“Duplicate content” are two dreaded words for SEO. Ever since Google announced it doesn’t like duplicate content many years ago, publishers and SEOs have put a lot of effort into avoiding it. I do too. Despite my efforts, recently I discovered a duplicate content problem with content orders along with a solution.
I’ve encountered a duplicate content issue recently.
It’s a good thing I spotted it quickly.
Problems like this arise when multiple content sources work on the same website.
I discovered it with intros and FAQs across several articles within the same cluster.
Here’s what happened.
I placed a 20 article cluster order with my Writer Access content manager.
She assigned the topics to several writers.
Because it’s a cluster, the articles were tied together by a common umbrella topic.
So far, so good.
The problem arose when the writers were basically writing similar intros and FAQs.
I’m actually a little disappointed my WA content manager didn’t spot this. I’m paying a lot for a content manager. Mistakes happen. Overall, she’s great.
I had to send several articles back for revision.
I had to instruct the content manager to instruct writers to restrict intros and FAQs to the specific topic they were writing about.
Let me illustrate with an example.
Cluster topic: Basketball shoes
Article 1: Basketball shoes for jumping
Article 2: History of basketball shoes
Article 3: Basketball shoes for wide feet
Article 4: Basketball shoe brands
Article 5: Lightweight basketball shoes
Article 6: Basketball shoes for short men over 40
Here’s how the duplicate content can arise (so watch out for it).
6 different writers write the articles.
They don’t communicate with one another.
Each kicks off the article intro about basketball shoes generally. Maybe they incorporate some industry size stat or how many pairs are sold annually. Before you know it, I have 6 articles with essentially the same intro.
It can get worse.
Each writer is instructed to research a list of questions using MarketMuse (lifetime deal), Answerthepublic.com and Ahrefs.
The problem is they use the cluster topic “basketball shoes” as the seed word to research questions.
Guess what?
All six writers find the same questions.
All six articles get essentially the same FAQ.
This is a classic problem of writers not seeing the bigger picture. It’s not their fault. They’re doing exactly as instructed.
Fortunately, there’s an easy fix.
Tweak your instructions in cluster scenarios so that you specify intros and FAQs be restricted to the specific topic instead of the broader cluster topic.
In fact, in most cases with FAQ, you can narrow the questions down by tweaking them to address the specific topic.
Let’s return to the basketball shoe example.
When I run questions query in MarketMuse for “basketball shoes”, I get the following:
- Do you need basketball shoes?
- How do you break in your basketball shoes?
- Is it ok to play basketball in running shoes?
- Can a basketball shoe enhance athletic performance?
- What are good cheap basketball shoes?
- Should I buy basketball shoes a half size bigger?
That’s just a few of the many questions MM generates.
They’re great questions, but if 6 different writers use them, that’s duplicate content.
When I run a questions query in MM for the more specific “basketball shoes for wide feet”, I get the following:
- What basketball shoes are good for wide feet?
- What features make for a good basketball shoes for wide feet?
- How do you stretch basketball shoes for your wide feet?
There are many more. In fact, the list is impressive for such a narrow topic. Which means the writer really needs to run the entire keyword in MM and other question generating software.
Sometimes a topic is so obscure that there aren’t good questions. When this happens, writers may level up and run the broader topic.
An example would be “Basketball shoes for short men over 40”. When I run this in MM, I get the following:
- Why low top basketball shoes are better?
- Is it ok to wear basketball shoes casually?
Other solutions to this problem:
1. Don’t include an FAQ: For some articles I don’t include an FAQ just because the topic is so obscure there aren’t any decent options.
2. Use a coordinated writing service such as Content Refined: Content Refined is such a service. They research and plan out entire clusters so they won’t generate duplicate content within a cluster.
FYI, I have used Content Refined on multiple occasions and I like it. It’s also a solution to the duplicate content issue.
The point is that it’s great having writers use various keyword research and optimization tools but you must remember they don’t necessarily understand the bigger picture. These tools are often only as good as the instructions and training you provide to the person using them.
Which means, you need to pay attention to what you get. When you see a recurring mistake such as 6 writers submitting the same FAQ in six articles, you need to adjust your instructions accordingly.
It’s stuff like this where you need someone at the helm who really knows this publishing biz. In my case it’s me. If you prefer doing nothing except cashing checks once a month, it’s a good idea to hire someone who understands these nuanced issues at the helm. They must understand the bigger picture of your website.
