The document debunks seven common myths about duplicate content in SEO, emphasizing that duplicate content can arise from multiple URLs for the same page and that blocking crawlers from accessing these pages is not advisable. It clarifies that having legal disclaimers on multiple pages generally does not lead to penalties and discusses the distinction between legit content syndication and scraped content. Additionally, it highlights issues with translating content and the importance of tailoring it for regional audiences to avoid being flagged as duplicate content.

1. 7 duplicate content myths
that simply aren’t true
By WebMeUp.Com

2. There are quite a few duplicate content myths
circulating in the SEO community.

3. Let’s bust them!

4. Myth 1.
Duplicate content is ‘same text on multiple pages‘

5. Website owners who are not so good at web
design think that the only way to produce
duplicate content is to purposefully replicate a
piece of text on multiple pages.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

6. What they don't realize is that some of their
site's pages may be accessible via multiple ULRs
(which
may
happen
for
various
reasons), which, in turn, would automatically
lead to content duplication.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

7. Ideally, each piece of content should have only
one URL associated with it:
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

8. http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

9. In reality, though, it happens quite often that a
page has multiple URLs associated with it:
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

10. http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

11. Hence, if there are pages on your site that have
multiple URLs pointing to them, you need to
take care of that!
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

12. To solve that, one should use canonical tags, an
XML sitemap, a robots.txt file or other means
that aid the canonicalization process.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

13. Also, more information on how to tackle these
structure issues are given in this guide to SEOfriendly URL architecture.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

14. Myth 2.
One should block crawlers' access to duplicate
pages

15. In case you have duplicate URLs on a site,
closing duplicates from getting indexed with a
robots.txt is a bad idea.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

16. A better solution is to allow search engines to
crawl these URLs, but mark them as duplicates.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

17. That can be done by using
the rel="canonical" link element, the URL
parameter handling tool, or 301 redirects.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

18. Myth 3.
Legal info/disclaimer across multiple pages
isn't allowed

19. Some SEOs truly believe that having even a small
amount of duplicate content on your site can
lead to a penalty.
In an overwhelming number of cases, however,
it can't.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

20. According to Matt Cutts, having a Terms and
Conditions template or a Disclaimer message
across all pages of your site won't get you
penalized.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

21. Check out this video to learn more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViwkEeOKxM
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

22. NB!
At the same time, Google still advises one to
keep the amount of text in that repeated
message to a minimum.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

23. Myth 4.
Duplicate content penalty doesn't exist

24. Although Google penalizes sites for duplicate
content quire seldom (usually such sites are pure
spam), it could easily dish out a penalty to a site
that:
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

25. Has nothing but scraped content
Scrapes images, auto-translates pages, or uses
automated apps/software to spin
content prior to publication
Purposefully creates pages with nearly
identical content to rank them for various
locations/keywords
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

26. In all other cases, your site is unlikely to get
penalized for duplicate content.
After all, 25-30 % of the Web is duplicate
content because people quote other people, and
the same information gets shared on it a lot.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

27. Myth 5.
Google can tell the original content creator

28. There's been a lot of discussion on the Web
about Google being or not being able to tell the
original creator of a content piece.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

29. Some people would say Google replies on
publication date to track the authentic author
BUT
multiple instances of hijacked search results (a
scraper site outranking the original) disprove
that.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

30. Thus, according to Dan Petrovic, there are
certain signals you can send Google to let it
know you're the original author.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

31. These are:
Claiming your Google Authorship
Specifying canonical URLs
Sharing a newly published piece on Google+,
etc.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

32. Myth 6.
Syndicated content is duplicate content

33. Type 1.
That is legitimate news sites/information hubs
that sometimes feature previously published
content.
They often provide original commentary and
analysis of the piece they cover. Such sites
always credit the original content creator.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

34. Type 2.
Content syndication sites that produce no
content of their own.
They scrape content off multiple websites
(often it is imagery) and give no credit to the
original content creators whatsoever.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

35. http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

36. So, if your site belongs to the 1st type and you
have syndicated content on it, you have nothing
to worry about.
If you are type 2, getting a penalty is just a
matter of time!
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

37. Myth 7.
Translated copy on regional site isn't duplicate
content

38. You may think that translating the copy from
your English-language site and publishing it on a
regional domain/subdomain is never a problem.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

39. Well, sometimes it is.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

40. These are the cases when Google can classify a
translated copy as duplicate content:
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

41. You translated it with an automatic tool and
just dumped it on your site;
* (in which case it would qualify as automatically
generated content)
You copied your English-language content
without change to the regional site.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

42. So, when creating a foreign site for your biz,
tailor its content for the segment of users you
are
trying
to
reach
with
it.
Most likely, they would want a slightly different
message than the one you have for Englishspeaking audiences.
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

43. This is it!
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-content-myths.html

44. For more info check WebMeUp blog:
http://webmeup.com/blog/duplicate-contentmyths.html