How to Avoid The Duplicate Content Penalty
Let’s start by defining “duplicate content.” For most situations, it doesn’t exist. That’s right, it doesn’t exist. Don’t believe me? Read Google’s own blog, or the words of Matt Cutts, the Google engineer who keeps a blog on things Google. It doesn’t exist and they say so!
So, why is there this thing that circulates around about a duplicate content penalty, that says that if you publish content that is the same as other content you will be penalised? Wish I knew… What Google and all the other search engines do have an issue with is this: having duplicated content within one domain. Remember doorway pages? They were all the rage some years back, They essentially duplicated content on one single domain. Google doesn’t like that when it’s an attempt to fool the search engines.
Ever heard of syndication? Newspapers have been doing it for generations. Take Reuters, for example. They are an international news agency. They find the best up-to-the-minute news and make it available to anyone who wants it. Newspapers know this and they monitor Reuters (and other news agencies of course) for good juicy news stories. When they find one they like, they run with it. That’s why newspapers all tend to have similar stories on any given day of the week.
Yes, it’s true that newspapers send out their own reporters to cover stories, or research them wherever they can, but they do use news stories from well trusted news agencies. It’s called syndication, and that’s what the article directories are essentially. They syndicate articles, making them available for any website owner to pick up and use. Don’t you think it would be a bit silly if Google, et al, were to penalise a website for using a good article, just because a few other websites have also used it? No, and that’s why there is no duplicate content penalty. It’s a myth!
Not convinced? Try it yourself. Set up a small website filled with articles chosen from any of the article directories that are based around keywords that are not too competitive, but ones that do get decent search numbers. Promote that small website heavily and aggressively for a month and see what happens.
If you do this seriously and really do promote the site, it will rank in the search engines for its keywords, and probably rank well too. You will have a website that ranks well that is filled with duplicate content. Slap on some AdSense, or whatever, and enjoy some earnings – from duplicate content. Why not, after all.
To sum up, if 1,000,000 different websites all publish the same article, and you come along and also publish it, why can’t you rank number one in Google for that article and its keyword? What says you can’t do it? Nothing! If you publish that article, which makes you the one millionth and one person to publish it, and you promote the heck out of that article, getting more backlinks than any of the other one million publishers, you WILL rank above all the others.
That’s the so-called duplicate content penalty for you. It simply doesn’t exist. Fresh, original content is still an excellent route to go, of course. It’s unique and specially tailored to you and you alone. Ranking with fresh, original content is usually a little easier and faster too, so that’s the route I’d certainly advise.
Consider this: if you get an original article, put it on your own website first, then send it out to all the article directories you can find. Why publish on your own website first? It’s your own article, so use it first, but also use it to bring more backlinks back to your site. It’s a win-win situation that makes a mockery of the beliefs about the duplicate content penalty.
About seoblogger:
Our SEO blogger is an expert in Web Marketing, Usability and Interface Design. He has been a vital part of The Blue Cube Communications since 2003. As the West Midlands fastest growing web marketing agency, we always strive to maximise return on investment for our customers.
