Could this be an issue with duplicate content?

[KaitlinNS]

Hi everyone,

I am working with a business consultant in the HVAC industry and doing SEO for 8 of his clients (all HVAC businesses from around the US and Canada).  Each website is essentially a mirror of the business consultant's website with really the same information-- it applies perfectly well to each individual website, but it IS nearly, if not, identical.  I'm getting ready to implement a blog on the original HVAC page and have been considering using the same content (customized to reflect each business-- but still the same information) for blogs for my other 8 clients.

My questions are:

1. Is the mirroring of the website a duplicate content problem? Example if you're interested: http://www.mcair.com (original) and http://www.jpsheating.ca/ (client).

2. Is using the same blog across 8 different website (customized for each client but the same basic information) a duplicate content issue?  For example-- a blog about getting your air ducts cleaned... the information is going to be the same (and relevant) with each business and each business could benefit from sharing that information with their customers.

Thanks so much for your help and explanation

[Dezzign]

Hi Kaitlin, Consider this perspective regarding your duplicate content, especially seeing as your content and keywords seem to be geo-targeted to different areas.

For this example, let's use a keyword like 'air conditioning repair Houston'

Let's say that you've written the best 1000+ word page on the internet about the keyword 'air conditioning repairs Houston' and Google have ranked that article/page in the top 3 results. They ranked it because it was highly informative and well written.

Now let's say you just swapped the word 'Houston' to 'California'. Would that article technically still be the best information on the internet about 'air conditioning repairs California'? Well, unless someone has written one better in California, I believe it would be.

All Google cares about is showing the best information in relation to the search query. They couldn't care less if it's duplicate. That's a problem for site owners to bicker over if someone else is using someone's content. As far as Google is concerned, that article is still the best article on the internet about 'air conditioning repairs California', which is why they'll allow it to rank first. They don't care that there's another 99.9% similar article about 'air conditioning repairs Houston', as that's a different keyword, and the searcher is searching for different information.

Even as an internet user yourself, do you care that the amazing information you're reading is available in another state? As long as your query is answered with the best information possible then who would really care. All of the top high authority news and entertainment sites circulate duplicate content all day long.

The duplicate content penalty is for pages on your domain only. If you have multiple pages under a single domain that have duplicate content, that's where the misunderstood duplicate content penalty applies. It doesn't apply if you use the same content on a different domain. You might not rank as well using duplicate content on a different domain, but you definitely won't get penalised for it.

I've tried and tested duplicate sites a few times, exact same words, images, themes etc. Although the niches weren't that strong, the complete duplicate site was soon ranking in 1st place for all of the same keywords as the original duplicate site, just in a different area. That's because the content answered the searcher's query the best. All that changed was the location, but Google still considered it to be the best content on the net about that particular keyword.

Here's another example, let's say you published a great article 10 days ago about a generic keyword. Let's assume my site is a DA60+ and PR5 and your site is a DA10 and PR-N/A. And now I publish the same article on my site, who do you think will rank better. In the worst case scenario, I would rank second, but more than likely I would rank 1st. My point being, that even though it's copied 100%, I'll still rank with it.

[KaitlinNS]

Thanks so much for your response.  I really appreciate your thoughts, and inherently agree with your viewpoint.  I just wasn't exactly sure where the lines are drawn for duplicate content.  You've given me some great thoughts and certainly some ideas of how to jump in and start fixing the problems.  I appreciate your help and that you took the time to answer.

Thanks!

[KaitlinNS]

Thanks very much for your thoughts.  Your comments were both what I was anticipating and sort of afraid would happen.  Since I took over these clients fairly recently, I can't help what was done in the past, but I can certainly work to better localize them and create more unique content between each client.

I really appreciate you taking your time to give your input!

[Devanur-Rafi]

Hi,

Here is my view:

All the websites no matter whom they belong to, should have substantially unique content. We need to keep in mind about the very purpose behind why Google exists and what does it take to be able find a place for your website in their index. If two pages serve identical content, why should a search engine like Google index both?

A good example would be, affiliate marketing setup where the affiliate website contains exactly the same content that the original product website. Even the affiliate websites should have their own unique version of content. They should also take up the effort to re-write the product descriptions so that they are not exact copies of the ones found on the original product website.

Coming to your case, by making the content on all the consultants' websites unique, they stand a better chance to rank for corresponding keywords/phrases in search engines. If I were you, I would have re-written the content so that it becomes unique. Hope that helps my friend.

Best regards,

Devanur Rafi

[RyanPurkey]

Hi Kaitlin.  The duplicate content could very well be a problem as the words are exactly the same on some pages / navigation / etc. Since these are localized businesses, I'd suggest focusing services on some rewrites and local optimization. In these cases it's probably better to start off with a little less content that is unique and great local optimization than duplicate content and poor local work.

The blog could further compound the duplicate content issues for the client sites as the content duplication will now be lining up in terms of freshness and publication date as well. Having topical themes for content is fine, but they should each be focused on their own areas / customers. At least in enough of a way as to make the work unique. Cheers!