How Do I Know If My Website Has Duplicate Content?

Duplicate content is feared among many marketers but understanding what you can and cannot do in Google’s eyes will help prevent any implications to your rankings.

Duplicate content is content that appears across the world wide web in more than one place. If the same content appears at multiple web addresses, you could have a duplicate content issue. While it isn’t exactly a penalty in Google’s eyes, it is certainly a “no-no” and can affect your search rankings significantly.

Here are a few scenarios you should be aware of when it comes to duplicate content:

#1 You’ve Copied Content from One Website to Another

Copying content from one website to another with no link to the original piece is the biggest “no-no” in Google’s eyes. Google knows who published the content first and will always rank the original content higher than any others. Instead of taking someone else’s content, utilize short snippets and always link to the original content. This way you’re giving proper credit to the original article and it meets Google’s content requirements.

#2 You are Copying Content from your Website to your Social Media Channels.

Copying content from your website to your social media channels is not considered duplicate content in Google’s eyes, but it isn’t exactly following social media best practices either. Social media users like to engage with short snippets of content. In order to utilize your social media channels effectively, always post content across multiple platforms, give users a little teaser, always link content with a call to action and a link to the full article to drive more traffic to your website.

#3 You Write Original Content for Your Website and Social Media

Great! This is exactly what you want to do to follow Google’s best practices. Copying content from other people is the lazy man’s marketing fix, but by adding originality and your brand’s personality to your content you can rank higher & provide a better user experience for your customers.

When it comes to duplicate content the solution is simple… Make sure the content on your website is strictly original. Don’t let poor time management or misjudgment lead your online strategy astray. Don’t have time to write your own content? Mountain Air Marketing offers professional content writing and development for all our customers. Contact us today for more information.