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Does Google Punish Duplicate Content

By Yolanda Hoversten

Industry Observer with Self Employed

June 02, 2011 04:12 PM

Does Google Punish Duplicate Content? Goog

This question has been in the back of my mind, and I hope that members can help with this. Does posting duplicate content, here and on WordPress and on other blogging platforms, have bad consequences? Would Google punish having duplicate contents? If so, how would that work?

Before Jon and Jorgen (no last names needed) left ActiveRain, I had been toying with the idea of having a WP blog... the free one since I've been cheap since becoming a Realtor®, Ha Ha. So when the story unfolded, it was the trigger to finally be serious about having an outside blog. (For the record, anything outside AR is the outside, including real life. :))

You'd have to pry my manicured fingers away to force me to let go of my AR blog, so don't get me wrong! However, having another blog is just smart business. We real estate agents always want to have something in the pipeline to keep our business going, so this is the natural extension of that thinking.

Since publishing my WP O'Fallon Real Estate Blog, which as it happened was in conjunction with the May Blogging Challenge, (whew!) I've been posting on AR first to meet the daily deadline, and if the subject is appropriate, I post on my WP blog as well.

I must say it's working famously! Google has been kind to my keyword searches... so far. My WP blog sometimes is just above my AR O'Fallon IL Real Estate Blog results and other times, vice versa. They flip and then flop on any given day! lol

But back to my original question, does Google punish duplicate content? I haven't seen any problem yet, but should I be worried?

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Colette Gray

Helping seniors age in place everywhere in California, Arizona, NV, Washington, Oregon - Redondo Beach, CA

Senior Loan Officer, HomeSafe Reverse Mortgages

Thanks for your post Yolanda. I've been wondering the same thing. I have an Outside Blog, and I have a blog page attached to my personal website. I've been so busy trying to figure out Active Rain that I've still not yet posted to my own personal web blog. Another day....

Jun 07, 2011 09:37 AM

Yolanda Hoversten

Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL

Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

Hello, Collette. It does take time to learn since there is so much information here. You will catch your breath and soon you'd be blogging in many places. Welcome to ActiveRain! :)

Jun 07, 2011 11:04 AM

Molly Heyen

RE/MAX Premier Properties - Chicago, IL

Chicago City Estates

Thanks for asking this question Yolanda. I never considered it, but this morning I did post the same content to WP and AR. It was a short story that I thought just about everyone in my various networks would find useful. Normally I post seperate content to every site and only WP announces a new blog post on FB and Twitter.

Jun 08, 2011 04:59 AM

Yolanda Hoversten

Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL

Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

Hello, Molly! You're welcome. I like that WP feature that shares our blog to FB an Twitter. I understand that it's better to post to WP first, then AR. I don't really know if that is necessary. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Jun 08, 2011 12:19 PM

Doug Anderson

Tucker Associates Real Estate Services - Danville, CA

Bay Area Real Estate Views

Thanks for putting this one out there Yolanda. I have always gotten mixed responses when I asked that question. It is great reading all of the responses. Have a happy day!

Jun 11, 2011 10:39 AM

Yolanda Hoversten

Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL

Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

Hi, Doug. Thank you--I think there's a featured blog recently that touched a bit on this, so I'm more confused than ever. lol Thanks for dropping by.

Jun 11, 2011 04:35 PM

Melissa Brown

Helen Adams Realty - Charlotte, NC

Realtor - South Charlotte NC Homes for Sale

Yolanda, this is so interesting to me. I think I have finally seen the light and realize that I need to get a WordPress blog. Don't even know where to begin. I think because I'm so overwhelmed, I keep putting it off. I had wondered about the duplicate content thing, because I have a hard enough time just posting to AR!

Jun 12, 2011 01:40 AM

Joyce Godwin, Realtor, CRS

RE/MAX Elite Properties; Serving Cypress, Spring, Tomball, NW Houston - Houston, TX

RE/MAX Elite Properties

Yolanda, Thanks for asking the question. I had wondered the same thing, but hadn't organized my thoughts enough to post it as an understandable question. I'm still not sure why AR says to post on AR first and some others say to post on WP first. I also have wondered -- is everyone using WP for free or paying for hosting? It's all a bit overwhelming for some of us :) I guess we just copy and paste??

Zillow has a Zillow Academy that is very helpful. I attended a WordPress webinar this week -- need to attend it a couple more times and MAYBE I'll get it . . . maybe.

By the way, I love your header!

Jun 12, 2011 04:15 AM

Yolanda Hoversten

Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL

Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

Good afternoon, Melissa! Not to worry about being on top of things when it comes to blogging. Just take your time, read as much as you can, or just go on over to Wordpress.com and create an account, name your blog, and post. I waited a long time myself, but it's a great idea to have another blog.

Hello, Joyce! You're welcome. I think posting on WP first is better, but it could be just a preference. When I post on WP, it shows up on Google first... when I post on AR first, WP comes up first regardless. It's probably the platform. I'm happy either way.

Wordpress.com is free. When I'm ready to go further, I will go to Wordpress.org for a hosted blog. Based on the comments, you can copy and paste the html code or the text. It's good that you're doing the webinars... I didn't, so I still have no clue. LOL Thank you... I had fun experimenting with the header... that in itself can be a job. :)

Whatever you ladies do, keep your AR blogs for the community... no other platform has the same flavor and resources.

Thank you both for stopping by! ;)

Jun 12, 2011 07:36 AM

Mary Stewart

HomeTrust Real Estate, LLC, Homes for Everyone - Wilsonville, OR

Wilsonville and Surrounding Portland Metro Areas

Hi Yolanda, I, among the many others, have been toying with the Wordpress blog. I don't know anything about them, and will find out soon. I am somewhat new to blogging and am beginning to feel more comfortable with Active Rain. Lots to do and it all takes time. Thank you for a good post.

Jun 13, 2011 10:25 AM

Yolanda Hoversten

Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL

Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

Good evening, Mary, and welcome to ActiveRain! I think we're all learning about something here. I know I have a lot to learn and will never know everything. lol Just take your time, and if you have questions, just post and someone will jump in and help. You're welcome, and thanks for dropping by!

Jun 13, 2011 02:34 PM

Louise Thaxton NMLS 69996

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp Louisiana NMLS#2289 Equal Housing Lender - Leesville, LA

Military Mtg Specialist - 866-960-9115 VA FHA USDA

Well, I am new to AR (just a few weeks) and I don't know the true "answer" - does Google punish or not - but I am thinking that if it hasn't punished YOU and you have moved up in the rankings - then it hasn't!

Jun 15, 2011 04:25 PM

Yolanda Hoversten

Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL

Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

Hi, Louise. It is my hope that it doesn't. Thank you for your comment and welcome to ActiveRain! :)

Jun 16, 2011 04:24 AM

David LaPlante

Driv3.com - Real Estate SEO, SEM and Social Media - Washington, DC

Marketing Consultant

Hi Yolanda!

The answer is yes! Here are some references:

If you have two pages on your site that are duplicates, you should canonicalize or 301 redirect.
http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/duplicate-content

If you are copying and pasting other content to put on your site, it's the same deal. Just tweak it or write a short summary/your take on the article.

David
http://driv3.com

Jun 17, 2011 03:02 AM

Yolanda Hoversten

Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL

Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

Hi, David! Thank you. I don't have duplicates on my site, but thank you for 301 direct suggestion. My main concern is posting the same article (my own) to two or three different blogs/sites. Since it's my own copy, I'll tweak it as suggested.

When Google punishes, what does it do? Thank you for your help!

Jun 17, 2011 07:05 PM

Patsy Overton

Patsy Overton Interiors, Atlanta, Georgia - Duluth, GA

Great read! Thanks for posing the question, as I've been wondering the same thing myself. And my remaining question is what you've just written above -- when/if the punish, what's the penalty? Thirty lashes?

Jun 27, 2011 04:29 AM

Yolanda Hoversten

Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL

Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

Good evening, Patsy! We're together on this one... what does Google do? I'll take the thirty lashes if it's with wet noodles. :)

Jun 28, 2011 04:48 PM

Donna Yates

BHGRE - Metro Brokers - Blue Ridge, GA

Blue Ridge Mountains

Yolanda: I have always been under the impression that it hurts but reading through the thread of comments, now I'm not so sure. I just started using Wordpress and I'm trying to learn how to get the most out of it so I'm glad you asked this question. It's one I've had on my mind for a while.

Aug 23, 2011 02:00 PM

Yolanda Hoversten

Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL

Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

Hi, Donna ~

It's still unclear in my mind because as you know this topic has been discussed on FB in our tech groups and even there, it's not clear. Perhaps mix it up a bit when you post. Unfortunately I have not posted in a couple of months so I better get going. Better to have duplicates than none at all, methinks.:)

Send me the link of your WP blog when it's ready. Thanks for dropping by and have a great weekend!

Aug 25, 2011 09:12 AM

Carl Winters

Canyon Lake, TX

Yolanda: Came across this blog and didn't want to leave without wishing you and your family a Merry Chistmas and Happy Holidays.

Your Canyon Lake and friends from Texas

Carl and Ceil Winters

12/15/2011

Dec 15, 2011 02:54 AM