Page 23 - SEO Traffic
P. 23
Day 16 Identity Duplicate Content
Duplicate content can appear on a website for different reasons. Sometimes the same content is accessible and indexed under different URLs. This makes it difficult for search engines to determine the best search result among the different URLs. The result is “cannibalization” in the rankings. The website cannot appear in top rankings since Google is unable to choose the best version.
You should therefore identify sources of duplicate content on your website and rectify the errors as fast as possible.
Hands-on Tips:
● Check if your website is accessible with or without www., http, or https. If multiple versions are accessible, use 301 redirects to redirect them to the desired version.
● Check if the same content is indexed in different formats e.g., in print version or as PDF.
● Test if your website automatically creates lists or documents that generate duplicate content.
● Check if your website displays similar content with and without a “/” at the end of the URL.
