Why is having duplicate content an issue for SEO?
When you create multiple versions of the same content, and those multiple versions aren’t differentiated in any significant way, you have duplicate content on your hands. This is not ideal when you’re trying to get the highest possible ranking in search engines like Google because it can dilute your page’s ranking power.
If this hasn’t happened to you yet, there’s a good chance that it will at some point if you don’t take steps to avoid creating duplicate content in the future. When it comes to content that drives sales and your SEO campaign management you want to avoid duplicate content at all costs. Google and your site visitors want to see fresh and lively content so make sure your content provides unique value!
What Is Duplicate Content In SEO?
Duplicate content is when there are multiple copies of the same content on a website, or in this case, on the same page. This can happen when you have multiple URLs with parameters that point to the same content. It can also happen if you use widgets or plugins like Jetpack to publish posts from other sites onto your own site.
Google doesn’t like duplicate content and it can actually cause problems with your search rankings if it’s not fixed right away.
Luckily, fixing duplicate content issues isn’t that hard!
Does Duplicate Content Hurt SEO?
Duplicate content is technically a duplicate of the same information on more than one page. It can be confusing for search engines and hurt your site’s ranking by lowering its link equity. To avoid this, use Google Search Console to tell search engines if you have any duplicate pages and delete them.
Some WordPress sites are vulnerable to having many different copies of posts or pages due to multiple authors and publishing formats like drafts and pending posts that aren’t published yet.
The best thing you can do is keep an eye out for these issues so they don’t impact your rankings in the future!
Why Duplicate Content Is Bad For SEO
It’s important to have multiple pages on your website rather than just one, but it’s important to avoid having duplicate content issues on those pages too.
Duplicating content can be seen as problematic because search engines penalize websites with duplicate content by either not showing them in search results or ranking them lower.
Types of Duplicate Content Issues For Search Engines
Internal Duplication Issue: This type occurs when a website hosts duplicate versions of content within the same domain name. It doesn’t matter whether you are creating high-quality content, then the URLs targeting a specific search query are duplicates, it will affect your website domain authority and metrics.
External Identical Content: External duplication is when two or more domain names (websites) host the same versions of an original article indexed by search engines. It’s one of the common SEO mistakes that some people make when trying to leverage content syndication to boost their SEO ranking. In many cases, this particular issue affects eCommerce sites with scrapped product descriptions.
How To Fix Duplicate Content Issues
Duplicating content is a problem because it’s technically duplicate content. To fix the problem, you’ll need to either create new content or update the duplicated copy with new information. You can also add a no-index tag to one of the pages to prevent search engines from indexing it.
When creating new content, One thing to keep in mind is that don’t just make small changes in order to avoid getting penalized for duplicate content. If you have different topics, then write about them instead of rewriting existing posts word-for-word on different topics.
How To Avoid Duplicate Content Penalty
A lot of people get confused about what is a duplicate content penalty. It has nothing to do with plagiarism – if it did, bloggers would have lost their minds!
Google considers having two pieces of content in its index or search rankings as duplicates. If your valuable content is seen that way by both human and machine algorithms, then it will count against your site. Google looks at how many different words there are between the two pieces of content to determine whether they might represent separate topics.
There are a few ways to avoid duplicate content penalties which include:
- 301 redirects: You can set up 301 redirects on your site’s webmaster console or with a plugin on your website.
- Canonical tags: You can use canonical tags to point the search engine crawlers in the right direction when they’re indexing your site. Hence, pointing to the wrong canonical version or multiple versions will hurt your website’s search engine rankings.
- Rel=canonical tags: You can use rel=canonical tags to specify that one URL is the authoritative version of a piece of content and all other URLs should be considered duplicates and penalized accordingly.
What A Duplicate Content Check Can Do For You
A duplicate content check is a quick and easy way to identify duplicate versions of regarding any type of content on your site. By using one of the many duplicate content checkers available online, you can easily see any instances where you might have issues with duplicate content.
By reviewing the results of your test as well as URL parameters, you will be able to create a plan for how to address these issues.
When done properly, a good duplicate content plan can greatly improve your rankings on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPS).
A good duplicate content plan might include:
#1: Creating unique titles for all blog posts
Search engines use a number of factors to rank pages in search results. One factor they use is the number of links to the page. If two pages have the same content, but one has more links pointing at it, that page will rank higher in search results.
So what does that mean for you as a content creator?
You should always aim to write unique blog posts with original titles. Not only will this improve your ranking and increase traffic, but you’ll also create an engaging experience for readers who are visiting your site for the first time.
#2: Adding unique meta descriptions
Meta descriptions are the snippets of text that appear beneath a website’s title when it is shared on social media. The goal of meta descriptions is to encourage a potential visitor to click through and visit your site.
If you have copied and pasted the same meta description across multiple pages, there is a good chance that Google will be able to tell and this could negatively affect your rankings.
There are tools available that allow you to enter different copies for each page but the process can become time-consuming quickly.
To avoid wasting time with these redundant tasks, spend some time thinking about what makes each page special and then write individualized copy for them!
#3: Avoiding cloaking text or links on third-party sites
Some people think that all links are good, as long as they point to their website. This is a mistake because search engines penalize sites that show duplicate content. If a site contains the same content that’s already on another website, then it will get lower rankings on Google and other search engines.
The best way to avoid this is by writing original content, adding new images and videos to your site, and linking to external sources on the web in your blog posts whenever possible.
Do I Need A Complete Website SEO Audit?
Yes, a website SEO audit is a good idea. You need to find out what your on-page optimization needs are. That way you can fix them and see if your site ranks better.
You should also consider doing an off-page optimization like link building for your site. It will help improve your rankings as well.
Link building is not as easy as it once was but with the right company, they can do all the work for you! However, you shouldn’t ignore content quality when it comes to building inbound links that will have a positive impact on your domain authority and search rankings.
With all of these options available, duplicate content is no longer a concern.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t create fresh content or use keywords in your post titles and headings. It just means that you don’t have to worry about keyword stuffing or using too many exact phrases in posts anymore.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the best duplicate content checker?
It’s not easy to pick one tool and call it the overall best duplicate SEO content checker. Whether your site has a manual action against it now or not, here are the best tools to check duplicate SEO content issues on your website. Please note that having different versions of an original article on different domains with link authority can also have a negative impact on the amount of traffic your site gets per month.
- Plagspotter
- Siteliner
- Duplichecker
- Copyscape
- Copyleaks
- PrepostSEO
- Plagiarisma
- Plagramme
Do I need internal links to boost SEO ranking and organic traffic?
Yes, you need internal links to boost your website’s topical authority, domain authority, and traffic volume. Internal linking also helps to improve the user experience while keeping visitors for a longer time on your site. In addition to this, you’ll need to incorporate a moderate amount of outbound links into your content creation process.
How do outbound links help SEO?
Even though it is not the most powerful ranking factor, outbound linking can help to boost your website’s ranking for relevant searches. The more targeted keywords you use, the more the search engines will associate and index your website for ranking with such keywords. When it comes to relevant link metrics for SEO, outbound linking is also important.
Can I use content scraping to build product description pages for my eCommerce sites?
Though it is one of the easiest things you can do, it is not the best. When you use a content scrapper used by thousands of other eCommerce websites, getting maximum rankings and traffic volume from eCommerce SEO becomes harder.
Which type of content is best for growing organic traffic for e-commerce sites?
The type of content needed to grow organic search traffic for an eCommerce business often differs from one industry to the other. However, we have found that product reviews, product comparisons, product tutorials, opinion posts and thought leadership posts targeted at specific audiences work really well. However, you need to nail your ideal buyer persona and customer segments before investing heavily in a holistic eCommerce enterprise SEO strategy. Don’t forget, you need inbound links and outbound linking to make it work.
Conclusion
Duplicate content is an issue for search engines because it can lead to confusion for the user. But it’s also an issue for humans trying to find your site.
If a search engine sends you traffic, that traffic will be split between your duplicate pages, and you’ll get less of the total pie. And if a human clicks on one of your duplicates, they may not be able to find what they’re looking for and will leave your site. Consulting With an SEO agency to learn more about how unique content can drive sales!
Learn how to grow your website and get more Free traffic online with Online Biz Builders SEO Agency.
