The Duplicate Content Myth....

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Word on the "street" is that duplicate content is the BIG BAD WOLF. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I want to put this myth to rest once and for all.  The Truth...as I see it. * PLR content is alive and well... * Even if you can write you should use it...  * Duplicated content will not get you punished, banned,  jailed or shot by the search engines. Sure, I most definitely agree you should personalize  as much content as you physically can. That is one of  the main reason I use and recommended the simple  software solution supplied by "Secret Article Converter".  My reasoning is, you can present unique new fresh  content, QUICKLY, no more than that. Be an individual,  create your own identity. There has never been an easier time to get started  and gain recognition online, than what exists today.  Most of the work is done for you with PLR content,  all it takes is a little effort and a little imagination. Heck change or add 25% and you can claim copyright  to your new article or ebook, then no one can copy it. Here's the myth and why it's all #$^^%^&$&... In my opinion! The "theory" is that if your web-site contains content the same as that of another web-site (or a number of other web-sites), you're ultimately going to be severely penalized or even banned from the major search engines.  The fact is, these duplicate content scare tactics are getting blown WAY out of proportion, and are actually promoted most prominently by those who have an ulterior motive (aka profit interest). It's time to put a rest to all the needless fuss and worry over duplicate content! First off, the *majority* of content based web-sites online - including those listed at the top of the search engines - have a certain percentage of duplicate content. There are many forms of duplicate content including press releases, RSS and news feeds, standard resale rights articles (such as those from ezinearticles.com), public domain content, private label articles and manuals, quotes and excerpts, the list goes on. Search Google for any popular keyword, and you'll find that many of the TOP sites listed contain (gulp!) duplicate content! ...Take "weight loss" (in quotes) for example. The site "freeweightloss.com" appears in the top 10. To find the duplicate content, head over to Copyscape.com and enter "http://www.freeweightloss.com." All sorts of hits come up on Copyscape.  For example, http://www.vabolis.com/site/sa2324.htm has 110 words that match the content of freeweightloss.com. Another page listed by Copyscape had 194 (different) words matching. And yet another had over 400 matching words (the equivalent of a full article). ...But we're just getting started! Take a look at some of the ARTICLE pages posted on freeweightloss.com, and run them on Copyscape.. The article on this page: http://www.freeweightloss.com/article1.html comes up on all sorts of other web pages when searched on copyscape. 380 matching words on one site. 532 matching words on another site. 466 words on another. Take a look at another article at random - how about the one on this page: http://www.freeweightloss.com/article9.html Same deal - hundreds of matching words found across many other web-sites. Ie, tons of duplicate content. Despite all this dupe content, freeweightloss.com has been in Google's top 10 for ages - at least, it was there the last time I checked ... nearly 9 months ago :0) Search just about ANY keyword on Google, check several of the top 10 sites listed (at random) and run this same test. You'll come up with duplicate content time after time. While I am in agreement that unique content can only be a GOOD thing, having a certain percentage of duplicate content isn't going to seal your fate. IMO, a good *mixture* of various content types is a good  rule of thumb to follow... Starting out with a mixture of private label content, public domain content, and syndicated content is a great base to start with.  Then, as time allows, try to equal the amount of "dupe content" you have with unique content. There are *infinite* combinations and formats that you can apply along with the various content types I've  mentioned to create a *unique* and successful site that can rank well in the search engines. Ultimately, what Google and the other major search engines look for is relevant content. If I'm searching for "weight loss" information, and I come across freeweightloss.com in the top 10, do I really care that dozens or even hundreds of other sites out there contain some of the same exact content as freeweightloss.com? Of course not! Not as long as the content I find on the site is RELEVANT. Relevancy carries far greater weight than whether the content may or may not appear on other sites. (Now, if I were to find a list of EXACT duplicate sites appearing in the listings, that would be another story.) Unfortunately, not everybody is a writer, and not everybody can AFFORD a ghostwriter... But don't let that stop you from getting in the game! I know for a FACT that "duplicate content" fears have frozen people (who would otherwise be earning a nice online income right now had they taken action) in their tracks.  And it's a shame! There are those who worry endlessly about every little issue and nuance of a particular endeavor, and there are those who TAKE ACTION. Guess which type of person succeeds? Consider also that search engines are only ONE form  of traffic! Just as any business should ultimately have multiple streams of income, your web-sites should ideally have multiple streams of TRAFFIC. If one stream of traffic drops off, you have several others that will keep things rolling. There are only 10 people in the top listings for any given keyword. Competition for those top rankings is intense! If you're truly paranoid about duplicate content, it's probably a sign that your traffic is not diversified  enough.  The ONLY way you can go from making 5 figures a month with your content sites, to making ZERO overnight, is by placing all your "traffic eggs" in the search engine basket - and taking a huge drop in the rankings.  Not a good plan! So apply some common sense,  develop a site that has a mixture of *quality* relevant  content from a variety of sources, work on building a  strong flow of traffic *outside* of the search engines  (in addition to maximizing your SE rankings if you so  choose), and succeed!!  Best Regards, Ken Mathie. P.S. ----> "Instant Niche Site Builder"  is Ready For Download ! ---> This is what YOU'VE been waiting for!... "Now ANYBODY Can Generate An *Unlimited* Arsenal of Adsense Style Web-Sites (Filled With Exclusive Content) Almost Instantly!" ...And with absolutely NO experience needed! http://www.profitdot.net/tools/igr  P.P.S. Like to see an example? Take a look at this site http://www.profitdot.net/marketingtips/index.htmll  I built this with five clicks, typing just a couple of entries keywords ECT. And that was before I read the instruction  manual...Too easy.