Does Duplicate Content Hurt SEO? Debunking the Myths

SEO is constantly evolving, and marketers must be aware of algorithm updates and adhere to strict guidelines from search engines like Google. The words ‘Duplicate Content’ may send shivers down any marketer’s spine, but in today’s blog post, we will demystify duplicate content to improve your business’s chances of increasing its search engine rankings.

What is Duplicate Content?

Duplicate content is similar, or the exact same, content being present on multiple pages. When the same content is found on different web pages, search engines can get confused about which page to serve. If a search engine detects duplicate content on your website it will more than likely rank the most appropriate content. This means you wont be totally in control of your search presence.

Interestingly, research shows that around 29% of online pages have duplicate content.

Does Duplicate Content Hurt SEO?

Businesses and marketers alike must understand that the intent is different regarding SEO within Duplicate Content. Google itself has explained that duplicate content is not grounds for dramatic action on a site unless the intent of the duplicate content is understood to be manipulative, deceptive or malicious to search engines’ authenticity.

However, Google has revealed that there is, in fact, no ‘Duplicate Content Penalty’ in the way most digital nomads believe there is. However, some Google penalties are related to duplicate content across other sites. This can include scraping content from other websites and republishing it as if it were your own. Google has clearly outlined these tactics and discouraged them within its Webmaster Guidelines.

Businesses should:

• Do not create multiple web pages, subdomains, or domains with duplicate content.
• Avoid “cookie-cutter” approaches to content, including affiliate programs with little to no original content on the site.
• If your website chooses to participate in affiliate programs, you must ensure that it adds value. You should provide unique and relevant content to give users a reason to visit your site first.

One thing to consider is that scraping content from others is a complete no-go, but having other websites scrape you and your content is a whole different ballgame; if you are worried that your content is being scraped, you can view this post from Google.

“Duplicate Content will hurt your search ranking!” Let’s Debunk the Myths

1. “Having Duplicate Content Will Destroy Your Search Ranking”

First and foremost, we must make you aware that, in some cases, duplicate content can affect your search engine rankings. However, this type of content has fewer implications than you may think.

Google and other search engines consider a long list of factors for crawling, indexing and ranking webpages. To ensure that your website is not affected negatively by these measures, you should focus on building your brand voice and authority by publishing high-quality, valuable content in line with Google E-E-A-T. This will help the search engine to understand the content, its purpose, and its quality in response to search queries.

2. “Every bit of Duplicate Content Will Get You Penalised”

Google doesn’t LOVE penalising content, whether duplicate content or other black-hat tactics. However, what Google does enjoy is penalising websites that behave deceptively. It is no secret that if you intentionally publish duplicate content on your website to manipulate search engine bots, you will be punished, as explained in Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.

Most of us working in marketing don’t tend to deal with the trial and tribulation of duplicate content too much, as I am sure all of us are now pretty clued up on things like the Google Helpful Content Update and Google E-E-A-T. And we’re all aware that poor SEO tactics like keyword stuffing and buying links, etc, are an absolute no-go.

3. “Scrapers Will Wound Your Site”

Many marketers and bloggers deeply hate scrapers – and it’d be valid to feel that way. The idea of a robot coming along to scrape and extract data from your website is a bit annoying at first glance.

Google isn’t dumb; they know immediately when the scraper blog with no original, helpful or informative content has been acting a little shady. Google will take one look at their site or webpage and not give them the time of day when they appear in search rankings. So, there is no need to worry about damaging your website’s visibility on search engines regarding pesky scrapers.

However, if a scraped piece of content outranks your original in the rare case, you can contact the site host and request that the content be removed. Or even go one step further and request to Google that the page be removed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by completing Google’s Legal Troubleshooter.

4. “Reposting Your Guests Posts on Your Own Site is a FAT NO!”

Marketers and bloggers, we all love a guest post, right? It’s an easy and efficient way to provide your insights to a new audience and secure a healthy backlink to your website. They can expose you to a new audience and significantly improve your website traffic and authority.

You may be thinking if you decide to guest post, your usual audience may miss out on this great bit of content, so you decide to publish this on your own site – but won’t search engines flag this as duplicate? The answer is no, well, not really; when it comes to posting your guest posts on your own site, it is recommended that you wait a couple of weeks and, in some cases, add a little HTML tag to the post to distinguish an original (canonical) version.

You would add rel=“canonical”. Say you publish on a blog called ‘FitnessFanatics’ Your tag might look like this:

<link rel=canonical href=“http://www.FitnessFanatics.com/original-article.html”/>

By adding this tag, you are helping Google and other search engines to understand which post is the original post and rank them accordingly.

5. Google Can Tell the Original Content Creator

Usually search engines like Google usually can’t tell who created the content or where it originated.

And that’s a big issue with duplicate content. There’s a risk that someone might swipe your stuff, post it on their site, and claim they’re the brains behind it all.

Yep, that’s plagiarism, plain and simple. If you find yourself in this sticky situation, go through the Legal Troubleshooter we mentioned earlier or contact a lawyer for expert advice on dealing with copyright problems.

Our Final Thoughts

It’s crucial to understand that a duplicate piece of content isn’t the be-all and end-all for SEO woes. While it can impact your search rankings, it’s not a total villain. Google’s primary concern isn’t punishing all aspects of duplicate content; instead, it focuses on penalising manipulative tactics. So, as long as you’re not intentionally trying to game the system, you’re likely in the clear.

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