SEO with duplicate content for 3 geographies

[seoug_2005]

The client would like us to do seo for these 3 sites

http://www.cablecalc.com/

http://www.solutionselectrical.com.au

http://www.calculatecablesizes.co.uk/

The sites have to targetted in US, Australia, and UK resoectively .All the above sites

have identical content. Will Google penalise the sites  ?

Shall we change the content completly ? How do we approach this issue ?

[RyanKent]

The sites have to targeted in US, Australia, and UK respectively .All the above sites have identical content. Will Google penalize the sites  ?

No. Google does not penalty sites for duplicate content if each site targets a different country.

Since all three sites are in the same language, be sure each site is properly directed to their respective countries. A few steps to take:

• Use the proper language code meta tag such as EN-US for the .com.

• You can set the country targets in Google WMT.

• Use the proper form of English for each country. For example, US English should show "penalize" where UK and Australian English would show the same word as "penalise" (I think).

• Use the proper currency and measurement systems for each country.

• Use the appropriate cultural references for each site.

[seoug_2005]

Since all three sites are in the same language, be sure each site is properly directed to their respective countries

Please clarify this.

Use the proper language code meta tag such as EN-US for the .com

Is this necessary ? what does it signify  ? What is the language code for uk and australia ?

[Alex-Harford]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_localisation#Language_tags_and_codes

Australia isn't listed there but it's en-AU. It's necessary if you want to help Google recognise the sites are targeted to different countries, as Ryan mentions language and spellings differ slightly in various English-speaking countries.

[RyanKent]

Please clarify this.

Atul, the clarification is the 5 bullet points immediately following that statement.

what does it signify  ?

It signifies the language used on the page.

Is this necessary ?

It depends what you mean by necessary.

It is a step towards solid SEO. Most solid SEO involves multiple layers. The idea is it would require multiple failures to cause a problem. I would recommend this step on any site which targets multiple languages or countries.

One could argue it is unnecessary because the proper setting in Google WMT alone should resolve the matter. But then again, the same setting would need to be made for any search engines for which you wish the site to rank.

What is the language code for uk and australia ?

Alex offered a good response to this question.

[seoug_2005]

So, shall i accept the project considering i am safe at seomoz !  Any tool to know the different terms used by australia and uk people. As the content needs to be tailored to each geography.

[RyanKent]

So, shall i accept the project considering i am safe at seomoz !

That is entirely your decision. I would not recommend depending on SEOmoz for assistance. The Q&A is a fantastic resource for asking an occasional question, but some questions go unanswered and the quality of answers can vary.

You are being paid for your expertise on a subject. Only accept the job if you are confident you can offer a solid benefit to the client.  I was very candid with my first clients about my experience. I offered to work hard, work extra and work for less money but I did not ever hide my lack of experience. You may wish to do the same.

Any tool to know the different terms used by australia and uk people.

None that I am aware of. I would recommend locating someone from each country.