.

Other than the onpage SEO stuff like changing content, headers or meta, and adding more interlinks to the homepage and stuff, is there any technical SEO that needs to be updated? Like sitemap.xml or robots.txt? Any way to de-prioriotize the subpage for that keyword? because its not just that keyword this page comes up for, it comes up for a bunch of other keywords that are not relevant to the page

Hey, this happen becuase Google sees Page B as more relevant or authoritative for that query, not just based on keywords, but internal links, backlinks, anchor text, and user signals. Make strong internal linking to Page A and reduce any internal anchors pointing to Page B for that main keyword.

Why

Google follows links, history, and intent, not just keywords.

Fix

Link Page B â†' Page A with the target keyword.

Remove keyword-based internal links to Page B.

Strengthen Page A's content.

Google may still rank Page B due to stronger signals like backlinks, internal linking or historical relevance, even if the keyword was removed. To fix it, reinforce Page A with better internal links, anchor text, and authority, while slightly de-optimising Page B.

Page B is ranking for your target keyword instead of Page A because search engines see Page B as more relevant or useful for that query. This can happen if Page B has better content, stronger keyword usage, more backlinks, or a clearer match to what users are searching for. It may also mean Page A isn't optimized well enough or is competing with Page B (keyword cannibalization).

Looks like keyword cannibalization issue

This is a super common issue -- Google is basically deciding that Page B is the "best match" for the intent behind your keyword, even if you want Page A to rank.

A few checks/fixes that usually resolve it:

1. Confirm which page is the canonical

• Make sure Page A has a self-referencing canonical.
• Make sure Page B is not canonicalizing to itself for that topic if it's not meant to rank.

2. Reduce keyword cannibalization

• Scan Page B's title/H1/intro and internal anchors pointing to it.
• If Page B repeats the exact target phrase heavily, Google will keep picking it.

3. Strengthen Page A's "this is THE page" signals

• Put the primary keyword in: title + H1 + first paragraph (naturally).
• Add a section that answers the exact intent for that keyword (FAQ-style helps).

4. Internal linking matters more than people think

• Add 5-10 contextual internal links from relevant pages to Page A using partial-match anchors.
• If lots of links currently point to Page B for that topic, change those anchors/targets.

5. Make the pages more distinct
If Page A and B overlap a lot, Google gets confused. Either:

• merge them (one strong page), or
• re-scope: Page B targets a different angle/long-tail and links prominently to Page A.

6. Check Search Console
In GSC Performance:

• filter by the query
• compare Pages tab: you'll see if Page A is getting impressions but losing, or if Google never considers it.

If you share what Page A and Page B are (category page vs article vs product page), I can suggest which one Google usually prefers for that keyword type and how to adjust.

Strengthen internal links to boost homepage rank.