Hajra Naz
Google’s Search Central team has released a new video in its “SEO Made Easy” series, where Search Advocate Martin Splitt tackles common concerns about duplicate content and offers practical tips for website owners.
Key Takeaways
While duplicate content often raises worries in the SEO world, Google emphasizes that it doesn’t negatively impact a site’s perceived quality.
Splitt explains:
“Contrary to popular belief, it has no effect on a site’s quality. The challenge for website owners, however, is tracking page performance when duplicates exist.”
Despite not harming site quality, duplicate content can create operational issues, such as:
- Difficulties in tracking performance metrics for individual pages
- Potential competition between similar content
- Slower crawling speeds, especially on larger websites
Splitt further advises:
“Duplicate content can lead similar pages to compete with one another and may slow down crawling, particularly at scale. So, while it’s worth addressing, it’s not something to stress over.”
Three Solutions to Address Duplicate Content
1. Implement Canonical Tags
Martin Splitt suggests using canonical tags in HTML or HTTP headers to signal preferred URLs for duplicate content. Although Google treats canonical tags as hints rather than strict instructions, they help guide indexing choices.
Splitt explains:
“Because website owners frequently abuse this element, Google views it as a hint and cannot fully rely on it. It is still possible that Google will select a different URL.”
2. Manage Internal Links and Redirects
If Google selects a different canonical URL than what was requested, take into account these actions:
- Internal links should be updated to connect to the recommended canonical URLs.
- Implement 301 redirects for external links where necessary.
- Configure redirects correctly to ensure optimal site performance.
3. Consolidate Similar Content
Combining similar pages can be a strategic way to:
- Enhance user experience.
- Simplify reporting in Google Search Console.
- Reduce unnecessary site clutter.
Splitt advises:
“Try merging pages that are really similar, even if Google does not flag them as duplicates. This makes information easier for users to find, simplifies reporting in Search Console, and reduces clutter.”
Search Console Notices
Google Search Console may alert you to various duplicate content issues, such as:
- “Duplicate without user-selected canonical”
- “Alternate page with proper canonical tag”
- “Duplicate Google chose different canonical than user”
These notices indicate that Google indexed the content but potentially under a different URL than specified.
International SEO Considerations
Duplicate content in many language versions is permitted for international content, and Google’s systems handle this.
He advises:
If you have several pages that are somewhat similar, you might consider merging them even if Google does not consider them duplicates. This will reduce clutter on your website, make content easier to find, and simplify reporting in Google Search Console.
Why This Matters
This guidance highlights Google’s approach to duplicate content, offering best practices for content organization and URL optimization that improve site structure and usability.
