Large search engines attempt to filter their search results by removing any
results that duplicate the content of other search results. Such filtering
is referred to as "duplicate content penalty".
It is important to understand and identify what "duplicate content" actually
is. Duplicate content is generally defined as substantive blocks of text
that are copied from one site to another. Some webmasters try to use
duplicated content in an attempt to manipulate and influence search engine
rankings. The search community still occasionally debates the legitimacy and
existence of duplicate content filters, but whether they exist today, or
will exist tomorrow, is really irrelevant. Most webmasters have simply
accepted the fact that the duplicate content penalty is currently enforced
by at least some of the major search engines.
With that in mind, how does the search engine determine which version of the
content is the original, and which is duplicated? It is difficult for the
search engine to tell which website is responsible for the original version
of any content, and some innocent websites might find themselves penalized
or banned for including duplicated content. After analyzing the behavior of
search engines, it is safe to assume that the search engines will often
retain the content listing from what it considers to be the most 'trusted'
source. They may look at the number of incoming related links, the age of
the domain, or any other SEO factors that reinforce the reputation of the
domain that contains the duplicated content. If one of the 'copies' is
considered by the search engine to be from a reputable source, they my find
themselves ranking well, while the actual source of the 'original' version
may find themselves unjustly banned or penalized.
Representatives from the major search engines have all made it clear that
they prefer search engines that contain unique content. Webmasters who want
to avoid any current or future bans will do well to follow these simple
guidelines in order to avoid duplicate content penalties:
1. Redirects
If you redesign your website, use permanent 301 redirects. Redirects are a
legitimate way of routing web traffic.
2. Unique
Each page within a website should be unique. The focus of each page on a
website, even if it's similar to the theme of another page, must contain
unique and original content.
3. Multi-Language
If there are multiple language versions of a website, consider using a
different domain for different versions; search engines do not view an
article translated into a variety of foreign languages as being duplicated
content - each language version is unique content in the eyes of the search
engine.
4. Unique Meta Tags
Each web page should contain unique meta tags.
5. Robots.txt
If you do have intentional duplicate content on your website, be sure to
have a "robots.txt" file for your site to prevent the search engines from
indexing the areas with duplicated content (or any areas of the website that
you wish to remain private, for that matter).
6. Affiliate Twist
If you are promoting products or services using an affiliate program, use
unique and distinctive product descriptions and web copy. If you simply use
the same descriptions provided by the product owner or service provider, it's
very likely that your copy could be viewed as duplicated content.
7. Copyright
Include a copyright notice on your website.
8. Enforce
If you discover that another website is scraping your unique web content and
replicating it, enforce your copyright! Use CopyScape at
http://www.copyscape.com/ , or use their "copy sentry" service to receive
notification of any infractions. If you discover a copyright violation,
contact the website and politely request appropriate changes.
If the changes are not made in a reasonable and satisfactory amount of time,
contact the ISP (web host) of the infringing site, and file a DMCA complaint
with Google http://www.google.com/dmca.html .
9. Avoid Identical Content
Do everything you can to avoid serving a web page that contains content
identical or closely related to another page. If for some reason you have
two pages that contain identical content, use a robots.txt to block the
search engines from spidering one version of the page.
Other Tools:
Duplicate Page Checker - http://www.webconfs.com/similar-page-checker.php
While it may still be debatable whether all the major search engines
currently employ a duplicate content penalty, all have made it abundantly
clear that they do not have any desire to provide search results that rehash
the same content over and over. Actively avoid any potential penalties by
taking a proactive approach to building unique content.
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