This is a problem that many content sites face, especially those that boasts hundreds of pages. Maybe over the course of time, you’ve had multiple content writers and maybe they’ve had similar great ideas. Well, if your site is large enough they might not notice its duplicate content.
So what is duplicate content?
How to Deal with Duplicate Content
When you have multiple URLs with similar keywords it can be a major problem.
To clarify, it’s not a problem for the user. They get exactly what they want regardless of the URL you choose. It doesn’t matter to people if the topic is worded differently or in a different tone, they still get the information they need.
Search engines, on the other hand, are not as smart. It’s confusing for search engines to rank and prioritize duplicate content on your site.
Another way your site can have duplicate content is through an improper structure. If you can get to the same page with different URLs, then you’re splitting your audience in half.
Over time, pages that have similar topics will gain an advantage over you because they see more traffic to their one page, even if both your URLs garner more visitations.
Then how do you deal with this issue!?
Well, there’s no magical situation, you just have to sit down and get it done. Go to your site and search for pages you think might be duplicate content. You’re able to use the search bar to search to find general terms.
Fixing general structure issues or changing lower-performing pages to more specific topics might help you rank your page.
Another solution is simply to slap a no-follow tag on a lower-performing page so search engines don’t crawl it. This helps you maintain great user experience and the history because people can still interact with your content.
I know, I know, it sounds tedious but it’s how you fight your pesky duplicate content. Bottom line, search engines just aren’t advanced enough to tell the difference between to very similar topics, at least sometimes.
Until they can, just monitor your pages and research each new topic before you set out to write a new piece.
If you still can’t seem to figure out the issue then you can always contact us. At WebCroppers, we have the proprietary tools to help you find the issue and the experience to help you fix it.
