duplicate content

Duplicate content occurs when the same or very similar content is accessed under two different URLs. There are various content-related and technical reasons for this. Because search engines evaluate duplicates negatively, they should be avoided.

Definition

A duplicate content or duplicate content is the same content that is accessible and indexed under two different URLs. Near duplicate content is when two different pages use very similar material or the same text modules.

By continuously improving their algorithms, search engines like Google, Bing and others can now reliably detect duplicates with crawlers.

Since these do not promise their users any added value and can conceal attempts at manipulation, duplicate content has a negative effect on the page rank of a website. Therefore, it is important for search engine optimization that webmasters avoid duplicate content on their own website and on other sites.

How is duplicate content created?

Because search engines can see duplicates as spam and evaluate them negatively, you should make sure that there is no duplicate content.IMPORTANT! Duplicate content always harms the originator as well, which is why distributing the content through other websites will also harm your Domain Authority can deteriorate. Such distribution may occur, for example, through syndication, sale, or illegal copying. If you find a copy, you should ask for a deletion or citation of the source. If necessary, a warning is also possible in such cases – someone is using your intellectual property! Others Causes of errors can arise when Posts canalso be usedfor blog articles. A filter could lead to the same content at different URLs by using the same attributes or language settings could present the same content for two countries – for example Germany and Austria.

Technical causes due to faulty server

Also a wrong configuration of the server on which a web page is stored can lead to duplicate content.

• Catch All or Wildcards: If, due to faulty programming, the same content is displayed at www.backlinked.com and backlinked.com, there is a serious error. In this case, the webmaster must ensure that not all subdomains, such as the fictitious wiki.backlinked.com, display the content of the actual domain.
• An incorrect URL: Incorrect or missing trailing slashes can cause servers to display the same content using two slightly different URLs. This is where automatic diversions can help.

How can you avoid duplicate content?

So to avoid a very unnecessary devaluation of your page rank, you should not only avoid duplicates, but also check again and again if none have crept in.

Duplicate content checkers, for example, help with this – they create a list that can show duplicate or very similar content. A good way to check your pages for duplicate content for free is Copyscape.

One of the most important and effective measures to avoid duplications is to create unique content from the beginning. Even as the operator of an online shop, you should not simply adopt a manufacturer’s product description. With a custom description, you can avoid duplicate content, offer more information to your users, and raise your own brand profile.

You can also check your subpages and combine similar categories if needed. Too many similar categories carry the risk of near duplicate content and make your site more confusing for your users.

Another option would be to tag pages with noindex.follow so that search engines do not consider them in their rankings. In the work to create unique content help means such as the WDF*IDF formula or a semantic analysis.

Conclusion

Duplicates or near duplicate content occur when the same or very similar content can be found under two different URLs. There are various technical or content-related reasons for this – and illegal distribution of intellectual property. Since search engines can reliably detect duplicates and evaluate this negatively, which directly affects the visibility of your page, you should ensure with unique content that duplicates do not arise in the first place. You can also use duplicate content checkers to look for duplicates and take countermeasures.