There’s more to Panda than duplicated, copied and stolen content

| August 20, 2012

I’ve already mentioned Google’s Panda algorithm update, which prioritises detailed, meaningful online content over the crappy stuff. And I’ve also talked about how important it is to create content that’s 100% unique.

But what, exactly, is unique? It’s subtler than you might think.

‘Unique’ includes obvious things like not duplicating, copying or stealing content. But it also covers less obvious sins like repetitive content, where you convey much the same information multiple times, each time in a slightly different way.

I’m woman enough to admit this is what I did on my .co.uk site, which I’m on the verge of re-designing and rewriting.

I created the site pre-Panda, covering the same SEO-led information across multiple pages. I didn’t do anything dodgy. Countless millions of us did the same because it worked, and nobody could have predicted the wide-ranging effects of Panda. But in retrospect, now we know what we know, it was  ill-advised. While I haven’t been ‘Panda-slapped’, and it hasn’t done my dotcodotuk site any obvious harm, it also hasn’t done the site’s search positions any good.

SEO lesson learned…

What works perfectly well today might not work as well tomorrow. It’s really important to stay on top of changes in the way search engines rate and rank website content and adjust things accordingly.

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Category: Google

About Kate Naylor ()

Originally from North Yorkshire, I live in Brighton on the sunny south coast. I've had a passion for words all my life and this is my seventh year as a freelance writer. In my spare time I draw, paint, sculpt, design, garden, read, write poetry and enjoy long distance hiking. I'm also a volunteer shepherd - a Lookerer - for Brighton & Hove City Council.

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