I run courses in Australia, and use course material that several companies use. While I can 'rewrite' the overview, the course outlines are identical and there no getting past that. Is there a way to let Google know? Thanks in advance.

[debrawolfe]

Consentual and necessary duplicate content

[debrawolfe]

Hi Zoe,

Thanks for this answer. I already do rewrite the overview, course description - but the actual course outline makes up approx. 80% of the page - so that was my concern. The idea of writing descriptions for each section and including more visual aids is perfect though - and will do this!

Thanks! This has helped

Jamie

[debrawolfe]

Thanks Shawn for your answer - but I didn't express my problem properly - my problem is that my outlines - as an example - for our Photoshop intro course - has the exact same outline for several competitor's Photoshop courses, because we use the same courseware/ same book - so it's not a case of 'duplicate content' within my website, but more 'duplicate content' over a number of websites.

Just received another suggestion, which looks like will be the best way to go. Thanks again.

[Shawn_Huber]

Can one of the course pages be your main landing page for the topic? You could canonical the other URL's to this main page to inform Google that while all the pages have similar content, page A is the one that should be represented in the SERP's. This could help ensure that the other similar pages do not cannibalize each other. On page A, you can work to inform your visitors that you have the other courses.

[ZoeRigley]

Hi Jamie,

This kind of duplicate content is quite common across the internet, especially on E-commerce sites (manufacturer descriptions) and reseller websites.

Generally if you can't re-word the course outlines, I would focus on ensuring that your page, despite having the duplicate content, still provides the best possible answer to an interested visitor's questions. Re-write the overview to be as informative as possible, and maybe write your own descriptions of each section of the course outlines, if this is feasible. Include visual aids, images, diagrams, charts, any additional information you can which will help the user understand.

Usability is key, so remember the search engines' ultimate aim, to provide the best possible answer to the searcher's query, and make your pages as useful as they can be. If the courses are regulated or provided by a body, link to their website from your pages too, and see if that body has a 'providers' page, or somewhere within their website you can get a link from, if you haven't already.

Hope this helps! 
Zoe