Duplicate Content

[BridalHotspot]

Is making tabs with general product information on similar products considered duplicate content?

[Theo-NL]

Yes, after all, the content is 'duplicate' across these pages. It depends on the amount of duplicate content across pages whether Google will consider it a problem though.

[Robert_G]

Hello Sylvana,

duplicate content refers to content that is similar and appears on two or more pages of the same website (or different).

So, if those tabs are displayed on a single page, than you should not worry about but if the same tabs are displayed on multiple pages you might want to think writing unique product infos for each of your pages.

Cheers.

[BridalHotspot]

Thanks guys,

I actually already knew the answer to the question, but I see a lot of websites ranking high while still using tabs with general information (exactly the same) on similar products.

My website has mainly custom made products so the general information is the same and there are too many products to write it as unique content. I now use a button that leads to a separate page with all the information but somehow I just don't like it. It just looks so much more informative to have all this information on the product page itself without having to go to another page.

If Google really cares about giving as much information as possible, why isn't there a way to have this type of duplicate content?

[Robert_G]

I feel you, I know that sometimes is very difficult to play around with content only to please Google, especially when you know that you did the right thing for your users.

But I wouldn't worry that much... I mean if you have only some general info as dupe content,  and you have also some product related unique info, it should be ok (I'm sure that you can describe each product a bit ... color, size, fabric, a testimonial, distinct images and alt texts etc.)

I think Google can handle these situations.

Also, if you haven't, check this out:

http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=66359

[josh-riley]

I have issues with duplicate content due to the way our system works and the CMS feeds. It bothers me, but I've also realized we can OK in spite of it. So, to your point of seeing sites rank anyway, it helps to have a quality domain and be credible

I partly suspect duplicate content is a hold over from the old days of spammy sites who intentionally created a lot of duplicate content in an attempt to appear to have depth of content. I think Google has figured out that businesses that sell similar products, but maybe are only different via color or size, will have duplication. And that it's not misleading to try to fool the search engines.

[KaneJamison]

That content is duplicate content, yes. However, it's more important to have a decent amount of unique content on each page than it is to worry about how much duplicate content is on each page. Duplicate content isn't the end of the world if each page has substantial unique content, which is the first explanation I'd put forth in why you're still seeing those other domains ranking fine. This is how you'd strike a balance between having useful duplicate content and pleasing search engines.

Regarding having too many products to write unique descriptions, unfortunately you're going to have to bite the bullet on that one if you want to rank better. It might seem unfeasible for you to write all of those, but writing them one by one or hiring a writer to rewrite each one in batches is going to be essential to you ranking well.