Content spinning or duplicate content — a potential penalty or a safe technique?

[PayPro]

Currently I’m working on the local UK business website www.londonlocksmith.london and I have to say a few practises of the competition got me confused.

For example websites like these:
http://lambeth-trusted-local-locksmith.co.uk/
http://clapham-trusted-local-locksmith.co.uk/
http://streathamhill-trusted-local-locksmith.co.uk/
http://hernehillse24-trustedlocallocksmith.co.uk/

All of them rank decent for the main regional keyword (e.g. Lambeth locksmith) and have an ok-ish DA. But as you scroll through these websites you see that the content is the same for all of them except for the location name, plus they all link to each other (see the footer).

Now my question is: can this be a good technique for higher local ranking by creating dedicated websites (not just landing pages) with the target keyword in the domain name?

And also: what is your experience with such ways of keyword targeting; what do you think in general about content spinning for local services with high competition?; what are your suggestions?

[Andy.Drinkwater]

Hi Kateryna,

What they are doing there is something that is very much against Google's TOS and isn't something I would advise anyone try to perform. I would say that this is something that will catch up with them at some point and they will get a kick from Google for their trouble.

Content spinning is never going to be a long-term solution but what I would suggest, is having a watch of MOZ's recent Whiteboard Friday by Rand.

Longevity for any SEO campaign will come from a great user experience, great unique content and not going against Google's TOS.

-Andy

[ClaytonJ]

K

Andy is correct. The practice used by your competitor is outdated and against google guidelines. From our experience we often see (looked at one last week) exact matching domains rank highly without any other metric being strong or comparable to competitors. However it is counter intuitive as if you were today to buy an exact matching domain and then expect it to rank well without hard work - well it simply does not happen anymore. They seem like relics, and panda updates have passed them, likely thin content as well.

For some reason often exact matching domains that breach google guidelines still rank well - in my observation in low competition spaces. Your examples are all local.  The key is not to attempt any bad practices, even though they are ranking for them as it will hurt your site.

So in answer to your questions. 1. It is not good technique - in fact usually penalized. 2. content spinning is not a good technique - in fact usually penalized.

You have an awesome opportunity.  One dedicated site with a single site approach. As distinct from his 4 sites. All work undertaken on your site (Creating unique content, testimonials, obtaining awesome links) goes to benefit all of of your store locations at once, if your site is well structured. Your website obtains maximum 'juice' out from your hard work and the site authority strengthens over time. You can smash those 4 sites with a bit of work.

Hope that assists.