Did you know?
Duplicated copy on your website can seriously damage its health?
It’s widely known that having lots of content on your website is a good thing. As well as providing your visitors with interesting and useful information, content is supposed to help position your website high up in Google rankings.
If you are responsible for drafting content on your website – or if you employ a content or SEO agency – you should be aware of the dangers of duplicating someone else’s copy.
We’ve all been faced with a blank piece of paper and, not knowing where to begin, turn to Google for inspiration. Invariably, you’ll find an article written by somebody else that perfectly captures what you want to say. At this point, you have a number of choices:
- Cut and paste it pretty much intact and claim it as your own original content.
This is never a good idea. It confuses Google so it doesn’t know which version to prioritise so neither may be shown. You might also be guilty of copyright infringement. - Include a link to the piece on your website, fully acknowledging it was written by someone else.
While this is ethical and provides interest to your visitors, it doesn’t help your SEO in any way, shape or form. - Tweak the piece so it’s not entirely the same but it’s not entirely original either.
Google recognises duplicate tracts of text so, again, it’s likely that the page won’t be shown by Google. - Draft spanking brand new, fresh content.
The only way to go. Provided your copy is relevant and written with SEO in mind, your website will benefit from increased traffic from visitors who stay because they are engaged with what you have to say.
So, the lesson is always aim for original content. We know this can be a challenge but it’s worth the effort. And, if you aren’t sure about the originality of copy being produced by your SEO or content agency, we have tools that can check.
