Does having 2 separate domains with similar content always = duplicate content?

[PGAUE]

I work for a global company which is in the process of launching their US & European websites, (just re-launched Australian site, migrated from an old domain) all with separate domains with the purpose of localising.   However, the US website content will essentially be the same as the Australian one with minor changes (z instead of s, slightly different service offerings etc) but the core information will be the same as the AU site.   Will this be seen as duplicate content and Is there a way we can structure this so that the content won’t be seen as duplicate but is still a separate localised website?  Thank you.

[PGAUE]

Great, thank you!

[Whebb]

Hello,

If the duplicate content is just on about and similar pages, I don't think you will have a problem since as you noted they are different ccTLD and google says they are able to differentiate in those cases.

For your other concern, .eu is a ccTLD, so I don't think you will have an issue since you have multiple ccTLDs and one generic domain.

[PGAUE]

Thank you for your responses.

We will be rewriting some of the content however things like about us will only have the s/z spelling changes as we want to maintain consistent branding.

On a  separate note, I've read that having the same content on different ccTLD's isn't considered duplicate content, however only .com.au is a ccTLD. .eu and .com are considered generic TLDs...does the same apply for generic?

Thanks

[Whebb]

To be safe and ensure you don't incur a duplicate content penalty, I would re-write the content if possible. Maybe it can be written to be geared more towards a US audience and the AU content more towards an Australian audience as to differentiate them even more.

[Optimal_Strategies]

It depends on your understanding of "similar". Sometimes similar content can look different, sometimes it won't. If you change few words on few thousand word article, it will definitely be duplicate content. Hope that helps.