All Entries Tagged With: "duplicate content"
Does Google Have A Duplicate Content Penalty?
There is still some confusion about Google’s duplicate content penalty. The truth is there is no such penalty. Google’s policy states that it will index the first instance of specific content on the web, but not the same content at multiple websites. What that means is if you submit your article to 100 article directories then Google will pick one of those directories as the original content location and not index all 99 instances of the same article.
Google says it will index the first publication of the same content, but that isn’t exactly accurate either. If you submit your article to 100 directories on the same day at the same time through a mass submission process then Google may make a good faith effort to find the original, or first published, article but its robot will not be able to discern small time nuances in the submittal process. It is likely that Google will give favor to the article directories that it considers higher authority websites, but that’s just my opinion. Still, Google’s policy is to index one instance of a particular content and to discount all the others. That’s different than imposing a penalty.
Even then, if that article is held in 100 different directories, you stand a much better chance of having it picked up by other publishers than you do if you list it in only one directory. Plus, other search engines may list each article that it finds online regardless of whether or not it exists on a separate website so submitting your articles to multiple directories is always a wise choice.
Kill Duplicate Content Before It Kills Your Business
EzineArticles is light years ahead of most article directories today, but I do believe that there will be a fall out in the the number of article directories in the next 2-3 years. One of the things that EzineArticles has done that will up the ante for all article directories in the near future is to adopt search engine-like qualities that allow it to filter out duplicate content. The EA duplicate content filter allows EzineArticles to identify content that may be duplicated or recycled PLR articles or derivative of other works and the EA staff can decide whether to accept or decline them.
I think this is a great system. It’s good for the directory, but it’s also good for the article authors and marketers who use the system. Even more importantly, it’s good for publishers who look in the article directories for content to use on their websites and in their e-zines. I believe that article directories that wish to remain competitive will have to adopt similar algorithms and keep out the duplicate content.
When it comes to article content, EzineArticles CEO Christopher Knight hits the nail on the head when he says this:
Read This Tip A Few Times Please: The absolute best way to beat duplicate content filters is to create unique article content in the first place!
What this means for article marketers is PLR will die. That’s something to cheer for. If you want to ensure that your articles are accepted by reputable article directories, picked up by reputable publishers, and read by targeted consumers then the best way to do that is to write the best unique, original content for your niche possible. If you can’t that on your own, who are you gonna call? Try a ghostwriter. Original content is our business.
