In the world of SEO, quality content is king. Often overlooked, having strong content on your website can make or break your search rankings. If you have robust and unique content on your site, it can positively impact where you rank on the search engine results page and, inevitably, how much traffic you get.
That said, if you have duplicated content on your site (i.e., content copied and pasted from other pages on your site or external websites), whether intentional or accidental, it can negatively impact your website’s SEO and credibility. Let’s explore how duplicate content can negatively impact your website.
The Impact Duplicate Content Has On SEO
1. Lower Rankings
Google and other search engines aim to provide users with the best experience by providing relevant content to their search queries. Search engines will need help deciding which version to show when your website has duplicated content. This confusion leads to lower rankings for any pages with duplicated content. Duplicated content can also be flagged for breaking Google algorithms, such as the Helpful Content algorithm, which aims to provide users with unique and factual content.
2. Page Indexing Issues
Duplicate content can create significant problems that interfere with your ultimate SEO goals. Search engines index websites by sending out “crawlers” to analyze and categorize each page. They rely on unique content to determine how relevant the page is and how much value it has. When duplicate content is present on a page, it’s unclear which version is the original or “most valuable.” As a result, the search engine can decide not to index any duplicated pages and possibly the original page itself.
3. Reduced Crawl Efficiency
Search engines like Google have a concept they refer to as a crawl budget, which is the amount of time they will spend crawling your website. Larger websites are particularly vulnerable to crawl budget issues due to the high number of pages; duplicate content can also inefficiently consume this budget. Search engines will waste time crawling pages with identical content rather than discovering new, valuable pages. If Google bots use their crawl budget on duplicate content, critical pages on your site may not be crawled or indexed. This will leave important content off the search results page.
4. Negative User Experience
Lastly, beyond technical SEO issues, duplicated content can lead to a poor user experience, indirectly impacting your search rankings and site traffic. When users encounter the same content on different pages—especially if it doesn’t answer their specific query—they may feel frustrated or misled, leading to higher bounce rates and fewer conversions. Search engines prioritize strong user experience over anything else, so if they feel users are being deceived through duplicated content, you could be violated for breaking a Google algorithm.
How To Avoid Duplicate Content Issues
To prevent duplicate content from hurting your search rankings, the main thing is to avoid copying and pasting large amounts of content from one page to another. Writing unique content for each page is the best way to avoid the negative impact of duplicate content. Some other solutions include:
- Use Canonical Tags: Indicate to search engines which version of a page is preferred using canonical tags.
- 301 Redirects: If you have two pages with unintentional duplicated content, set up a 301 redirect to guide users to the original page.
- Regular Content Audits: Conduct regular audits using tools like Google Search Console to identify and address duplicate content issues.
Work with the SEO Specialists in Boston
Contact Boston Web Marketing today to start getting your website found on search engines like Google. Our team of specialists is experienced in all things SEO, including solving duplicate content issues to get you back on the search results page. We stay updated with the latest Google algorithms, and as their premier partner, we know what they are looking for before anyone else. We can help you get found quickly; call us today at (857) 526-0096 or fill out our online contact form to get started.