Fanatically Digital

Tag: content

  • Does Duplicate Content Hurt SEO?

    Does Duplicate Content Hurt SEO?

    Can Publishing Duplicate Content Hurt Your Search Engine Rankings? 

    Duplicate content is a persistent concern for website owners and SEO specialists alike. From near-identical pages to sections of content reused across a site, the ramifications of duplicate content on search engine rankings are often debated. 

    In this article, we delve into the nuances of duplicate content and its impact on SEO. We explore different scenarios, from full-page duplicates to spun content, to understand when and how duplicate content can affect your site’s performance in search engine results pages (SERPs).

    TL;DR

    • There are different ‘degrees’ of duplicate content (from spun copy to identical full-page content)
    • Generally, duplicate content won’t severely impact your rankings. Google will usually pick the most appropriate page to rank
    • But full-page duplicates carry the potential to hurt your rankings, especially if there are other conflicting signals.
    • Duplicate sections (as opposed to full pages) also shouldn’t impact rankings; so long as the primary focus of the page is not duplicated content
    • Spinning content can be a useful tool, depending on the intent of users. Informational content isn’t good for spinning but commercial/transactional content is usually okay

    There is a Range of Duplicate Content

    Duplicate content can refer to a range of cases. Sometimes we’re talking about duplicates of pages, differentiated only by their URLs.

    It can also refer to sections of content that appear on multiple pages across your site. 

    And other times, duplicate content can refer to text that has been lightly edited–or spun–in order to appear original.

    We’ll take a look at all three cases and what impact (if any) it can have on your ability to rank on the SERPs.

    Full Page Duplicates

    Full-page duplicates are when the same page is effectively copied and pasted.

    Search engines especially dislike this type of duplicate content because it makes it more difficult to determine which pages to prioritize in the rankings. 

    Although most of the time, Google doesn’t have too much trouble and can select one version of the pages to show.

    However, as we found out the hard way, this isn’t always the case. There are some instances in which duplicate content can hurt SEO performance. The case study below demonstrates one of those instances.

    Case Study of Full-Page Duplicate Content

    We have an e-commerce client that has thousands of product pages. Last year, they had a technical hiccup in which some of their pages were republished under a new URL. 

    So for a while, we had two identical versions of many product pages.

    While their developers quickly solved the main issue, there were still a few duplicate pages out there that we didn’t catch right away. 

    But once we did, it gave us an interesting peek into what can happen when you have identical content on your site. And the results are kind of frightening.

    Here are some screenshots of Search Console performance when filtered to include both versions of the duplicated page.

    When the issue occurred in late March, performance tanked for pages with duplicate versions. Neither the existing page nor the new version ranked well.

    This is what we believe happened:

    The original pages had a longer history with a more robust backlink profile, which gave it a fair amount of “ranking power.”

    However, the links from the client’s internal catalog were overwritten and instead linked to the new versions instead of the original, which sent mixed signals to search engines regarding which version to prioritize.

    And this bumped us down quite a bit in the rankings.

    This was an easy fix once we caught it and performance for those pages soon recovered. But it demonstrates vulnerabilities when publishing identical content (whether intentionally or not).

    Duplicate Sections

    By duplicate sections, I mean identical content that doesn’t make up the primary focus of the page. Generally speaking, duplicate sections won’t have a negative impact on rankings. 

    As long as the remainder of the page’s content hits the criteria required for ranking, then duplicate sections aren’t going to slow things down.

    For example, one of our clients has a section that serves as a call to action with a fair bit of text that they post on their blogs, FAQs and other information-serving pages.

    Since these are primarily informational pages, the call to action isn’t going to play a big role in Google’s analysis of the page.

    But if these sections take up a more substantial portion of the page, it might be worth rewriting the content in order to ensure its originality.

    It’s useful to think about it like this: If you were to remove the section in question, would the page still make sense? Would it still accomplish its goal? If we remove the CTA of the pages mentioned above, then yes, the page would absolutely still make sense and accomplish its goal of informing our audience.

    But there are some instances where rearranging, rewriting, or spinning the content would make sense (more on that below).

    Similar (or spun) Content

    Sometimes, it’s necessary to rewrite existing content–called spinning. 

    But this raises similar questions. Does Google view spun content as ‘legitimate’? Can “spun” content hurt my SEO performance?

    Spinning Content is the practice of rewording existing text to communicate the same ideas but avoiding the appearance of duplicate content or–for some black-hat actors–plagiarism.

    As usual, the answer is–annoyingly–it depends.

    While Google won’t manually penalize sites unless there is obvious malicious behavior, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that publishing spun content can hurt SEO.

    It’s more accurate to say that spinning content is often just a waste of time. Not always. But often.

    When Spinning Content is a Waste of Time

    I’d argue that spinning content is a waste of time when you’re trying to rank for queries with informational intent.

    Google prioritizes content that:

    • contains original information, reporting, research, or analysis
    • provide a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic
    • offers insight or information beyond the obvious
    • and avoids simply copying or rewriting those sources

    While it’s not perfect, Google is generally pretty good at ranking content that offers more than generic or regurgitated answers to common questions.

    And in our experience, spun content–and even content that’s relatively original but offers little more insight than the sources we used to write it–almost never generates traffic for informational queries.

    However, we have had success when spinning content for queries with commercial or transactional intent. Here’s a case study to demonstrate.

    Case Study of Spun Content

    We have a client that serves Los Angeles with moving services.

    L.A. has a huge geography with many towns and smaller cities within it. So, as part of our SEO strategy, we published Areas Served pages that target localized search queries (e.g., anaheim movers and movers in beverly hills, etc.).

    With hundreds of these pages to publish, it’s incredibly difficult and time-consuming to write completely original content for each one. So oftentimes, we’ll spin the content.

    While this content is relatively unique on the surface, it’s functionally identical. Google’s crawlers won’t process a distinction between synonyms such as hassle-free transition and hassle-free move.

    So if the content isn’t unique (i.e. duplicate content) why doesn’t this hurt SEO performance? 

    I’d argue it’s because the commercial intent to purchase moving services in a specific geography–Beverly Hills–means the pages’ different geographic focus is enough to make them sufficiently unique.

    A user in Anaheim doesn’t want a page on services in Beverly Hills and vice versa.

    Given the relative success of these particular pages and our Area Served page strategy, it’s safe to assume that Google considers this kind of spun content to be acceptable. 

    Wrapping Up

    Navigating the intricacies of duplicate content in SEO requires a nuanced understanding of search engine algorithms and user intent. While some instances of duplication may have negligible effects or even prove beneficial, others can significantly impact your site’s visibility and ranking potential.

    By recognizing the various forms of duplicate content and implementing strategies to address them effectively, website owners can optimize their SEO efforts and enhance their online presence in a competitive digital landscape.

  • Email Marketing: an Overview

    Email Marketing: an Overview

    Email marketing has something of a mixed reputation. On the one hand, marketers tout its ability to connect with audiences, promote deals & products, and turn favorable ROIs. 

    But on the other, we’ve all seen that horrible dumpster fire we call a spam folder, often filled to the brim with clickbait, phishing schemes, and your run-of-the-mill rubbish and superfluous nonsense.

    Thus, we get a mixed reputation.

    But clearly, email marketing must provide some value to businesses. The question becomes, who does it benefit the most? What businesses should pursue email marketing?

    So in this post, we’ll run through what email marketing is, what it’s good at achieving, what it’s not, who should implement it & who should steer clear.

    Email marketing… what is it?

    Email marketing is a form of direct marketing in which businesses send commercial messages via email.

    Typically email marketing involves sending advertisements for specific products or promotions. 

    However, it is also used to foster brand awareness, trust, and loyalty. This can be in the form of announcements or newsletters, re-engagement emails, and even more personalized emails such as birthday messages.

    Email marketing campaigns are best run through dedicated marketing clients and applications since free-to-use email service providers like Gmail and Outlook don’t support mass emails. 

    Popular platforms such as MailChimp, Sendinblue, and Hubspot allow businesses to create email templates, schedule content calendars, and upload huge contact lists.

    This is important because email campaigns tend to have low open rates and even lower click-through rates, meaning large mailing lists are a necessity for most campaigns.

    Businesses can compile contact lists from many sources including their own customer database, opt-in subscriptions & newsletter sign-ups on their website, and purchasing contact lists from customer databases. However, these paid contact lists tend to be much lower quality and less likely to convert than recipients who opt in.

    Nevertheless, email campaigns have the potential to deliver some of the best ROIs in marketing. Let’s take a look at what they’re good at achieving and who stands to benefit most.

    What’s Good About Email Marketing?

    Inform About New Products / Sales / Specials / Promos

    Email marketing campaigns are fantastic at promoting or highlighting products and services. From new product launches to sales promotions, email allows for a broad, but targeted and personalized reach. This makes it great for eCommerce, retail and high-volume product sales, travel & hospitality services, restaurants, and more.

    Re-engagement & Cart Abandonment 

    Email is often a great way to re-engage inactive customers. Whether it’s a subscriber who made a purchase years ago or someone who abandoned their shopping cart yesterday, email campaigns are often used to reignite interest in potential customers.

    This is especially the case for eCommerce platforms that wish to follow up with users who left the website without purchasing items in their online cart. 

    Brand Awareness, Trust, and Loyalty

    Email allows businesses to keep in touch with past customers, subscribers, and leads, exposing them to their brand and creating awareness. When businesses use email to build brand awareness and trust, it’s often in concert with content marketing on blog and social media channels.

    Not all businesses depend as heavily on repeat customers. But for those that do, email is one of the best ways to maintain engagement between purchases and build brand trust and loyalty.

    Lead Nurturing

    Businesses with a long sales cycle can leverage email to nurture leads at every step of the process. Use email to communicate expert insights on your products or industry with newsletters or whitepapers (again, in concert with content marketing), gauge interest with responsive drip campaigns, and close on more prospects.

    Cost-Effectively Reach Audience

    Start up costs for email marketing are rock bottom. Many platforms offer their bottom tier plans for free. This enables businesses that are strapped for cash to get their foot in the door and establish marketing channels for no cost at all.

    However, even the more expensive plans are relatively cheap. High quality plans might run for several hundred dollars per month, allowing businesses the freedom to experiment and optimize their marketing schemes and email templates.

    What’s NOT Good About Email Marketing

    Email is a Numbers Game i.e. You Need a Large Audience

    Given low open rates and even lower click-through rates, email marketing is a numbers game. If you’re a local business providing, for example, B2B or home services, your target market might simply be too small for an email campaign to make sense.

    Low-Quality Lists 

    Compiling high-quality lists of opt-in users can take time. And for websites with relatively low traffic or those looking to expand their audience, that means leveraging paid contact lists from customer databases which tend

    International Regulations Can Make Things Tough

    International regulations on mass email marketing differ significantly between countries. If your business is active in European or overseas markets, different rule sets may require separate campaigns, designs, and strategies.

    Consistency is Key

    Successful email marketing campaigns require consistent optimization and content updates. It is NOT a set-it-and-forget-it strategy.  Although it provides a low cost barrier to entry, it requires dedicated oversight, whether by your in-house marketing team or an agency. This has the potential to increase costs.

    Is Email Marketing Right for You?

    Email marketing is rarely implemented on its own. Often, it is used in conjunction with content marketing, SEO, or PPC advertising. If you’re considering implementing email marketing within your broader marketing efforts, contact Fanatically Digital to learn how we can help your business.

  • Content Marketing Over the Long Haul

    Content marketing is a cornerstone of many digital strategies. As we expand SEO and social, content marketing plans become essential in establishing a brand’s position with customers, prospects and their own employees.

    A study of content marketers in Australia saw in interesting change in the landscape ( I think this has implication in the U.S. as well.) While more companies were developing content marketing plans and felt confident that they are on the right path, with 46% having a documented content marketing plan vs 37% last year, those that felt they had an effective content strategy dropped from 29% to 28%.

    It appears that it is a case of the more you know the more you realize how far you have to go. Estimates for content marketing plans to be fully effective range up to a year and a half. As companies truly build out their plans, the reality sets in that, like anything worthwhile, this is not an easy fix. Content marketing takes work and time, with the effects being cumulative. Building up momentum requires persistence and a concerted effort to stay focused over time.

    Starting with a strong foundation means knowing what your value / solution is, which is the focus of the content plan. The Content Marketing Institute has a great piece on creating the content marketing plan; what you need to answer in the process. Like most business plans, the questions are thought provoking and, if you are honest with yourself, not necessarily easy to answer. Ultimately, you need to build a business case for content marketing that helps keep the plan focused.

    Content marketing can be fun, it must be creative, and absolutely needs to provide value over time to the intended audiences. It is not about an infographic, or a blog, or a video. It is about information and finding the best ways to share that information over diverse channels. Before you dive into content marketing ( I mean really dive into it) be ready to commit the time and resources for a 12+ month period before you expect to see tangible results.

  • The Google Panda Smack Down

    Content is king. Google has always been clear in this. Too many SEOs have sought to trick google, Bing & Yahoo into thinking bad content was good content. Panda has been aggressively distinguishing between the two.

    Producing good content is not easy. In the short term, some have instead tried to trick the engines into ranking poor content. Those who played the long game were less affected by the Panda hits. This becomes almost amusing as we see the response from some SEOs to Google’s continued guidance that good content is key.

    One strategy for addressing a google panda smack down is to remove the poor content. Short term, this is easy, fast and a feel good action. But, it ultimately defeats the purpose. Google is not seeking the removal of content, but the improved quality of content.

    When you are addressing the issues related to Panda, ask yourself a simple question, “why did we put the content there in the first place?”

    If your answer is along the lines of “we’re trying to get rankings,” then remove it. It doesn’t help you, the users or the engines. Yes, rankings are part of the equation. But, the driver is end user benefit so your company has value and can enhance your relationship with customers or prospects.

    The more likely answer (I hope) is that you are trying to provide useful information to the user. Google’s point (correct or not) is that the content is too thin to be useful. It is something to keep, but improve upon, and that takes work. The process may start with keyword research, but more likely, you need to go back a bit further and ask some basic question about your customers.

    Knowing how they shop, your company’s role in the purchase process and how customers want to interact with you is important in content development. With this understanding, you can review the current content issues, determine their priority and then start to rebuild your pages with better, more complete information for the customers, keeping basic SEO development practices in mind.

    If you’ve been hit by Google Panda, take the long view, prioritize and thoughtfully address the core issues. Resist the temptation to ‘pull it down’ or create smoke-and-mirrors to try to get around doing the right thing. SEO is a long view game; treat it accordingly and there will be fewer surprises when Google updates come out.

    Feature panda image – tee shirt I thought was funny.