Writing for SEO - change your pages wording frequently!

Jan 26, 2008

Writing for SEO - I am getting annoyed! Websites are copying my websites text, and my clients websites are being dropped by Google.

It is making it very hard to have good writing for SEO. You have to do your best, then weeks later change the text, and again, and again. What you think is good writing has to be sacrificed for another try, because people are copying all the time.

Duplicate Text

Google is seeing duplicate text around the web. Rather than correctly determining the original, they are seeing the multiple copies, and saying that my clients sites therefore can't be the original... Basically, Google is bust in this particular area - collateral damage for its efforts to drop spam. Google - fix your algo please!!!!

Websites dropping like flies

I have seen websites dropping like flies. One moment they are top of Google for their search phrase, and the next moment you can't find them.

How to find the copies

Search for say four words in quotes - two or more words in front/behind of the main search phrase, and the search phrase typing the following into Google "Writing for SEO - I am getting". This sort of search is checking for the EXACT phrase, not just the general words.

Check for the words in front/behind each of the particular instance of search phrases on your site that you are ranked for, including the meta description.

If you can't find any copies for a particular search, try with one more/less word.

I am finding too many copies, and they keep on copying!

What to do about it

Yes, you could just get the sites copying your text to change their text, but I only have so much time... It is far easier to just change the text on my sites.

Until now, I have been mainly reactive to sites copying my content. When I notice my websites rankings disappear, I then check for duplicates, and change the content.

What is "Forgery"???

It could be possible to sue other websites for Forgery.


It could easily be argued that copying of text from someone elses website that then harms their business/prejuding their right, that they have then been guilty of forging.

But my business is websites, not being a lawyer. The court process can take time, and we are dealing with worldwide websites.

So much easier to just change the content of your own sites.

New SEO Duplicate Content Checking Service

I have just subscribed to Copy Scape for them to do Website Plagiarism Searchs for a number of the websites I look after.

I am planning on having a new monthly charge - that of subscribing people up to the copyscape service, and then for me to actually change the text of my clients websites to make their text unique again.

How long till your website gets back to the top?

I have seen clients websites regain their rankings as soon as their newly worded page has been recached by Google.

How long till you get recached is determined by the Google PR of your pages. The higher the PR, and the more often you are changing anything on your pages, the more often Google will revisit your website.

I have had clients websites return in two days. Others have taken longer.

XML Sitemap can delay revising of a page

But be careful of how you use your XML sitemap. Make sure that when you change your pages content, that you update the "last modified" parameter for that pages entry into the xml. Even with good Google PR, your page might not be revisited if that last mod date has not been changed, or if you are saying to only revisit that particular page once a week/month.

You might have changed the words on the page on the first say of the week, and so have to wait for the new week before Google recaches your page.

This is a very live issue at the moment. Be very careful about your clients rankings.

SEO is not just a once off writing for SEO, it is a continual checking and rewriting process, as well as a continual link building process.

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