Duplicate Content
Rules... Simple

Are you Concerned About Duplicate Content on Your Web Site?

Everyone has an opinion of how to interpret duplicate content rules. The BJC interpretation is very simple:  DO NOT point duplicate domain names to the same content, and try to get them both indexed by search engines!

For example:

Don't place content on site A.com and submit the site to search engines, and then set a masked redirect to domain B.com to the same original web site content.

Does that seem a little too simplistic?  Maybe so...  Your thoughts may be different, as are many others.

Google's Duplicate Content Guideline

Google's rules for duplicate content are a lot more detailed!  But, they are really very easy to understand and follow.  Google isn't the great destructive beast that everyone likes to think they are!

"Duplicate content on a site is not grounds for action on that site unless it appears that the intent of the duplicate content is to be deceptive and manipulate search engine results."

I would suggest that anyone who sees malice in that thought may be mistaken. It seems very fair and equitable to me!  I don't like web sites that use deceptive practices either!  Do you?

View the full Google Duplicate Content Policy

Yahoo! Duplicate Content Policy

In the Yahoo! Search Content Quality Guidelines, there is very little reference to duplicate content handling.  Except, to say that:

"Multiple sites or pages offering substantially the same content" is considered "Unwanted".

However, in our opinion having an article on a web site that also exists on other web sites, shouldn't necessarily be considered spamming. As long as an article augments your web site theme or target niche, then it would seem appropriate to use the article in support of your customer base!  That specific article may not get indexed, but should still provide value to your web site!

The Duplicate Content Debate



Article Marketer

Article Marketer's Contribution to the Duplicate Content Debate

Article Marketer has supplied their opinion on duplicate content also. Their opinion states that:

"There is a proper way to use content, all content, to the benefit of writers and publishers alike that doesn't subject them to penalties from the search engines. This includes the use of duplicate content"

You can download the full Article Marketer opinion called "The Duplicate Content Debate" [ in PDF format ] directly from our site and view their contribution to the duplicate content debate.

The bottom line in the duplicate content debate, is that this debate will more than likely continue for a long time to come. There doesn't seem to be a single right answer to the duplicate content dilemma, and you should design your web site and web pages for your Users, not for the Search Engines!