Creating websites that perform well in search engines means creating dynamic and compelling content. And one of the challenges some new website owners face is avoiding duplicate content .
Copying and pasting a single paragraph of content from one page to another can cause huge damage to your SEO . This is because search engines small business email list flag it and view it as a low-quality site. We’ll tell you what you need to know about duplicate pages and content in WordPress and help you avoid this problem.
What is a WordPress Duplicate Page?
A duplicate page in WordPress is when you create a copy of another page but keep the main content. You might change a few words here or there, but the overall content will remain the same.
Sometimes companies do this when a landing page works well for one purpose. Then they repurpose that content for another campaign landing page and search engine marketing with minor changes. But search engines are smart and can spot minor changes to flag duplicate content.
Another scenario where this happens is when companies want to use a page as a base, but leave a copy of it published while they develop the content. Even if the page is temporary, search engines will flag both pages, and this can hurt your SEO.
Instead, be sure to edit content before publishing or leave the page in draft mode while you develop new content.
How to Remove Duplicate WordPress Pages
Once you have determined that you have duplicate pages in WordPress, you can remove them fairly easily. You have two options.
- Remove the page content but keep the structure and design that has worked well. Just change the content to freshen it up and avoid duplication.
- Delete the duplicate page. Maybe it was a mistake, or maybe you didn’t realize that a duplicate page could hurt your SEO when you created it. Either way, you can go to the edit or quick edit buttons for that page in WordPress and click the “Add to Trash” button.
Before deleting a page, even if it is duplicate content, be sure to set up redirects to avoid broken links or 404 errors appearing on your site.
Duplicate content in meta descriptions and page titles
Page content isn’t the only thing you need to facebook users check to avoid SEO penalties. Meta descriptions and page titles should also be unique.
Sometimes page titles will be the same if a company offers both residential and commercial work. For example, if you’re a construction company, you might have a page for residential roofing and a page for commercial roofing.
You cannot duplicate the meta description or page title for these pages. You will have to make each of them unique, which is actually not that difficult. Most often, companies accidentally duplicate their content without realizing it. This is where an SEO expert monitoring reports and checking for duplicate content can help avoid such situations.
New Light Digital understands how duplicate content impacts customer service and SEO. We can help you create a strategic online presence and maintain it over time. Request a free quote to learn more about our services.