Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
Use Copyscape to Protect your Reputation with Google
Tuesday, October 06, 2009 by Michael Holley
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If
that's true, then Google rewards total modesty.
I spend a large part of my day finding ways to gently coax the
sensitive beast that is Google to favor our website and generate
traffic. Anyone else who has done this knows that Google is moody
and has a very strict set of rules that all marketers must obey,
lest we be "penalized" and eliminated from their results entirely.
One of those rules that can be confusing is what has become known
as the "duplicate content penalty."
Now, the reason Google concerns itself with duplicate content is
to protect producers of legitimate content by penalizing
plagiarism. There is very little stopping anyone from simply
stealing your content or source code and reproducing it on their
own website, reaping the benefits of your hard work and, in some
cases, competing for your traffic. The idea is that if someone
steals from your website, they will not be rewarded with traffic,
but instead punished by becoming completely invisible. Contrary to
popular belief, Google doesn't do this by penalizing the offending
site in its traditional way (simply stripping the site from all
results), but rather ensures that only one instance of the copied
content shows up in the SERPs. However, Google has a policy of
"penalize first, ask questions later," and is almost impossible to
reach for discussion. It's very possible that you could be
mistakenly penalized in the place of whoever stole your content,
and that can be a very deep hole in which to find yourself.
Therefore, it's a good idea to keep an eye out for content
thieves on your own, and do what you can to get them to stop to
prevent Google from getting involved at all. An excellent tool for
keeping tabs on your intellectual property is Copyscape. All
you do is type in the URL of your page, and it instantly scans the
internet for similar bits of text.
If you find someone who has stolen your content, the first thing
you should do is contact your lawyer and have them advise you on
how to get it removed. The second thing to do is report the
instance to Google. For more info on what constitutes "duplicate
content," how Google treats it, and what to do if you find yourself
victimized, go here.
Best,
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support
& Consulting
Rochester
IT Support & Consulting
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