SEO Myth Busting: Does Google have any kind "Duplicate Content Penalty"? (spoiler: no they don't)
There are SEO-related topics that commonly get asked about that are commonly misunderstood in the SEO world, so we went to help clarify some of these "SEO Myths" that are spreading around as it's putting unnecessary handcuffs on customers and many times restraining their ability to create pages and content that is going to be most satisfactory for visitors (and therefore not rank as well as they could/should on Google).
One thing that we often need to clarify is this idea that Google has some kind of "Duplicate Content Penalty".....which is interesting because Google specifically communicated that there is no such thing. Let's dig in a bit so you have all the information you need about this topic.
What has Google said about Duplicate Content?
Google wrote an article titled "Demystifying the "duplicate content penalty" they clearly say that there is no "Duplicate Content Penalty" where they say this:
"Let's put this to bed once and for all, folks: There's no such thing as a "duplicate content penalty." At least, not in the way most people mean when they say that. There are some penalties that are related to the idea of having the same content as another site—for example, if you're scraping content from other sites and republishing it, or if you republish content without adding any additional value."
So.....don't worry about having some similar content across your own site, it's if you are trying to copy and take credit for other people's content by scraping/publishing, you may have some problems. But, that isn't what most people are doing and what most people are worried about....so many people can stop worrying because they're not doing that.
Even on your own site with original content that you've created but just haven't kept up with your 301 redirects well, etc....if you the the same page that is published on multiple URLs Google specifically says "Don't Fret" about it. In their "Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide" they specifically clarify there as well that you really shouldn't be worried about that.
"If you have some content that's accessible under multiple URLs, it's fine; don't fret about it. It's inefficient, but it's not something that will cause a manual action. Copying others' content, however, is a different story."
Again, they mostly just wanting to make sure websites aren't doing anything malicious by copying others content. So, most people can just relax about "Duplicate Content" if you're not acting maliciously and stealing other people's content (which of course you should not do).
Since Google's Core Ranking Systems are designed primarily to work on the page level and recognize the helpfulness of each page, the only thing you should be asking yourself is the following:
Is this content going to be useful and helpful for a visitor to this specific page to help them accomplish their goals?
If that answer is "yes", then share that content and make sure they have what they need. Google is looking to reward content that creates a "satisfying experience" for the user, so don't feel shackled in creating that experience....regardless of whether you've shared that same/similar information on other pages. Make sure the visitor is satisfied when they visit that specific page, and have a great experience.
What has Answerbase seen?
Answerbase has always been focused on making sure that the customer's request for information can be satisfied by the best possible resource within a company and then published and distributed in the most efficient way to provide measurable value to future visitors who are finding the content both on your site and through search engines. As Google's continued to press towards rewarding "people first content" we've seen our methods drive notably more traffic to that content and lift to the product and services pages that content is helping to drive traffic to. For example, see what happened to the positions of Answerbase customers through Google's March 2024 updates to their core ranking systems as they integrated the Helpful Content System into many of their core ranking systems and signals.
We would love to talk through what Google's been up to and why, and are happy to schedule a call to educate you on what is going on and walk thorugh what Google has said and done on a number of these things. We've also collaborated with our agency partners on a White Paper called "Why The Present & Future of SEO is People-First Helpful Content” which does a deep dive on a lot of these things and would be a helpful resource if you're looking to get an overview.
We're happy to help and make sure you're equipped to survive and thrive in the future as everything steers towards genuine "people first content" that demonstrates E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), reach out if there is anything else we can do for you.
One thing that we often need to clarify is this idea that Google has some kind of "Duplicate Content Penalty".....which is interesting because Google specifically communicated that there is no such thing. Let's dig in a bit so you have all the information you need about this topic.
What has Google said about Duplicate Content?
Google wrote an article titled "Demystifying the "duplicate content penalty" they clearly say that there is no "Duplicate Content Penalty" where they say this:
"Let's put this to bed once and for all, folks: There's no such thing as a "duplicate content penalty." At least, not in the way most people mean when they say that. There are some penalties that are related to the idea of having the same content as another site—for example, if you're scraping content from other sites and republishing it, or if you republish content without adding any additional value."
So.....don't worry about having some similar content across your own site, it's if you are trying to copy and take credit for other people's content by scraping/publishing, you may have some problems. But, that isn't what most people are doing and what most people are worried about....so many people can stop worrying because they're not doing that.
Even on your own site with original content that you've created but just haven't kept up with your 301 redirects well, etc....if you the the same page that is published on multiple URLs Google specifically says "Don't Fret" about it. In their "Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide" they specifically clarify there as well that you really shouldn't be worried about that.
"If you have some content that's accessible under multiple URLs, it's fine; don't fret about it. It's inefficient, but it's not something that will cause a manual action. Copying others' content, however, is a different story."
Again, they mostly just wanting to make sure websites aren't doing anything malicious by copying others content. So, most people can just relax about "Duplicate Content" if you're not acting maliciously and stealing other people's content (which of course you should not do).
Since Google's Core Ranking Systems are designed primarily to work on the page level and recognize the helpfulness of each page, the only thing you should be asking yourself is the following:
Is this content going to be useful and helpful for a visitor to this specific page to help them accomplish their goals?
If that answer is "yes", then share that content and make sure they have what they need. Google is looking to reward content that creates a "satisfying experience" for the user, so don't feel shackled in creating that experience....regardless of whether you've shared that same/similar information on other pages. Make sure the visitor is satisfied when they visit that specific page, and have a great experience.
What has Answerbase seen?
Answerbase has always been focused on making sure that the customer's request for information can be satisfied by the best possible resource within a company and then published and distributed in the most efficient way to provide measurable value to future visitors who are finding the content both on your site and through search engines. As Google's continued to press towards rewarding "people first content" we've seen our methods drive notably more traffic to that content and lift to the product and services pages that content is helping to drive traffic to. For example, see what happened to the positions of Answerbase customers through Google's March 2024 updates to their core ranking systems as they integrated the Helpful Content System into many of their core ranking systems and signals.
We would love to talk through what Google's been up to and why, and are happy to schedule a call to educate you on what is going on and walk thorugh what Google has said and done on a number of these things. We've also collaborated with our agency partners on a White Paper called "Why The Present & Future of SEO is People-First Helpful Content” which does a deep dive on a lot of these things and would be a helpful resource if you're looking to get an overview.
We're happy to help and make sure you're equipped to survive and thrive in the future as everything steers towards genuine "people first content" that demonstrates E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), reach out if there is anything else we can do for you.
