Since the early prototypes of the internet were developed in the 1960s, this global network has grown and expanded in ways very few visionaries could have predicted. Thanks to the internet, people can shop online, work remotely, and advertise their goods and services to greater market audiences. In fact, in 2019, as many as 1.92 billion people used the internet to buy products and services online.
If your business is looking for ways to expand its online presence and reach more potential customers and clients, then having a well-designed and effective website is a must. But not all websites are created equal, and one thing that can set your website apart is unique and engaging content. In order to have effective content online, you need to avoid duplicate content.
If you’re curious about what duplicate content is and how it can negatively impact your online presence, keep reading this blog.
What Is Duplicate Content?
Duplicate content is any writing on a website that is the same as the content on another webpage, whether that’s another page on your site or a page on someone else’s. This could mean the content is exactly the same word-for-word or extremely similar. Often, online plagiarism checkers will catch this duplicate content and can alert you to this issue.
Generally, it doesn’t matter whether the duplicate content is from another page on your website or from an external website, or whether the content is exactly the same or near-identical. The bottom line is that duplicate content can cause problems for your website and thereby affect your business.
To protect your business, use best practices when creating content for your website and avoid any form of duplicate content.
How Can Duplicate Content Affect My Website?
Duplicate content causes problems when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is important for making sure your business ranks toward the top of the search engine results page (SERP) when potential online customers search for your products and services. However, if your website has duplicate content, the search engine doesn’t know which page has the original content and should be ranked higher.
Search engines also rely on other factors when deciding which websites to rank on the first SERP, but the quality of the content on your website plays a big role in making this decision. If the search engine recognizes the content on your website, even from another page on your website, it won’t know whether to include that URL in its index or not, whether to exclude your URL, or whether the link metrics should all be directed to the same location.
These are just a few of the behind-the-scenes reasons why duplicate content can negatively impact your website, SEO rankings, and ultimately your business’s growth. However, another important reason original and unique content is important is that it ensures none of your content is plagiarized. Plagiarism is unethical, and, depending on the severity, can lead to other complications.
How Can I Make Sure My Website Has Original Content?
To boost your business’s online appeal and to rank higher when web readers search for your products and services, quality content is king. That means original, well-written website pages.
Create Unique Content
Well-written and informative content will not only let your potential customers know what your business is and how you can serve a need in their life, but it will also increase your SEO ranking. That way, when someone performs an online search, your business comes up at the top, or near the top, of the SERP.
With the amount of online shopping and searching that occurs today, this can be one of the most effective ways to market your business and make you competitive.
Replace Duplicate Content
Occasionally, unscrupulous websites may directly copy your content, especially if your site is high-quality and ranks well. If you discover this happening, replace the duplicate content so your site stays unique.
Work With the Professionals
One of the best ways to include quality, original copy on your website is to work with professionals. Working with copywriters and SEO companies will give specialized feedback on how your website can be improved. It will also give you a chance to share your business goals with an industry expert and then get the help you need to create an action plan to reach those goals.
If you’ve ever copied the same content from your website to another internal webpage to get the information out there and create more pages, it’s time to rethink your marketing strategies. Create new and engaging pages, even if they share similar information, so that your readers are interested and invested in your products and services and so that search engines recognize your company as a legitimate entity.
To bolster online sales and create a well-designed website, let the experts at Grow Team give you a hand. We’ll provide creative solutions to help you get your business where you’re heading.