Monday, March 28, 2011

What Does Original Content Mean to Google?

There is a lot of confusion when it comes to the term "original content", the reason being that people interpret things differently and that is just life. If you are reading this you are interested in original content and what it means in the Google world. It is simple, original content in the Google world means that the content is one of a kind. Here is a link to Google's guidelines when it comes to little or no original content Google Web Master Central.

The terms original and little content are related but they mean different things, in this post we are just talking about the meaning of original content. I have heard some people say that original means that they wrote the content themselves and that the content is full of valuable information, which makes sense and is part of the definition of original content but missing what is important to a search engine, multiple and non repeating results. Put yourself in the search engine's shoes and think about what you want your users' experience to be, think about when you search and get 5 different web sites with the same article and how it makes you feel. I like to read different articles on the same subject because it works as a confirmation for me that the information is true. I read each writer's point of view and weight out the pros and cons before coming to a decision of which view I will agree with and support. Google wants to be known for quality content and wants to give users the results they seek and they know through user feedback that most users do not appreciate getting the same article on multiple web sites (especially if that article is of low quality or does not offer the solution they seek).

I know what you are thinking, my article is not low quality and it is full of references that give it credibility. I know that you worked hard but how about people who do not know you? The millions of people performing searches each day? It all comes back to trust, and as you know trust doesn't come automatic, it is something you need to build. Don't take it personal, just remember if you want to rank high on Google do it the right way and follow the Google rules and know their language.

A word about the Panda update: I have read that the penalty goes to the site which has the copy of the original article and not the site that has the original article.