Google: Is There A Duplicate Content Penalty?
The world of SEO is in uproar. Why? Because Google, on its Webmaster Central Blog, has announced how you can use duplicate content on your websites without being penalized for it. With just one little blog post, Google has put an end to rumors that have been flying around for years: that duplicate content would reduce your visibility. But you had better read between the lines.
What exactly is duplicate content?
Duplicate content means similar or identical content, on the same domain or on different domains.
How does Google detect duplicate content?
First of all, it is important to know how a search engine works to find out what duplicate content means.
Elliance: How to discover duplicate content
If the duplicate content is found on the same domain, Google will use its own algorithms to choose the more relevant URL. The website won’t lose points in the rankings; it is, however, possible that the selected URL is not the most relevant one in the webmaster’s eyes. It might, for example, be a rewritten URL or a print version.
There are different techniques to index only the content you wish to index.
• Prohibit indexing by using the file robots.txt or the duplicate page
• Redirect the page through a permanent redirection (redirection 301) to the desired content
Please keep in mind, though, that it is always better to learn how to use your publication tool properly in order to make sure every bit of content is unique.
Apart from purely content-related aspects, be coherent on a technical level.
• Configuring your domain name right is essential. If your website is accessible through and without the “www,” this will create duplicate content.
• The same holds true for pages that are accessible via http and https protocols.
• Also try not to create different internal links directing to the same page. Links such as http://www.mywebsite.com/category, http://www. mywebsite.com/category/ and http://www. mywebsite.com/category/default.html all direct to the same webpage and will cause a triplication of content.
You won’t be penalized for technical gaps. But how about your webpages’ internal popularity? If you have too many different URLs, each page will lose popularity.
All this is complicated enough for one single domain. What if you use content from third sites on your website?
Search engines are designed to deliver relevant results to their users. If these results contain doubles, it lessens their value.
If Google discovers that you are using content copied from other websites, it will soon know, due to its complex system of filters, that you are not the original author, and your page won’t be shown on the list of search results.
However, if someone else uses your content and manages to hoodwink these duplication filters, their page will be listed but yours will not. That’s why it is important not to duplicate content on your own website, but also to make sure that nobody copies your content on their site.
If you find that you have been victim of such a duplication, you can file a DMCA lawsuit (DMCA means Digital Millennium Copyright Act). This can, however, be very time-consuming.
If Google discovers duplicate content which it deems deceiving, it reserves the right to declass this content. In that case, you can demand that your site be reconsidered as soon as this has been changed. But again, this may take a lot of time and the result of this process remains uncertain.
In a nutshell: you will not necessarily be penalized for duplicate content. It will, however, not be favorable to your visibility.
Sources:
• Google Webmaster Blog
• Photo credits: Dermawave
• Image credits: Elliance
Translated by Cordula Werle
Tags: Duplicate Content, google, redirection, Search engine
