It has been brought to my attention that a few authors have been submitting duplicate content. Here are some examples of the things that they have done and are being frowned upon, not just by me but by several webmasters of article directories:
- Copying content from another website word-for-word. I have received emails from webmasters about copied content from their sites. So don’t think that webmasters are not vigiliant about making sure that their content is never copied.
- Submitting exactly the same content under different article titles to the same directory. This is a red flag to directory owners that the author who does this, is only concerned about link building. Just think about this. A directory owner would want a database of content that is not in duplicate and be of quality. Not multiple pages of repeated content and linking to the same (author’s ) site.
- Changing the content of an article slightly to 3-4 versions and submitting all of them to the same directory.
The last example is acceptable if the different versions are submitted to different web directories and marketed under different titles.
All I can say is that authors who are caught doing this risk their accounts getting de-activated. So far, I haven’t actually de-activated anybody’s account; but merely deleted the duplicate articles and politely emailing the authors to refrain from submitting these articles. However, I may be compelled to do so if the same authors fail to heed the warning.
In addition, once the word gets around on a particular author submitting duplicating content, it is not just one author account he will be risking. Directory owners know each other and gather at a few specific forums. It may be several accounts that the author will be risking.