Duplicate content- read about it but i am still confused

[FranklinF]

I have read a bunch of stuff about duplicate content and i am still a little confused.

Maybe someone can shed some light - I hope.


I have my sites hosted on one server- so same ip adress

I want to have a main blog site that covers X, Y, and Z
this site will point to my other site that sells books, dvds, and e-books on topics X, Y, Z

I also want to have another blog site that only covers X
and also sells e-Books on topic X
(basically a niche site)

now the posts about topic X
if I put them on both sites
will that count against me on google
because the sites will have the same ip address?

thanks for any help.

Franklin

[eag7ws]

Inter-site duplicate content is not a big problem, the only real problem is that only one of the duplicate page(s) will actually appear in SERPS so don't worry

[tpw]

Same IP penalty is a myth created by web hosting companies that want to have an upsell of "extra IP addresses for SEO purposes." (If you need any kind of proof on this matter, check the IP addresses for all sites hosted by Yahoo Business. They put all domains on the same IP address, under their basic hosting accounts.)


Using the article on more than one site is the equivalent of article syndication, which does not fall under any Duplicate Content Penalty. Again, another myth. You can learn more about that here.

I understand that Google does not check Whois data either. So that also is not a real concern.
Having said all of this, you still want to get links from outside of your "Link Wheel".

Also build inbound links for sites X, Y and Z from third-party websites.

[John Rogers]

Here's some stuff direct from Matt Cutts that may help you out

Duplicate content question

YouTube - SMX Seattle: Matt Cutts on Duplicate...

and Greg Gothaus

YouTube - Duplicate Content & Multiple...

John

[genietoast]

Originally Posted by tpw

Same IP penalty is a myth created by web hosting companies that want to have an upsell of "extra IP addresses for SEO purposes." (If you need any kind of proof on this matter, check the IP addresses for all sites hosted by Yahoo Business. They put all domains on the same IP address, under their basic hosting accounts.)

Really? Those lying swine. Arrgghh!

Truth is there is no duplicate content penalty. There's a spamming penalty but no duplicate content penalty.

If, however, you do send the exact same, word-for-word content out to several IP addresses (i.e. article directories), you end up diluting the link juice. So it becomes less concentrated.

Think of it like Kool-Aid. You have the right concentration. Right amount of sugar. Right amount of sweetness. But you want to feed it to as many people as you can without putting in more concentrate.

So you dump more water in it, but now it doesn't taste so sweet. It's kind of tart.

Well, backlinks work the same way with duplicate content. So that's why people spin their articles to give it uniqueness.

I think Google considers content no longer duplicate if 20% of it is unique. To be on the safe side, change around at least 50% of your article to look new.

[xenergy]

Well said Genietoast. It help me understand more on the "concentrate" content concept. Indeed, more link juices come from unique content compared from "duplicate" content, but there's no such as "duplicate penalty" from google.

[Richard Van]

Originally Posted by IM Charley

Yes, you don't want to place the same content on the same site or sites with the same ip. If you feel the need to have your content posted on two different site that you host, the best option might be to have multiple hosting accounts.

Er, no, thats not been true for me. I wasn't aware IP address had anything to do with something thats a myth anyway.

It would also get a bit expensive dealing with all those different hosting accounts.

[WillR]

Originally Posted by genietoast

Truth is there is no duplicate content penalty. There's a spamming penalty but no duplicate content penalty.

Correct. And anyone with a little common-sense could have worked this out for themselves a long time ago, like I did.

Think about it.

Anything someone could do to harm a competitors site can never involve a penalty. The same way people say if you build links too quickly you will get penalized. Ok then, so what's stopping me from going and building a ton of links to my competitors site so they get penalized? Nothing! So how can they possible penalize?

Google knows this. Anyone with a little common-sense knows this.

Sure, the links may not be given as much authority as if they were built over a longer period, but they can not have a negative impact on your website - for the point listed above.

Whenever anyone tells you another Google tale, think to yourself first. Is this something I could do to a competitors site to affect their ranking? If the answer is yes, then don't believe a word of it.

[SuccessBlogsUK]

I believe that the duplicate content myth was put out by people trying to sell article spinners.

[Lee Wilson]

Originally Posted by SuccessBlogsUK

I believe that the duplicate content myth was put out by people trying to sell article spinners.

But much more likely to have been "put out" and perpetuated by an overwhelming amount of people that couldn't be bothered to...

1... Read the few hundred words on what Google themselves say about it. (Takes slightly over one minute of your time).

2... Do some looking around on Google search to verify that you can't find any evidence to suggest they are keeping something secret. (Takes a few minutes).

3. Draw a conclusion based on those results. It actually takes longer to go to forums and read the nonsense than it does to put an end to the myth once and for all, for yourself, with proof... but there you go!

[cashcow]

Originally Posted by WillR

Correct. And anyone with a little common-sense could have worked this out for themselves a long time ago, like I did.

Think about it.

Anything someone could do to harm a competitors site can never involve a penalty. The same way people say if you build links too quickly you will get penalized. Ok then, so what's stopping me from going and building a ton of links to my competitors site so they get penalized? Nothing! So how can they possible penalize?

Google knows this. Anyone with a little common-sense knows this.

Sure, the links may not be given as much authority as if they were built over a longer period, but they can not have a negative impact on your website - for the point listed above.

Whenever anyone tells you another Google tale, think to yourself first. Is this something I could do to a competitors site to affect their ranking? If the answer is yes, then don't believe a word of it.

Good advice. Actually, most of the questions that you see asked over and over again about search engines could really be answered by using a bit of common sense. Try to pretend that you are Google and figure out what you would do in those cases and you will likely have your answer.

[bamidele_ba]

YES! You shouldn't have your content on more than one site, other than that it is duplicate content.

[tpw]

Originally Posted by cashcow

Good advice. Actually, most of the questions that you see asked over and over again about search engines could really be answered by using a bit of common sense. Try to pretend that you are Google and figure out what you would do in those cases and you will likely have your answer.

Great answer. This has always been my philosophy of SEO...

Instead of WWJD, I subscribe to WWGD....

[va_mom]

time and again, this myth has never died down.. :-) submission to different site of your articles is just syndication...

[paulgl]

Originally Posted by bamidele_ba

YES! You shouldn't have your content on more than one site, other than that it is duplicate content.

I think we need a "No Thanks" button

Paul