Word health highlighted with a yellow markerThere is so much misinformation out there on article marketing, I want to try to set the record straight for all you article writers out there and look at the difference between duplicate and syndicated content.

To be honest I’ve never been a huge article writer for Ezine sites such as Ezine Articles though I do have some articles on there from several years ago. It just wasn’t something that floated my boat though I know many folks swear by them.

Problem is, since the various slaps Google has decided to dish out over the years to us unwary marketers plus the ensuing hysteria, there has been a huge disservice meted out to those who do make a living from article writing, So I thought I’d put pen to paper (so to speak), dispel a few myths and give folks a grip on what is really allowed when article marketing

Some of this misinformation has been repeated so many times you’ll probably be really surprised by what I’m about to tell you. Then again, you might be one of the savvy ones who see through the nonsense and hysteria that invariably follows a Google slap!

 First myth: If you post an article on your website and again on Ezine Articles (or any other article directory for that matter) then you’ve got to significantly rewrite it so it’s not duplicate content Wrong.

So long as it is ORIGINAL content, as in it’s your own content (whether you wrote it or hired someone to write it) you can post the exact same article on your own website and again on the article directories. That’s because Ezine Articles doesn’t care if the article has already been published — as long as it is credited to the original author.

All they want you to do is not plagiarize someone elses work which I think is completely understandable. As far as I’m aware, this holds true for every article directory.

If there’s a directory out there demanding unique content that has in other words never been published on your own site etc, then they don’t know what they’re doing and I doubt they are going to get many submissions. Move on to a more sensible one.

Second myth: You should publish your article to the ezine directory first, and once it’s accepted then you should publish it to your own website. Nope..

Why would you give your own original content to an article directory before your own website?, that’s crazy. You sort your own site out first before enhancing someone elses. And don’t forget, that’s what your doing when you submit good articles to article sites. Some folks think it helps with their SEO if they do this, well it doesn’t, and if for any reason they won’t take it cos you already have it on your own site then its their loss, move on to one who will. Your site comes first as the authority site.

Your main goal in publishing articles to article directories isn’t SEO and it isn’t getting traffic from the directory in question. It’s to get relevant authority sites to pick up and publish your content, thus giving you valuable backlinks and yes, targeted traffic.

Third Myth: “But if other websites are picking up my article, isn’t that duplicate content?”

No it isn’t. think about the offline world and all those news articles that get picked up by the Associated Press. Someone writes a news piece/article then that article, that article is picked up by hundreds of different newspapers, with each paper printing the exact same article and byline. (It’s how it all works) and it’s the same on the Internet.

Just like the AP, news sites generate content that is then picked up by hundreds of different websites. Each website posts the same identical article with the same byline. It’s called syndication, and it’s perfectly legal. You will NOT be penalized in any way for it, and it can provide valuable backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Having said that, you must attribute author and original source etc otherwise you’re plagiarizing their work.

So how does Google perceive syndicated content? Believe it or not, when a particular article appears on multiple websites, Google perceives it as being POPULAR and adds SEO weight to it, depending on how many instances it discovers it. And if it finds your content on high PR and authority sites, it gives it even more weight. So your article being on a ton of websites etc with your links included of course is good).

So now we know what syndicated content is, what is duplicate content?

From the IM perspective, a classic duplicate content is private label right articles that have been posted on multiple sites with different authors. There is nothing wrong with PLR stuff I hasten to add (I use it all the time). The secret is to use it as a template and change it at least 50% and its incredibly easy to do.

Duplicate content is also plagiarism, as in content taken from one site without permission and reposted on another site with just parts of it changed or a different author’s box added. It’s a really stinky thing to do and karma will really bite you in the butt if you indulge.

Ok I hope that cleared duplicate content up for you, so carry on posting to your favorite Article directories as much as you want.


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