Why Is Having Duplicate Content an Issue for SEO

Written by Lawrence Hitches

4 min read
Posted 14 November 2023

Understanding why duplicate content is a significant SEO issue is crucial for digital marketers and website owners.

Discover the hidden pitfalls of duplicate content in SEO because it not only affects your site’s visibility but can also lead to penalization by search engines.

We explore the value of unique content and provide actionable tips to ensure your website stands out in search engine results.

In This Article

What Is Duplicated Content?

Duplicated content refers to blocks of content within or across domains that are either identical or very similar.

A study by Raven Tools found that up to 29% of pages have duplicate content.

The SEO impact of duplicate content can occur within a single website (internal duplication) and across multiple different websites (external duplication).

Causes of duplicate content include printer-friendly versions of pages, session ID issues, and scraped or copied content.

From an SEO perspective, duplicate content can dilute keyword relevance and hinder the ability of search engines to index and rank pages effectively – Googlebot won’t like your copy cat pages!

Imagine a blog on an e-commerce website, providing information on cat food to an audience that has mass cannibalization issues due to this duplicate content. Think about it from a human perspective, this can impact sales and targeted advertising too, as well as their brand and domain name.

SEO vs Duplicated Content

Duplicate content can significantly dilute the ranking potential of a website.

It confuses search engines and frustrates users, leading to inaccurate results and lower rankings through PageRank.

Due to the consequences of duplicate content on SEO rankings, Google may also need to correct the more relevant page from search results or split authority between two pages, negatively impacting SEO performance.

However, it’s important to note that Google does not typically penalize for duplicate content unless it’s part of deceptive behavior.

It’ll be harder to gain quality backlinks from the internet, and the probability for proper search indexing is low, and your trustworthiness may be questioned by users as bad.

Unique Content Wins in Google

Google and other search engines heavily favor unique and original content. Not only does it improve visibility and authority, but it also enhances user experience (UX), which is increasingly crucial in digital marketing.

UX improvements, including reducing duplicate content, can have massive ROI if executed with the right hand to address indexing issues.

You need to think about a web crawler experiencing an article. Ensuring content uniqueness is a win-win for both SEO and user satisfaction.

Unique content is also great a way to get a high qualtiy backlink

How to Stop Duplicate Content

To prevent duplicate content, employ several strategies. These include using 301 redirects, canonical tags, and setting less essential pages to ‘noindex.’ Other practical steps include:

  • Disabling session IDs in URLs.
  • Avoiding duplicate printer-friendly pages.
  • Ensuring consistent URL parameters.
  • Adding a noindex tag

Understanding the content management system (CMS) and its potential for creating duplicate content is also essential. Rewriting content uniquely by a different author can prevent an unnatural tone if necessary.

Key Takeaways

  • Duplicate content can negatively affect SEO by confusing search engines and diluting keyword relevance.
  • Search engines like Google favor unique, original content, which contributes to higher rankings.
  • Proactive strategies such as 301 redirects, canonical tags, and continuous monitoring can effectively manage and prevent duplicate content.

FAQs

What impact does duplicate content have on Google rankings?

Duplicate content can significantly impact Google rankings by causing search engines to divide link equity among similar pages, potentially lowering the ranking of each page. It can also lead to some pages needing to be included in search results, thus decreasing overall visibility.

Are there any legal concerns related to duplicate content?

Yes, beyond SEO implications, duplicate content can raise legal issues, especially if content is copied without permission. Copyright infringement can result in legal action, damaging a website’s reputation and credibility.

How can website owners identify duplicate content? 

Web administrators can identify unintentional duplicated content using tools like Copyscape or Google Search Console. Regular website content and structure audits can help spot and rectify duplication issues

Written by Lawrence Hitches

Posted 14 November 2023

Lawrence an SEO professional and the General Manager of Australia’s Largest SEO Agency – StudioHawk; he’s been working in search for eight years, having started working with Bing Search to improve their algorithm. Then, jumping over to working on small, medium, and enterprise businesses with SEO tactics to reach more customers on search engines such as Google, he’s won the Young Search Professional of the Year from the Semrush Awards and Best Large SEO Agency at the Global Search Awards.

He’s now focused on educating those who want to learn about SEO with the techniques and tips he’s learned from experience and continuing to learn new tactics as search evolves.