Copied Content Ranking Better Than The Original? Tell Matt Cutts

by TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION 4/26/2015 05:40:00 am 0 comments Alexa Rank Backlink Blogger Coreldraw X7 Google Microsoft Pagerank Pingblog SEO SEO Blog SEO Book SEO Tips Template SEO Tips Online Tizen OS Tools

Now, with SEO and the content game, many struggle to adapt since it seems Google changes their mind all the time. It does not help a site owner that people like Matt Cutts say one thing but mean another. This is a serious problem if you own and run a website or blog. For this reason, you should always do your own research on a variety of topics. In fact, recently, Matt Cutts proclaimed a little duplicate content will not hurt your site’s rankings. When saying duplicate content does not hurt a site, here is what Matt Cutts meant.

Product descriptions

Now, when writing a product description, it is hard to write on with 100 percent unique content. Think about it, if you are writing a 200 word Web page on a garden hose, you are going to struggle to keep things different. In fact, many site owners will copy and paste the description provided by the original manufacturer. This is an easy way to get your pages ready and still have a great product description. Of course, when searching on Google, the content will not rank too highly as it is not unique. For this reason, many site owners opt to change the original content as a way to remain different.

This is a great way for the writer to provide the reader with a completely different and relevant description about the product. On the other hand, if you own and run an e-commerce site with thousands of products, you are going to have a hard time writing new product descriptions. For this reason, many opt to keep this content the same as the manufacturer. When doing so, you will still enjoy decent SEO rankings; however, your site is unlikely to surpass more established blogs and e-commerce sites.

Quoting

As mentioned, when writing some pages, you will want to quote the original writer or manufacturer. Without doing this, you are unlikely to provide the reader with the best possible description of the idea, service or product. To quote, you should, of course, offer everything in detail, mentioned by the original writer. At the same time, you should offer a reference to the quote and a hyperlink. When doing so, you will not run afoul of any rules, written or unwritten. Sadly, many fear duplicate content and end up foregoing this option.

Instead, some site owners will leave out the quote or change its original meaning. When doing this, a site owner is likely to give the reader a less than stellar description. For this reason, instead of fearing the wrath of Google when quoting a source, you should include the hyperlink and attribute the writing to the original author. When doing so, you will not anger the original writer; at the same time, you will provide your reader with the most relevant and interesting information he or she seeks.

Similar keywords and phrases

Now, when running a search on Copyscape, it is easy to see the same results and find duplicate content. This is extremely hard to avoid as there are only so many phrases one can use when writing about a given subject. Think about it, when a writer makes a blog post about a subject, he or she is unlikely to write something unique. Instead, many end up using the same phrase others used in the past. In itself, this is not a huge deal as Google will, naturally, see a writer used his or her own words most of the time. At the same time, while a writer should not worry too much, he or she should make sure to create content in their own words.

Meaning, if a blogger sees a website and wants to write a similar article, he or she must avoid copying and pasting any part of the content. Instead, when writing about a similar subject and researching another site, the writer, at minimum, should write the words in his or her own way. When doing so, a site owner will avoid duplicate content with little effort. Either way, when a writer uses some related keywords and phrases sparingly, he or she should not worry too much as long as it is not part of a larger trend in their writing style.

Usability

In other cases, you will have duplicate content for usability reasons. Think about it, when you run a company with multiple offices throughout the United States, you will have plenty of websites listing the same content. This is okay most of the time as long as a writer provides value to the reader. Remember, when a company has offices all over, it is hard to avoid using the same phrase for plenty of sites. As long as a business does not go overboard with this, it should not suffer any problems. On the other hand, when spamming the Internet with thousands of Web pages that do not vary, one will have problems. For example, some directory sites will list services in every city of the United States. When doing it, at minimum, a company will devalue its own content and cause serious problems. However, if a site owner wants to offer valuable content and information for a few dozen cities, he or she should not fear the wrath of Google and its duplicate content checker.

Multiple sites

Some companies will have many sites. For example, it is often beneficial to have a site for each country, region or state. Of course, when doing this, some major websites will have plenty of duplicate content. This is okay, and Google will simply value the content from both websites. When understanding this, a writer will not have to make two unique versions, or more, of a site. Sadly, many do not understand this and they end up writing a completely different mobile site. When doing this, a site owner will waste valuable time and money. Instead, when realizing how things work, a blogger or writer will not work all the time simply changing his or her content around slightly. Remember, Google knows and understands many businesses will have multiple sites with the same, or very similar, content.

A site owner must understand the truth behind Matt Cutts ideas. Luckily, when a writer knows this, he or she can create a great reading experience without sacrificing quality. While it is wise to understand why duplicate content is bad in most cases, it is wiser to understand it is not always a big deal. No, often, a writer will have little choice to keep things the same. Of course, if a site owner has a hard time seeing his or her duplicate content rise to the top, they will face an uphill battle. Fortunately, an e-commerce site owner can do more to see his or her website rise in the ranks. Then, with an overall wise plan, one can see their site rise to the top of Google. Without a doubt, when understanding all of this and providing plenty of value to the reader, a site owner should not worry too much about falling in the search engine rankings. Simply put, while it is wise to understand what Matt Cutts said, it is also smart to think a little more about his views.