What is the acceptable percentage of plagiarism in Blogging?

47 replies
Hi Guyz,

I am going to start a blog but before begin it I need to clarify a doubt.

I am going to publish a blog post about " Top email marketing tools ". Since it is a general topic, I referred to many online blogs to write my post. But my concern is that a certain percentage is matching with other sources online when I checked with plagiarism tools.

Can you advise how much is the acceptable percentage of plagiarism in blogging that don't affect my blog's SEO ?
#acceptable #blogging #percentage #plagiarism
  • Profile picture of the author Monetize
    Originally Posted by sanjaywilldo View Post

    Hi Guyz,

    I am going to start a blog but before begin it I need to clarify a doubt.

    I am going to publish a blog post about " Top email marketing tools ". Since it is a general topic, I referred to many online blogs to write my post. But my concern is that a certain percentage is matching with other sources online when I checked with plagiarism tools.

    Can you advise how much is the acceptable percentage of plagiarism in blogging that don't affect my blog's SEO ?

    Hello!

    This isn't a good question to ask because it makes you seem lazy.
    Strive for zero plagiarism regardless of what anyone says. This is
    about much more than just SEO. You want your blog to be fresh
    and clean, not a bunch of snippets of content you snagged from
    here and there, hoping that nobody notices because you wanted
    to take shortcuts. Take time to do the extra work or hire someone
    to produce original content for you, so that you don't end up with a
    spammy website. If you do use someone else's writing or graphics,
    get their permission in advance and be sure to give them credit.
    If you do these things you will have a blog that you can really be
    proud of.
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    • Profile picture of the author JPs copy
      There's a YouTuber I somewhat paid attention to years ago, and I had to stop because I realized his videos were just nothing but keywords jammed together in sentences. Like entire minutes would go by and nothing he said made any sense.
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      • Profile picture of the author Tony M
        That's probably because he is taking advantage of YouTubes' annotation algorithm. I've seen multiple people on YT do this.

        It's annoying, and, you can spot it from a mile away.
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      • Profile picture of the author TobiMDD
        Originally Posted by JPs copy View Post

        There's a YouTuber I somewhat paid attention to years ago, and I had to stop because I realized his videos were just nothing but keywords jammed together in sentences. Like entire minutes would go by and nothing he said made any sense.

        haha omg, from now on I will pay more attention, maybe I find something like that
        it's really sad when people are doing such things..
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  • Profile picture of the author coreworld
    I think you could use the text but make reference to the author. Better to give someone else the credit than be seen as a plagerist.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    I think you could use the text but make reference to the author. Better to give someone else the credit than be seen as a plagerist.

    Wrong - giving 'credit' does not excuse plagiarism. This answer is why you don't take legal advice on a forum.


    If you want to have real info about 'top email marketing tools' - you would test the tools for yourself and write about them 'Researching' by reading other people's reviews and then summarizing those will not produce a great result.


    I've read reviews that seemed to be copied from reviews of others who copied them in the first place. LEARN about the product itself - then write about the produce for yourself.
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  • Profile picture of the author mandiradebnath
    In a very simple word - Duplicate content is not acceptable. We must generate unique content to get a stable rank in Google. Though nothing is stable in Google. But we can beat the top-ranked sites with unique content and strategic SEO plan only.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dave Earley
    There a many successful people online who seem to recommend finding a topic/blog/article which is already successful and re-writing such things to make them your own. In the least, this is borderline plagiarism. It's also lazy, in my opinion, and sounds like "cheating".

    I would recommend going with zero plagiarism. If you have to write about something which already exists, say historical information or case studies, make sure everyone knows where you got your info.

    Personally, I write about my experiences and my words come directly from my brain, but sometimes I prefer to find historical information and include that, in which case I will link back to the source of the information. It's similar to what you would do while writing a paper in college, but much more lenient. Also, it's arguably beneficial for your own site to acknowledge actual sources.

    However, your information on your own site should be your own, for the most part. Google already knows what someone else has to say on the subject.
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  • Profile picture of the author JPs copy
    I honestly wouldn't worry about it. If you are concerned about plagiarism, just google 'free plagiarism checker' and submit your article before you post.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    There a many successful people online who seem to recommend finding a topic/blog/article which is already successful and re-writing such things to make them your own. In the least, this is borderline plagiarism. It's also lazy, in my opinion, and sounds like "cheating".

    You might be surprised to learn how many of these 'successful' people online...aren't really all that successful. Lot of fake it till you make it in IM.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dave Earley
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      You might be surprised to learn how many of these 'successful' people online...aren't really all that successful. Lot of fake it till you make it in IM.
      You're probably right. I should have used "popular", or "well known" marketers instead.

      It's just surprising to hear that from people, especially when they seem like they know what they are talking about. I mean, if someone took one of my articles, re-worded it, added a few nicer-looking images and failed to mention they got "their information" from me, I would be pretty upset about that. I guess people count it as innovation - take two things already invented, mash them together to make something entirely "new" and useful.
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      • Profile picture of the author Monetize
        Originally Posted by Dave Earley View Post

        I guess people count it as innovation - take two things already invented, mash them together to make something entirely "new" and useful.

        Do you all remember when they first introduced the article
        spinning software, where you would paste an article into
        it and it would supposedly re-write the thing except it just
        spit out a bunch of nonsensical gibberish.
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        • Profile picture of the author Dave Earley
          Originally Posted by Monetize View Post

          Do you all remember when they first introduced the article
          spinning software, where you would paste an article into
          it and it would supposedly re-write the thing except it just
          spit out a bunch of nonsensical gibberish.
          I remember hearing something like that several years back, but never saw it in action. I also remember people recommending the use of PLR articles. Change the first and last paragraph and google will never know, they said. Anything to get more content out there without doing as much work, or thinking. I looked at some of those articles once, and they sure did suck (can't criticize all of them though). I would have spent the entire time re-writing it to "get it in my own words". Write it and people will find you because content is king - that was one of the most popular ideas at the time.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nathan Isaac
    Just take the idea and then reword it yourself in how you interpret it.

    This allows it to be your voice and if you don't quite have your own voice yet you'll learn as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ajib Roy
      Sometime I rewrote 4/5 times but still caught up with some tools. Do you have any recommendation? I want one tool to depend on.
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      • Profile picture of the author Nathan Isaac
        What's the goal of this post? To be found through SEO and affiliate links?
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        • Profile picture of the author DWolfe
          Originally Posted by Nathan Isaac View Post

          What's the goal of this post? To be found through SEO and affiliate links?
          The Original Poster most likely wants to copy content that sells and not get caught. Thinking that is the quickest way to make a $ without much effort. What will happen is that some where down the line he will get caught and come back to the forum complaining.
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      • Profile picture of the author DABK
        Do not rewrite. Instead, learn the material, then write.

        Originally Posted by Ajib Roy View Post

        Sometime I rewrote 4/5 times but still caught up with some tools. Do you have any recommendation? I want one tool to depend on.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tung Dao
    If you write the content all by yourself, you shouldn't worry about the plagiarism score.
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  • Profile picture of the author DABK
    Let me rephrase your question, so it becomes clear to you:
    Can you advise how much is acceptable percentage of stealing in blogging that don't affect my blog's SEO?


    Why are you concerned only with the SEO aspect of your theft?


    Let me give you a possible and likely scenario:
    You're stealing the right percentage and it does not affect your SEO, yu make money, life is good.


    Then, one day, a bunch of the people you stole from sue you and get Google to take your pages from the SERP's.



    Does it matter that it wasn't your SEO that did you in?


    Originally Posted by sanjaywilldo View Post

    Hi Guyz,

    I am going to start a blog but before begin it I need to clarify a doubt.

    I am going to publish a blog post about " Top email marketing tools ". Since it is a general topic, I referred to many online blogs to write my post. But my concern is that a certain percentage is matching with other sources online when I checked with plagiarism tools.

    Can you advise how much is the acceptable percentage of plagiarism in blogging that don't affect my blog's SEO ?
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  • Profile picture of the author sherryparket
    Pros usually suggest less than 10%. but it may wary according to everyone's experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author Montysmam
    Research your topic but then write about it in your own words - you can always quote people, if someone has said something truly significant to your topic, but primarily aim to be original.
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  • Profile picture of the author Perimeter 81
    What is the goal of using plagiarism? You don't have your own text or an idea of how to write it?
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Russell
    As many have said, you should write the content yourself and don't try to pull this information from others. Share you're voice and thoughts how you will, and hopefully you'll be able to do so in a way that others like reading. Otherwise you'll end up with various articles written differently as you "copy" articles from various authors.
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  • Profile picture of the author Messi Roxen
    Google does not penalize on duplicate content, however, there could be ranking issues in SERPs. Keep it less than 10%- 15%
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  • Profile picture of the author Anna Athan
    I agree with everyone that says to not plagiarize other people and to use unique content created by you or your team of writers.

    But I want to add something else....

    What if the blog post you're "stealing" from is not accurate? You will be expose online for promoting scam products.

    I wouldn't recommend it.

    In addition I am guessing that these blogs are already established so it would be very difficult for you to rank.

    Just my 2 cents.
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  • Profile picture of the author spartan14
    Well i am agree that the content must be original and very unique but in my content i inpire from other people and i change content i write my ideas etc .Because if you want original content then you need to be a profesional writer in a niche or to pay omeone for every blog pst so i dont have money to pay so much
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    • Profile picture of the author Anna Athan
      You don't need to be the next Einstein xD but what you write should be matching your style.
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  • Profile picture of the author Profit Traveler
    Banned
    It is pretty funny to see 20 of the Best List then someone copies it and makes a 21 of The Best List.

    Some people will not pay attention but a lot of us do and then do not take your entire brand seriously.

    There is a Millionaire High Ticket niche Marketer who made some YTube videos and Youtube's top comparable videos list in the margin just happened to post at the top the 4 year old Video that he stole every single word from including the corny joke.

    His stock perm in the basement with me now. That was just too lazy and borderline obnoxious.
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  • Profile picture of the author Farjana Mahmud
    When you write something on your blog, it will always be unique, so your self-esteem comes up. But many of us like to work fast with proxies which not only saves our time but also makes us lazy. However, if you want to check with plagiarism, I think it is better to be above 90%.
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  • Profile picture of the author rahmaprat
    It raises question though, what if we post our own created article, but on for instance 7 other different blog sites. Does it count as plagiarism also? And how will it effect our google rank?
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  • Profile picture of the author jane477
    Hi Guyz,

    I am going to start a blog but before begin it I need to clarify a doubt.

    I am going to publish a blog post about " Top email marketing tools ". Since it is a general topic, I referred to many online blogs to write my post. But my concern is that a certain percentage is matching with other sources online when I checked with plagiarism tools.
    Or even use this free plagiarism checker
    Can you advise how much is the acceptable percentage of plagiarism in blogging that don't affect my blog's SEO ?

    Google is okay with around 2-3% of plagiarism in your article. I personally draw my line around 4% plagiarism maximum.
    And there is another case where you are curating data from and around the internet then I accept around 25% plagiarism maximum.
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    • Profile picture of the author vasanthakumar
      I am occasionally post the blogs. Google need unique contents for your blog. If the google find plagiarism in few words, then there will be no problem. If it detects sentences, then i will impact the quality of your post.
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  • Profile picture of the author SiteNameSales
    I'm surprised no one has mentioned content curation which is a perfectly legitimate practice if credit is given. When my mother began to suffer from memory loss I started a site which was basically a compendium of news articles about the problem. Credit was given to author and publication in all instances. I never received a complaint. Some of the less well-known sites were probably happy to have the link.

    This is one instance. I do it with recipes I find on the net as well for another site of mine.Again, credit and links included.

    But I'd never do it for my digital marketing blog which is basically my online identity. And I'd like to keep it personally representative of my views and experience .
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    • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
      Originally Posted by SiteNameSales View Post

      I'm surprised no one has mentioned content curation which is a perfectly legitimate practice if credit is given.
      Calling it curation doesn't give anyone carte blanche to use any content they find and just credit the source. You still need to abide by fair use principles and other copyright restrictions applicable to the content.
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  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    If it's a blog, why would you want to post anyone else's material? It's your personality that keeps readers coming back. They are attracted to your writing style, your humor, your insights more than just information.

    If you want to use a "guest article" why not just use an article from Ezinearticles.com? They are there for the purpose of using them as is. Just include a link to the author's page. But why would you do that? Don't you have insights of your own already?

    If you like, just use quotes from other articles, books, blogs. One or two quotes should be OK...just make sure to link to the author's site.
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  • Profile picture of the author oppyeaunome
    Plagiarism isn't good in any amount.

    If you are going to use content it's best to use your own content. Remember you don't have to be fancy. In fact, most content on the internet is just something that has been said already, but in a different way.

    If you don't like writing content, you can always find someone to do it for you.

    Trust me you don't want to get into the habit of using other people's content. Doing so can get you in trouble with Google if you're trying to rank in the search engines.
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  • Profile picture of the author myob
    Never, never, never, never, ever try plagiarizing anything from Princess Balestra.

    Seriously, develop your own writing style, voice, or even persona. This is the ultimate in branding.

    When you copy someone's work, you are in effect deferring to them as well as diluting your own position.
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  • Profile picture of the author SiteNameSales
    From an Instapage article:

    "The power of content curation
    When done right, content curation leverages the power of third-party content and benefits everybody: you the curator, your target audience, and the content creators. It's a valuable way to economically increase your content output, incorporate more diverse perspectives, and build credibility as an unbiased thought leader."

    You can read the entire article, one of many on the subject, by searching for 'Everything You Need to Know About Content Curation.'
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  • Profile picture of the author starbaby
    You should strive to be original and citing when you get info from someone else to give them credit you should be showing your unique personality
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  • Profile picture of the author wordpress121
    Originally Posted by sanjaywilldo View Post

    Hi Guyz,

    I am going to start a blog but before begin it I need to clarify a doubt.

    I am going to publish a blog post about " Top email marketing tools ". Since it is a general topic, I referred to many online blogs to write my post. But my concern is that a certain percentage is matching with other sources online when I checked with plagiarism tools.

    Can you advise how much is the acceptable percentage of plagiarism in blogging that don't affect my blog's SEO ?
    Usually, a text similarity below 15-20% is acceptable by the journals but try to write 100% plagiarism free content. If you use more than 20% then it is considered as high percentage of plagiarism.
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  • Profile picture of the author marktr
    I want to make it clear what many other people already said emphasize why it is true.

    Plagiarism is the same thing as "duplicate content" and duplicate content is bad because it will destroy your blog. For more details please read about the concept of "negative SEO" and "duplicate content." It's also just not a sustainable tactic for the long run- eventually someone will find their content on your blog.

    If you really want to take a big unnecessary risk,you can use tools to paraphrase blog content. Just look up "content paraphraser" and stuff like that.
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      No, plagiarism is not the same as duplicate content.

      Plagiarism is copying something without the owner's permission.

      If you get the owner's permission, you end up with duplicating content without plagiarising anything.

      Originally Posted by marktr View Post

      I want to make it clear what many other people already said emphasize why it is true.

      Plagiarism is the same thing as "duplicate content" and duplicate content is bad because it will destroy your blog. For more details please read about the concept of "negative SEO" and "duplicate content." It's also just not a sustainable tactic for the long run- eventually someone will find their content on your blog.

      If you really want to take a big unnecessary risk,you can use tools to paraphrase blog content. Just look up "content paraphraser" and stuff like that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matthew North
    I agree with what everyone has posted here so far. I'd like to add the following as someone who used to work as a freelance journalist and in a content writing agency.

    It's actually easier to write an article from your unique point of view with your own research than it is to rewrite someone else's. You should also be writing about things you already know a lot about already, eliminating the need for checking for plagiarism in the first place.

    However, duplicate text that appears in two articles or more is considered 'plagiarism,' by SEO standards. The text could be in articles on completely different topics and it would still appear to be plagiarised when using tools like Copyscape. This is what I assumed by your question on plagiarism, and not simply copying someone else's work. It's a strong word.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
      Originally Posted by Matthew North View Post

      I agree with what everyone has posted here so far. I'd like to add the following as someone who used to work as a freelance journalist and in a content writing agency.

      It's actually easier to write an article from your unique point of view with your own research than it is to rewrite someone else's. You should also be writing about things you already know a lot about already, eliminating the need for checking for plagiarism in the first place.

      However, duplicate text that appears in two articles or more is considered 'plagiarism,' by SEO standards. The text could be in articles on completely different topics and it would still appear to be plagiarised when using tools like Copyscape. This is what I assumed by your question on plagiarism, and not simply copying someone else's work. It's a strong word.
      Disagree,

      Google's Policies: Duplicate Content Penalty | Mixed Content Penalty (Block) | Meta Description

      Originally Posted by Matthew North View Post

      I have no idea what I'm doing.
      Agreed,
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  • Profile picture of the author Matthew North
    It might be helpful to share what you don't agree with and why instead of just quoting the entire post with a one word reply and linking back to one of your threads.

    I read your thread and didn't see you mention that duplicate text was not considered plagiarism, because checking for duplicate text is how these tools like Copyscape work.

    FYI

    Duplicate content =/= duplicate content penalty.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
      Originally Posted by Matthew North View Post

      It might be helpful to share what you don't agree with and why instead of just quoting the entire post with a one word reply and linking back to one of your threads.
      Note that your statement I do not agree with is in bold and in red text. Also, the reason we quote the entire post is because some people will intentionally edit ther post. Not saying that is what you would do or did.

      Originally Posted by Matthew North View Post

      I read your thread and didn't see you mention that duplicate text was not considered plagiarism, because checking for duplicate text is how these tools like Copyscape work.
      The reason why my thread does not make reference to "Plagiarism" compared to "Duplicate Content" in terms of SEO is because Google, SEO wise, does not have an official stance regarding Plagiarism.

      Originally Posted by Matthew North View Post

      FYI

      Duplicate content =/= duplicate content penalty.
      Wrong again. There is no penalty for duplicate content. You obviously did "not" read my thread or reference the official Google links. Matter of fact the official Google link is the very first link in the thread. Then again, maybe you did read the thread and just do not understand what you read.

      Try to do better.

      ~ ~ ~

      Here is the thing about Plagiarism and SEO:
      Plagiarism and SEO are two different issues. One does not have anything to do with the other as Plagiarism is a legal issue and SEO is not a legal issue.

      Plagiarism is a legal issue between the author of the content (text, images, etc.) and a third party. Interesting article about that on SearchEngineJournal pertaining to a real court case. Be warned though, it requires reading!

      SEO wise, there is no penalty for Duplicate Content which means your remark "Duplicate content =/= duplicate content penalty." is rubbish. I challenge you to show me one official Google guideline that says what you claim is true! Your exercise to prove otherwise will be futile.

      Plagiarism Tools. Copyscape is "not" an SEO tool. Where did you get that idea? Copyscape checks the web for substantive blocks of text.

      Here is a strong takeaway:
      When substantive blocks of content are copied from one website to a different website owned by different entities then SEO wise that is Duplicate Content regardless if credit is given or not. Again, SEO wise, there is no penalty for Duplicate Content.

      However, Google decides rather or not to index in the SERPs only one or both sites and where in the SERPs. That is not a Penalty.
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