Duplicate content

[WallerD]

Hi everyone,

I have a wedding blog I submit posts to on a monthly basis for a link back. One of the staff said to change the first 200 character and I can post it on my own blog with no duplicate content penalty.

Any thoughts?

Best wishes.

David.

[OlegKorneitchouk]

False... unless the article is close to 200 characters.

It will however help you avoid the supplemental index... so the page may appear in serps, it just won't rank too well.

I have a client that has the same text for products on his site and on amazon. When he changes the title/heading slightly (e.g. adding a 1 word adjective) on Amazon, both pages appear in serps. However if the title/heading is identical, only the website ranks. - just note that Amazon is a powerhouse of SEO so it may be unreasonable to expect the same results but does give some insight into Google's algorithm.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

I don't know where they got this, it sounds so broad. If you have a 200 word blog post, then yes, that should be fine, but if you have a 600 word or more blog post, then, no, don't do that. A substantial block of the content is still duplicate content

If you are writing your own content and have your own blog, post it there. You can still submit to the other blog, but make sure that they put a canonical tag on it claiming you as the owner or a link back to your site as the host, preferably nofollow (nofollow links still have value, don't worry), or both.

I would also read through Google's duplicate content resource so you know what is and what isn't duplicate content.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[WallerD]

Hi Patrick and Oleg,

Thank you for your responses.

Patrick, are you saying it is ok to post the blog as is, on my site and the wedding blog, just get a link back?(the only reason why i am giving it to them).

Also why is it preferable to get a no-follow link?

Best wishes.

David.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi David

Yes - I am saying that you should request a nofollow link back and a canonical tag on that post so that ownership credit goes to you and users can come to your site if they want if they like what they read.

I would prefer a nofollow link in this situation over a follow because it protects your site from inheriting spam equity from the other site, as well as shows you're not attempting to build a link scheme. Also, if you are writing a lot of blogs for this site (which I would do sparingly and really make it count if you see QUALITY traffic from this site), you don't want a sudden influx of follow links pointing at your site - that could be seen as manipulation.

Hope this helps! Good luck.

[WallerD]

Hi Patrick,

with my limited knowledge of SEO I was hoping to write a blog post once a month for this particular company Brides Up North.

I have taken an advert out with them which includes being able to write a blog post once a month. I am also trying to get featured weddings on national wedding blogs (I have three featured with a link back).

Also trying to get my images onto peoples websites in exchange for a link. (a little more difficult)

Lastly I am leaving comments on the wedding blogs and other photography blogs.

all a bit underwhelming to an SEO expert, but as a small business owner with limited knowledge its the best I can come up with at the moment.

The site in question has a spam score of 0/17.

Most of the top people in other cities like manchester and London have this exact  profile?

Best wishes.

David.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

You should never "exchange" anything for a link. A link at this point with Google is something that should be acquired naturally, without any outside factor influence besides the quality and relevance of the content or website be linked to. A link enhances the quality of the user experience and should be treated in such a way.

I really suggest you read the following resources:
Quality Guidelines (Google)
Matt Cutts on Blog Comments, Links & Spam: Use Your Name, Not Keywords (SEW)

Along with link schemes, reading the above resources will help you understand what actions you should take and what actions you should stay away from. This is especially helpful being new to SEO. Google takes comment spam and link exchanges very seriously, so you want to take proper steps to make sure you are protecting yourself.  The fact that you say "Also trying to get my images onto peoples websites in exchange for a link. (a little more difficult)" makes me nervous that you are doing whatever it takes to get a link, especially with comments (not sure if you are leaving links there - but don't do that).

The more education you have with links and what Google expects, the better off you will be.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

[WallerD]

Hi Patrick,

What i mean by trying to get my images onto peoples websites" is offering other wedding vendors images of their products in exchange for a link, say for example a band at a wedding  asked me to take some photographs of them, which I was happy to do in exchange for a link. are you saying this is wrong?

Also when I leave comments I don't use any keywords or links. I have just read the Matt Cutts article and he is fine with blog comments, although I am aware of not having too many.

Can you point me to somewhere that will not melt my brain and  get me started on the best practices for SEO?

You seem to be very purist in your outlook although you are in a company that offers SEO?

Best wishes.

David.

[WallerD]

Hi Patrick,

Also considering you have a few links back from PRWEB you might want to read this:

http://searchengineland.com/how-prweb-helps-distribute-crap-into-google-news-sites-140597

Best wishes.

David.

[HashtagHustler]

Although you have more than enough answers I figured I would chime in since I have had some experience with this. Bottom line, whatever work you put in, you will get out. Google progressively becomes more and more intelligent and is more and more capable of determining who wrote what first. Simply put, there is no easy way to get content anymore. Search Engine Land wrote a great article about content.

Now, we are in a time where EVERYBODY writes content. I'm not totally sure what you do but I'm guessing its wedding photography? I personally think that utilizing your creative gift of photography for links is a great idea. Maybe think of some other ways you can leverage that talent. Make an infographic of how wedding photography has changed over the years, or a youtube video on the 10 best wedding tips. As a wedding photographer (if that's what you do, I'm sure you have plenty of tips that are outside of box.

Remember, if you pay with bananas you are gonna get monkeys. Same goes with SEO. If shortcuts were easy and effective, they would just be the way.