Duplicate content refers to blocks of content found on a website that are the same or very similar to content on another website or within the same website.
Duplicate content is generally put into two categories:
Let me explain:
When search engines crawl your site, they expect each page to provide unique, valuable content.
But when they find multiple pages with the same or very similar content, they get confused about which version to index and rank.
If Google discovers duplicate content on your site, it can negatively impact your search rankings.
But that’s not all…
Duplicate content can also occur when a site owner copies and pastes content from another website.
This is essentially stealing unless the site owner has permission to use the content.
Either way, copying and pasting content from another site creates duplicate content.
Google does not rank duplicate content copied from another website.
And if done continuously, this kind of duplicate content can even lead to Google penalties.
What Will I Learn?
Duplicate content is an issue for SEO because it dilutes the ranking potential of the original content and makes it harder for search engines to crawl your site.
Search engine crawlers like Googlebot and Bingbot are smart.
But they aren’t perfect.
The truth is that search engines reward websites that make it easy for them to crawl and index their sites.
The easier you make it for Google, the higher you will rank.
Duplicate content does the opposite.
It makes it harder for Googlebot to do its job.
Here’s why:
That’s why it’s essential to regularly audit your site for duplicate content and address any issues quickly.
Here’s why most duplication content issues happen:
Sorting filters can lead to different URLs displaying the same content on your site. This is especially common for ecommerce websites.
Think filters like:
…and more.
New duplicate URLs can be created every time a visitor clicks on these filters.
For example, you might have the original product URL:
https://examplestore.com/products/shirt123
But then you have duplicate URLs created by sorting filters:
Google might index multiple versions of the same content, potentially causing duplicate content issues.
Having separate printer-friendly versions of your content can create duplicates.
For example, yoursite.com/page and yoursite.com/page/print both display the same content. This can ultimately lead Google to see them as duplicates.
Not what you want, right?
If you have printer-friendly pages, it is essential to manage them properly.
Republishing your content on other sites or using articles from other sources can lead to serious duplicate content issues.
Why?
Search engines can’t determine which piece of content is the original.
Ultimately, Google gets confused and either chooses one to rank or doesn’t rank any of them.
Plus, because the duplicate content is shared on multiple sites, the link equity of any linked websites in the content is diluted.
If you share your content on multiple sites, ensure you take care of the canonicalization.
Your website has multiple versions.
For example:
The only difference is WWW at the beginning of the domain.
The problem is that not properly redirecting between the www and non-www versions of your site can create duplicates.
The fix is relatively easy…
But you need to choose one version and stick to it.
The best way to fix duplicate content issues is to implement 301 redirects. The redirects will take care of most duplicate content issues.
But there are some other things you should consider.
Follow these four tips to fix duplicate content issues:
Implement 301 redirects from duplicate pages to the original content.
This will consolidate link equity and tell search engines which page is the primary version.
For example, you would redirect yoursite.com/page?ref=123 to yoursite.com/page.
This clearly shows Google which is the primary page you want them to index and rank.
Use canonical tags to signal to search engines which version of a page should be considered the original.
Place <link rel= “canonical” href= “https://example.com/page”> in the head section of the duplicate pages.
You can also use the Rank Math plugin for free to simplify this process.
It is especially important to use canonical tags if you share content with other sites or participate in content syndication.
Use noindex tags for pages that don’t need to be indexed in the Google organic search results.
For example, you might use a noindex on pages like print versions or duplicate archives. Google cautions website owners against restricting access to a page, so you want to give them access but ask them not to index it.
That’s exactly what a noindex tag does.
It tells search engines not to index the page but still allows them to crawl it.
Using noindex tags is typically the best option for dealing with duplicate content issues related to pagination.
Internal linking is probably one of the most underrated Google ranking factors.
But it can also be used to ensure that Google indexes the correct version of a page on your website.
Add relevant internal links within your content and ensure that they always point to the main page you want to rank on.
Consistent internal linking helps search engines identify the primary content.
It also helps pass link equity around your website.
Don’t sleep on this one.
Pro tips: Learn how to automate your internal link building process with my Link Whisper review.
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