how do huge sites get away with tons of duplicate content?

Forum Moderators: not2easy

Message Too Old, No Replies

how do huge sites get away with tons of duplicate content?

callivert

7:27 pm on Mar 26, 2007 (gmt 0)

Everyone says that duplicate content is bad, and scraping is bad, and watch out or the search engines will ban you. Create original content etc. So my question is, how do about.com, answers.com and other sites like them do so well, when most of their stuff is duplicated, often from wikipedia (which itself is often duplicated from somewhere else)?
Why don't the search engines delist them or throw them into supplementals?

Go60Guy

2:48 am on Mar 28, 2007 (gmt 0)

Well, this question has been delved into at length here and elsewhere.

Let me give you the short version by saying that the "huge" sites virtually can do no wrong in Google's eyes. They're of long standing, have lagoons full of trusted incoming links and many other attributes that Google considers signs of quality.

Your newly launched site is about as trustworthy in Google's view as an email proposal from an out of favor member of Nigerian royalty. Your duplicate content will be given no weight at all until you can demonstrate to the satisfaction of Google's algorythm of the moment that your site is no longer untrustworthy.

Banning for dup content that's used by permission certainly won't happen. Stolen or scraped stuff might yield a banning in the event of a hand review.

Marcia

3:48 am on Mar 28, 2007 (gmt 0)

Big, trusted "authority sites" hold the trump card, regardless of value or revancy.

kneoteric_V

11:21 am on Mar 28, 2007 (gmt 0)

Referring to the above two posts, does it mean even if a saint tells a geniune lie, the constitution will keep mum?

Go60Guy

4:18 pm on Mar 28, 2007 (gmt 0)

Referring to the above two posts, does it mean even if a saint tells a geniune lie, the constitution will keep mum?

Exactly!

BillyS

11:02 pm on Mar 28, 2007 (gmt 0)

>>Everyone says that duplicate content is bad, and scraping is bad, and watch out or the search engines will ban you

I think the tales of problems with duplicate content are overstated. Google has stated clearly that duplicate content is fine. Some just refuse to beleive it. Matt has written this, there is a video of Vanessa Fox talking about this topic and even Adam Lasnik [webmasterworld.com] talks about it too.

contentmaster

2:31 pm on Apr 3, 2007 (gmt 0)

I have come across a few websites that fall under my area of interest and have a lot of hidden text on the home page...these sites are doing very well on google....

stapel

4:27 pm on Apr 3, 2007 (gmt 0)

contentmaster said: I have come across a few websites that...have a lot of hidden text on the home page...these sites are doing very well on google.

For now....

Let's see how loud those sites squeal at the next Google-algorithm update, when they drop off the radar entirely....

Eliz.

Frida

1:51 pm on Apr 4, 2007 (gmt 0)

I think the tales of problems with duplicate content are overstated. Google has stated clearly that duplicate content is fine. Some just refuse to believe it. Matt has written this, there is a video of Vanessa Fox talking about this topic and even Adam Lasnik talks about it too.

Would you please share the video of Vanessa Fox? I got interested, anyway, as far as I am in it, the problems with duplicate content are really very exaggerated.

bwnbwn

3:18 pm on Apr 11, 2007 (gmt 0)

"I have come across a few websites that fall under my area of interest and have a lot of hidden text on the home page...these sites are doing very well on google...."

This is a growing problem in Google as it looks like they have turned a blind eye to this and more and more sites are getting into using this with really good results as you testify.

I as well see it all the time now way more in Google than Yahoo or MSN.

Might want to ask Matt what Google plans on doing about this as it is a growing problem and funny thing this is one of the oldest tricks in the book...