Tackle your duplicate content for better rankings

Duplicate content is one of the most underestimated SEO problems. Often, duplicate content occurs (although unintentionally) on your own website. Think repeated blocks of text in footers, vendor product descriptions or blog snippets that appear multiple times. Google doesn’t like duplicate content because it doesn’t add value for users. In this blog, you’ll read what duplicate content is, why it’s harmful and how to fix it quickly.

What is duplicate content?

Duplicate content means that (nearly) identical text appears on multiple web pages. This can happen in several ways:

• You use the same text on multiple pages of your own site.
• A CMS automatically generates duplicate content.
• You copy product descriptions from manufacturers.
• Or someone else takes your text verbatim.

Even recurring blocks of text in footers or sidebars can be a problem. If the overlap between two pages is greater than about 30%, Google often sees this as duplicate content.

Why is it bad for SEO?

Google wants to show unique, relevant and useful content. If multiple pages contain the same text, the search engine does not know which version to show. The result:

• One page gets the ranking, the rest disappear (called ranking dilution).
• In some cases, both pages are displayed lower.
• With structural duplication, Google may view your website as unreliable.

In extreme situations, a site may even disappear (temporarily) from search results.

Internal and external duplicate content

Internal duplicate content arises within your own domain. For example, when you have multiple pages for similar products or services, with largely the same text. Excessive use of standard phrases or text blocks can also contribute to this.

External duplicate content comes from outside sources. It means that someone else has copied your texts and placed them on their site. Google tries to determine who the original source is, but it doesn’t always succeed. Therefore, check regularly to see if your content is being used elsewhere.

Here’s how to detect duplicate content

1. Manually in Google

Copy a phrase from your text, put it in quotes and paste it into Google. If the same wording shows up elsewhere, you probably have duplicate content.

2. Use free tools

• Copyscape: checks whether your content appears on other websites.
• Siteliner: scans up to 250 pages of your own site and shows internal duplication rates.

3. Check in Google Search Console

The “Index Coverage” report shows which pages are indexed and where there may be problems.

What can you do about this?

1. Using canonical tag

With a canonical tag, you indicate which page is the original version. Google then knows which URL is preferred and prevents variants from competing with each other. Useful for product pages with identical descriptions, for example.

2. Add noindex tag

Want a page to exist but not be included in search results? Then add a noindex tag. If necessary, combine this with follow so that Google still follows the links on that page.

3. Delete or redirect pages

Do you have duplicate pages that have little value? Remove them and set up a 301 redirect to a relevant page. This way, you will preserve the accumulated link value.

4. Content rewriting

The best and most sustainable solution remains writing unique content. Use multiple sources, add examples or figures, and rewrite entire paragraphs in your own words. This is how you make your texts distinctive and more valuable to the reader.

5. Limit footer and snippets

Limit the amount of text in footers or repeating blocks. Rather, use short links or CTAs. For blog overviews, it is smarter to show only titles or short introductions rather than long text snippets.

What if someone copies your content?

Do you discover that another site has copied your texts?

1. First, check that your page still ranks well. Often Google sees your version as the original source.
2. Please contact the webmaster and kindly ask for the text to be removed.
3. No response? Submit a DMCA removal request to Google. This can remove the copied page from search results.

Prevention is better than cure

• Use unique meta titles and descriptions for each page.
• Always write with a clear search intent per page: who do you want to address, with what need?
• Conduct regular content audits to identify overlap.

The sooner you address duplication, the better. Google rewards unique, relevant content with higher positions and more stable rankings.

Resolve duplicate content with help from experts

Duplicate content seems harmless, but it can seriously undermine your SEO performance. It takes time and knowledge to solve this structurally, especially with larger websites. 2manydots performs a standard duplicate content check within the Resultsmatter pre-study. This gives you insight into where problems arise and how to tackle them effectively.

Want to make sure your content is unique, powerful and findable? Contact 2manydots and have your site thoroughly analyzed. That way you keep your content strategy clean, strong and future-proof.