Why is Having Duplicate Content an Issue for SEO?

What is Duplicate Content?

Duplicate content is content that appears on multiple pages on your website or on other websites. This can happen in several ways, such as copying and pasting content from one page to another, using the same content on multiple pages, having incorrect tags for international pages, or having other websites republish your content without permission. 

Duplicate content can be intentional or unintentional, but regardless of how it happened, it can negatively impact your SEO efforts. 

Duplicate Content & SEO?

So, why is having duplicate content an issue for SEO? Well, it can harm your SEO campaign in various ways and is one of the top technical SEO issues that can exist on a website. Fixing these issues raises credibility with search engines, answering the question of why is technical SEO important. 

Search engines, like Google, use algorithms to crawl and index websites to determine their search engine rankings. When search engines find duplicate content, they have difficulty determining which page to index, which will result in lower rankings or even penalties.

Additionally, when you have multiple pages with the same content, they may compete with each other for rankings. Having multiple pages competing for the same keyword will hurt any SEO campaign. This can dilute your SEO efforts and prevent your pages from ranking as well as they could.

Furthermore, when users come across multiple pages with the same content, they may become frustrated and leave your website, resulting in a higher bounce rate, which can hurt your SEO efforts.

Removing duplicate content is important because it will improve your website’s search engine rankings instantly. 

Why Is Having Duplicate Content An Issue For SEO?

What do the Experts Say?

SEO experts agree that duplicate content can harm your SEO efforts. Here are some quotes from industry experts:

“While duplicate content as an SEO problem has been around for years, the way Google handles it has evolved dramatically and seems to only get more complicated with every update.” – Dr. Peter J. Meyer, Marketing Scientist at MOZ, “Duplicate Content in a Post-Panda World”

“Duplication can cause a number of issues, such as confusing search engines and ultimately damaging your SEO efforts.” – Neil Patel, Co-Founder of NP Digital, “Duplicate Content: 5 Myths and 5 Facts About How It Impacts SEO”

“I prefer all content to be at least 30% different from all other copy.” – Tony Wright, CEO at WrightIMC, “The Truth About Duplicate Content”

“This (duplicate content) can hurt the ranking of a webpage, and the problem only gets worse when people start linking to the different versions of the same content.” Joost de Valk, Founder of Yoast, “Duplicate content: Causes and solutions”

According to a study by Raven, up to 29 percent of pages have duplicated content. This makes it pretty evident that this is becoming a problem quickly. Removing duplicate content from your site can give you a big edge over your competitors.

4 Ways To Fix Duplicate Content

The first step in addressing duplicate content is to identify its presence on your website. You can use various tools (see below for top tools) to scan your site and detect any duplicate content issues. Look for identical or substantially similar content across different URLs, including product descriptions, blog posts, or even meta tags.

Canonical Tags

One of the most effective methods to handle duplicate content is by implementing canonical tags. A canonical tag is an HTML element that tells search engines which version of a webpage is the preferred or original source. 

By adding a canonical tag to the duplicate pages, you can consolidate their SEO value to the main page, avoiding any negative impact on your search rankings. Ensure that each page’s canonical tag points to its respective original source URL.

301 Redirects

If you have duplicate pages that are essentially identical or have been replaced with new URLs, implementing 301 redirects is a recommended approach. A 301 redirect permanently redirects users and search engines from one URL to another. 

By redirecting duplicate pages to the preferred version, you consolidate their authority and ensure that search engines understand the intended URL for indexing purposes.

Consolidate Similar Content

In some cases, you may have multiple pages with slightly different content but targeting the same topic or keywords. Instead of having separate pages competing against each other, consider consolidating them into one comprehensive and authoritative page. 

Combine the valuable content from multiple pages, optimize it for relevant keywords, and redirect the duplicate pages to the newly created consolidated page. This consolidation helps you focus your SEO efforts and ensures a single, strong page for search engine ranking.

Meta Robots Tags

Using meta tags, such as “noindex, follow,” can instruct search engines not to index specific pages while still following the links on those pages. This approach is useful for pages that serve a specific purpose but aren’t crucial for search engine visibility. 

By preventing indexing, you avoid potential duplicate content issues while ensuring that search engines can crawl and follow the links on those pages.

Top Tools That Can Help Prevent Duplicate Content For SEO

SEMrush

SEMrush is a popular SEO tool that offers a wide range of features, including a Site Audit tool that can help you identify duplicate content on your website. SEMrush will scan your website and identify any duplicate content issues, allowing you to take steps to resolve them. SEMrush also offers recommendations on how to fix duplicate content issues.

Copyscape

Copyscape is a tool that allows you to check your website for duplicate content. Simply enter the URL of your website or a specific page, and Copyscape will scan the web to see if there are any matches. This can help you identify any duplicate content issues and take steps to resolve them.

Siteliner

Siteliner is a free tool that allows you to scan your website for duplicate content. It also provides other useful information, such as broken links, page load times, and more. Siteliner can help you identify duplicate content issues and take steps to resolve them.

Screaming Frog

Screaming Frog is a website crawler that can help you identify duplicate content on your website. It can crawl your website and identify any pages with duplicate content. Screaming Frog also offers other useful features, such as broken link identification and more.

HOW CAN AN SEO AUDIT HELP?

An SEO audit can help you identify and remove duplicate content on your website. This type of audit involves analyzing your website’s SEO factors, such as on-page optimization, technical issues, and backlinks. 

Here’s how an audit can help you identify and remove duplicate content:

Identify Duplicate Content

An SEO audit can help you identify duplicate content on your website. This includes content that appears on multiple pages, as well as content that appears on other websites.

Analyze The Impact

An SEO audit can also help you analyze the impact of duplicate content on your website’s search engine rankings and user experience. This includes identifying pages that are competing with each other for rankings and pages that have a high bounce rate.

Remove Duplicate Content

Once you’ve identified duplicate content, you can take steps to remove it. This can involve deleting the duplicate content or consolidating it onto a single page. By removing duplicate content, you can improve your website’s search engine rankings and user experience.

If you are looking for a free SEO audit, consider Alex’s Standard.

Conclusion

Why is having duplicate content an issue for SEO? It can confuse search engines, dilute your SEO efforts, and cause users to become frustrated and leave your website. However, by identifying and removing duplicate content, you can improve your website’s search engine rankings and user experience.

In my last blog post, titled “Will AI Replace SEO,” we discussed the future of SEO and how it is here to stay. So if you want to keep up… I suggest cleaning up your technical SEO and duplicate content is the perfect place to start.

An SEO audit can help you identify and remove duplicate content on your website. It can also help you analyze the impact of duplicate content on your website’s search engine rankings and user experience. By taking steps to remove duplicate content, you can improve your website’s search engine rankings, increase your click-through rates, and ultimately drive more traffic to your website.