Understanding Duplicate Content

"A client asked me the other day about duplicate content and how it would related to the SEO of their site. Duplicate content refers to content on your website being found to be very similar to content on another page, either on or off the site, and then penalized for it by the search engines. The client was concerned about the percentage of duplicate content on their site, as it related to category pages using bits of product pages as their content. The funny thing is that most SEO's think in terms of only percentages when it comes to duplicate content. It actually doesn't work that way anymore.

Prior to 2011, the algorithms were much simpler in how they operated and scanned for duplicate content. At that time, you could avoid any duplicate content penalities just by making sure your content was 30% unique or more. This seemed to be the cut off at the time. However, after a number of algorithm changes by Google, this all changed.

I'll use made up phrases as an example.

On page 1 we have the following sentence: "The [sick] [dog] went to sleep."

On page 2 we have the following sentence: "The [ill] [canine] went to sleep."

I put terms in parenthesis that are similar. So, the old algorithms would consider both of these sentences to be 33% unique, which would have been fine, because 1/3 of their text was different from each other. The new algorithms would look at it a little differently. They would pass by both pages and note the percentage of difference and similarity in the content. They would then use their latent semantic index engine (essentially an intelligent synonym database), to catalog the terms in both sentences. Next, they match the terms against their existing database to determine if "sick" and "ill" are synonyms. After that, they use assigned "similarity scores" that influence how unique the content is perceived to be to help score the content overall. For instance, the terms "sick" and "ill" might be considered very similar to each other, whereas "sick" and "flu" are perceived as less similar to each other. These individual synonym scores influence the algorithm's perception of the "uniqueness" of the content. Even more interestingly, the semantic database changes daily, and so do the "similarity scores". Google might have learned 100 new synonyms for a word tomorrow, and this will change everything having to do with that word set in the database.

Google will also catalog the different parts of the site. The algorithm is intelligent, and it is very good at understanding the structure of your site. So, for instance, you don't have to worry about the content in your navigation bar being perceived as duplicate because Google knows that it is common practice for websites to have the same menu/navigation across multiple pages. Another example is that if you cite something from other websites or people, the citation will indicate to Google that the content is SUPPOSED TO BE duplicate content. You still won't want your whole page to be citations, but a little is ok. Your primary concern should be the uniqueness of the "body" of the page and making sure that you write it from scratch.

Google made these changes in order to combat marketers that were using small synonym databases to "spin" content in order to produce vast amounts of content without having to write it. This is great news because it means original content is worth even more than it used to be, because the "cheaters" can no longer easily cheat. The bad news though is that Duplicate content issues have become far more prevalent. Make sure you consulting your SEO professional so you don't have any duplicate content issues. Even now, this is one of the most widely ignored aspects of SEO."

About The Author:

Nick Fitzgerald - Vice President Of Online Marketing at Foremost Media, Inc
Nick handles the implementation of Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Management, Reputation Management, and Online Advertising Management for Foremost Media Customers. Nick is an expert in the fields of search engine optimization, online advertising, and reputation management.

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Top 5 Things You Can Do to Make Your SEO Campaign a Success

We all know that Search Engine Marketing (SEO) is something that each and every online business should be doing at all times. It is essential to you and your business that people can find your site and your products and services when they go to Google, Yahoo, Bing or one of the other of the millions of search engines out there. What's the point in spending thousands of dollars on a pristine site with all the bells and whistles if no one can find it when they are looking for products like yours?

At Foremost Media, we run a meticulous SEO program that has been proven successful and effective, time and time again.  As much as we help our great clients with their SEO, there is still inevitably a part of the campaign that you need to make sure you are taking part in. Remember, the more eyes you have on your campaign, the better the results. Here are 5 things you can do to make your SEO campaign a success, counting down from 5:

#5A: Be Involved! 
Ok, so there are two #5's, but they both deserving of being on the list. 5A is to stay involved in the SEO campaign. I say this because lots of online companies seem to hire a marketing firm or online web development firm much like Foremost Media, pay their bills and are completely hands off. There's NOTHING wrong with that, after all, it IS our job to run the SEO campaigns for you.

But in order to have the most successful campaign possible, you MUST stay involved. Look at the reports every month and call your SEO guys to talk about how the campaign is doing. There are going to be things, such as writing content that your SEO guy will be limited in. The reason I say this is because your SEO guy doesn't work in your industry and he doesn't know all the details and lingo that go into it all. (See #1 for more information on content) You are in your position for a reason. You know your company better than just about anyone and you should be the one at the wheel of your campaign in every aspect possible.

Got a new product or service you're going to be offering in the next month? Tell your SEO so he can adjust keywords, page titles and structure so you can start the process toward ranking well, even before you offer the product. See a keyword slipping that you really need to rank for, tell your SEO guy. All these things aren't possible without your involvement, and as much as we'd like to , your SEO guy can't read minds.

#5B: Take the Rifle Approach, Not the Shotgun Approach
The biggest mistake most companies make is that they want to rank for every word they can possibly think of having to do with their business. Which in a perfect world, would be great. But the truth is unless you are a corporation who has been online for 20 years, and have millions of backlinks, that probably won't happen. Don't take the shotgun approach and try and go after hundreds of words at once. Take the rifle approach. Be more accurate and go after 5-10 keywords that you "must" rank for.

Your SEO guys SHOULD take those 5-10 "must-have" keywords and do what's called keyword research. This is the process of finding keywords that relate to your main keywords. They may be synonyms or just words that have to do with them that people are already searching for. We call them the "low hanging fruit." Words with lots of searches that have smaller competition.

#4: Relevant Page Titles
When you are adding a new page to the site for a new product or service, keep in mind that people searching don't typically know your specific product name. If you're selling a bag of fresh vegetables, don't make your page title "Best Company Ever's VeggieBag." People don't know your product exists yet, that's why they're using search engines to find products like yours. So your page title should be something like this, "Fresh Vegetables Grown Locally | Bes Company Ever's Veggiebag. Make Sense?

#3: The Necessary Evil: Social Media
We all know how time consuming and sort of a pain in the rear social media can be, but if you do it right, it can be a very important part of your SEO campaign. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have millions, if not billions of incoming links, and having your own pages on these social media sites is becoming essential to search engines, especially Google. We have actually had success adding a keyword that a client of ours wanted to rank for to the page title of their Facebook page, and they went from being unranked to #1 in two weeks. Now, this is NOT the norm, but it just goes to show the importance and weight that incoming links (See #2 for more details) from social media sites to your website can do for SEO.

#2: Network for Incoming Links
You work with a lot of people within your industry, so network with them to trade links from your site to theirs and vice versa. Networking is all about mutually helping each other out and the longer you've been at your job, the more you probably have. Reciprocal links are very easy to put up and can help everyone. One thing to keep in mind too, is that the more links you have coming from companies in your industry the better, although any link from any site is great!

#1: Content is the King of All Kings
If you do SEO or have an SEO guy, you've definitely heard this, but that doesn't make it any less true. There are a few important factors to good content that we always tell our clients:

• Give the reader something original: Unique content is the best way to get rankings and more visitors. Write something unique and original about your products or industry that hasn't been written before.
• If you didn't write it, would you share it?: This is self-explanatory. Don't waste your time or your reader's time by writing something uninteresting or mundane. Make it enthralling and informative and make the reader HAVE to share it because it's so good.
• Don't Let Your Site/Blog Spoil: Keep your content fresh. Don't go months or weeks without adding something new. Stay up to date with your postings and even though there isn't any exact period to be posting, we always recommend something each week.

Foremost Media offers monthly SEO packages that has been proven to increase traffic to your website and raise awareness for your brands and products. If you need help with yours, or even just have a few questions, please don't hesitate to contact our Search Engine & Social Media Marketing Expert Aaron Manogue at amanogue@foremostmedia.com or (608) 921-0742.

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Hold the spam when promoting your website

Almost every day I delete links from companies that are putting useless comments on our blog like:

Hello, I love reading through your blog, I wanted to leave a little comment to support you and wish you a good continuation. Wish you best of luck for all your best efforts. web designing companies Delhi, website making company in Delhi

this is really nice. thank you for sharing.By Tallahassee web design on Do Outside Blogs Help Your Websites Search Engine ...

As you can see the post aren't necessarily negative but one thing is consistent between all these "Spam Comments". They all have key word rich hyper-links that link back to their respective websites (I've removed the links for this post)

The purpose of this blog post is two fold:

1. If your a spammer please stop posting stuff like this on our blog. We will delete it. We welcome comments that add value to the conversation but if we think that the goal of the comment is to get a back link to your site your comment will be marked as spam and deleted promptly.
   
2. I wanted to answer the question- Why do companies bother posting comments on blogs as a way to build back links? I can sum it up in one word: Backlinks.
   
   Backlinks are the links from other sites which link to your blog or webpage. The major search engines view back links to your site as a vote of editorial confidence and good quality links from other sites can help boost your rankings in the search engines especially if that link is from a site that has related content themes to your site.

So comment spam is a good thing right?-- Wrong-  let me leave you with this little warning from the Official Google Webmaster Blog:

FACT: Comment spammers are often trying to improve their site's organic search ranking by creating dubious inbound links to their site. Google has an understanding of the link graph of the web, and has algorithmic ways of discovering those alterations and tackling them. At best, a link spammer might spend hours doing spammy linkdrops which would count for little or nothing because Google is pretty good at devaluing these types of links. Think of all the more productive things one could do with that time and energy that would provide much more value for one's site in the long run.

Promote your site without comment spam

If you want to improve your site's visibility in the search results, spamming comments is definitely not the way to go. Instead, think about whether your site offers what people are looking for, such as useful information and tools.

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Google Bot Feeds On Bread Crumbs

Google has recently started to return bread crumbs as clicable results on some of their search results pages (SERPS).  The program is still new and according to Googles Matt Cutts and what you are seeing now may change down the road.  The neat thing for webmasters is that it provides more links to your site from the SERPS page on Google.  At this point all that is needed to get Google to display bread crumbs with your search results is you need bread crumbs on your site with a consistent deliminator between them and the bread crumbs should reflect your sites hierarchy.

Remember bread crumbs aren't a magic bullet for SEO but it is my belief that every website should have them regardless of there effect on your search results.  Breadcrumbs help improve the user experience on your site especially if your site is pretty deep.

Here is what Matt had to say about the topic:

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Writing A Good Title Tag For SEO

Writing Good Title Tags For Search Engine Optimization

It amazes me how many companies are not taking full advantage of their title tags or not formatting their title tags properly. If your page is all about branding your company name then put the company name at the front of the title tag, but if your page is trying to capture traffic for a specific phrase like "Thermal Dynamic Techno Funk" you want the key phrase at the front of your title tag.

Missed Opportunity:  XYZ Company-  Leader in Thermal Dynamic Techno Funk

Properly Formatted:  Thermal Dynamic Techno Funk Information XYZ Company

Title Tags are one of the most important elements on your page so use it well.  For the most part, your company is going to show up well on the search engines because it's all over your site.

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Can you guranatee to get us on the first page of google?

Here is what Google Says About Ranking Guarantees: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEO's that claim to guarantee rankings."


- Google's SEO Tips

At Foremost Media we have a great track record of providing top rankings for our clients and we can guarantee that your project will be completed in a ethical and honest manor and with the same attention to detail that we have used in the past to deliver excellent results to our other SEO clients. Our results with our past and current clients are our guarantee that we have had great success with search engine optimization.
I am confident that we can help your company generate more leads through the search engines. Remember that the search engine optimization projects are a collaboration between our companies. We will defiantly need input from you and your team as we move forward. The more involved in the process your group is the better the results. Our job is to help you tailor your content to both the search engines and the surfer to help you not only be found but also generate more leads for your business.

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