Google
Adsense - The Duplicate Content Controversy
Google Adsense - The Duplicate Content Controversy
The hoopla over duplicate content has been going on for quite some
time now, and I see it as simply just another money making scheme
by online entrepreneurs wishing to chase down the Golden Goose.
Almost every day, my inbox is inundated with yet another "article
converter" that is guaranteed to make my private label rights
articles hit the top of the search engines with no fear of the Google
Police knocking at my PR door, screaming "Duplicate Content!"
I ofttimes wonder how many of the so called gurus take the time
to really read the Google Adsense Program Policies. And I wonder
many times during my working day just how many people open their
wallets to let fly their hard earned dollars to these people.
Here are Google's exact words, and I quote: "Do not create
multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate
content." What does this really tell us? Does it tell us that
the PLR sites that sell thousands of the same articles to people
who don't have time - or are too lazy - to write their own content
are breaking Google's rules? Not hardly.
Google is telling us that we cannot create what used to be called
"mirror sites" (This is a Web site which contains the
same information that is located on another site. If the site abc.com
is the same as def.com, then it may be disqualified from listing
by search engines) in an attempt to increase Page Rank and increase
Adsense income.
Many opinions abound on the forums and elsewhere on the web discussing
duplicate content. And many netrepeneurs have taken advantage of
the misinterpretation of Google's policies to capitalize on this.
Because Google has made this the era of content, everyone that is
involved in the online communities is scrambling for the proper
answers.
I see threads that are three to five pages in length on the more
popular forums with people agonizing over their fear of duplicate
content. What a field day for the guru's! I wonder how many thousands
- perhaps millions - have been made by people taking advantage of
this fear factor?
Lets examine the facts. If there really was a duplicate content
filter then many news web sites that publish AP or Reuters news
would be banned from search engines. Many catalogue sites would
go under, because they sell the same products, using the same promotional
items as other sites.
Affiliate sites would be banned from the search engines because
people use the promotional items provided by the site owners. And
even the giant eBay would go under, because anyone who has spent
time there sees a ton of items listed which are identical, using
the same description, same images, and same user ID. I wonder how
Copyscape.com would handle this?
What about the sites that put articles and ezines in archive. This
content ends up being displayed both in static pages and archives
as well. Penalized for duplicate content, when the website owner
wants to have his articles available to the general public? I doubt
it...
Common sense is the order of the day. If you take the time to provide
original and unique content to your site, the site is well optimized
for the search engines, and you have relevant backlinks, then your
site will do well with no fear of penalty.
Don't use article scrapers, which mirror the exact content of other
sites, and is nothing more than a rip off. If you buy PLR articles,
try to rewrite them in your own unique voice. If your budget will
allow, hire a ghostwriter to create articles pertinent to your particular
niche. And most of all, just use plain common sense!
About the Author Alden Smith is an award
winning author who has been marketing on the internet for over 7
years. His site, http://www.for-the-record.biz,
is loaded with articles and information for the beginning blogger
and internet marketer.
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