This post is a part of Tiffany Dow’s 30 Day Blog and List Building Challenge.
I know I’m opening up a can of worms with this topic, but I had an earlier discussion on Facebook that seemed to offend someone when I shared my opinion so it prompted me to find out how you felt about duplicate content; specifically spun content to build backlinks to a website.
The thread started out innocent enough; a person wanted to know if any of us spun our articles, which spinning tools we used, and how often we participated in the practice. A second person asked whether there was value in spinning content. After all, we know how Google feels about duplicated content, right?
That’s when the debate went into full bloom. 🙂
I mentioned I didn’t see the value in redoing the same article, which is basically replaced with several words here and there. God forbid, my honey badger came out to play and I offended him by saying…
“I look at it from the point that if your business (or customers) aren’t worth the time to sit and create something unique, maybe you’re in the wrong business model?”
Before you get all honey badger on me, let me explain why I feel the way I do about article spinning.
The Problem
Let’s talk about how we’re going to write an article that reveals “3 Different Gadgets Worth Having in Your New Ride” in which we reveal the 3 must-have devices every new car needs, such as a CD player, an extra AUX plug for an iPod, and Internet radio.
The next step in the equation is to spin this article 10 times so we can spread our duplicate cheer elsewhere. Only this time, instead of using the word CAR, we use the words truck, vehicle, and cruise mobile. I’m sure you get the picture, right?
In the end, we gain 10 articles referring to the 3 gadgets. None of which tell the reader anything different from the original article. The content and the slant are the same; the 10 articles are the same as the original with the exception of a few words.
It takes a total of 5 hours to spin this content so it’s unique in our eyes, fools the search engines, and doesn’t do a lick of good in educating an audience except to display our ability to spin an article 10 different ways.
Who comes out ahead with this approach?
Writer: 11 tokens (1 original article + 10 spun ones)
Reader: 1 token
Search engines: 1 token
Likewise, we wasted 5 hours spinning the same article! Where’s the sense in that?
The Solution
Within those same 5 hours we could’ve produced new content to reveal so much more about the car. Things like how to get 22 miles per gallon within city limits, 1500 lb. towing capabilities to enjoy vacation time with the family, and how to maintain the vehicle for long-term performance.
All of which, this additional information can help educate the reader about different aspects of owning the car. Not to mention countless other articles would help prove we’re the experts about this new ride!
Taking this approach, how do the numbers add up now?
Writer: 11 tokens
Reader: 11 tokens
Search engines: 11 tokens
That’s a big difference, isn’t it?
Writers still gain backlinks, but the scale isn’t tipped in their favor anymore. The goodwill is spread among an audience and delivers 11 original pieces of content to places like Google who can now serve high-quality content in the search results to others.
What to Consider
When you write and spin to gain backlinks, you’re not helping your audience. Search engines end up delivering rehashed content to the unsuspected, researchers are burdened with wading through duplicate content, and you have done nothing to boost your credibility as the go-to source for this topic.
The whole idea of writing articles and sharing them with directories is not to get the backlinks (even though most people think it is), but instead, it’s about getting your name out there circulating in places that you wouldn’t normally reach with just a blog.
Backlinks will happen naturally as you share your content across various portals and other marketers republish your content from their own “little hole in the wall” bringing you massive traffic, naturally. Article marketing can be quite productive if done properly.
I don’t know about you, but when the crap hits the fan I would rather come out smelling like a rose. Trying to force or manipulate the search engines will only result in disaster. You may not pay the price right now, but sooner or later you’ll pay the piper.
Your turn! What is your stance on spinning articles for backlinks? Leave a comment below and let me know!
Thanks for reading,
– Bonnie
P.S. Did you enjoy this message? If so, please share it with your friends so they can benefit from schmoozing. Then, if you want to get more messages like this one, connect with me via my social links below or hop aboard my notification list. I would like to keep in touch.
Image Credit: Pixabay.com
Case Study: 3.5 Months to a Google Page Rank Score
I think the problem was solved for me by Ezine.
Worked really hard on an article, submitted and then was told: You have a Post on your site which is a review of a spin rewriter which does not meet out guidelines.
You have a choice: remove the article permanently and we will approve your article or keep the article and lose your approval.
At the time I was using Ezine’s Wp plugin to write an article in my wp-admin editor…you are allowed to submit the article for approval and post it on your site at the same time……which seems great, but really isn’t. Every time you make any change to the Posted article the plugin requires an update to your article on Ezine……
Not a happy situation.
Guess it all comes down to Live and Learn….sometimes the hard way!
It was for the best. Thanks to Ezine and the rules, you now have the right way to submit and share articles. 🙂
I can imagine it would be a pain to have to update your Ezine article every time you change something on the blog post. Obviously, someone thought that was a good idea and made the plugin. I’d delete it. 🙂
Hi Bonnie,
Thought provoking post Bonnie, anything that invites introspection as to your motives is, in my humble opinion, a good thing.
Somebody at sometime decided that spinning an article was a good thing because it was a quick and easy way to gain backlinks, get more traffic, make more income as a result. ie “Work less and make more money” That sounds familiar,
Some people may justify article spinning as a means to an end, but I agree with the view that if you are not providing value then you should find a better way to contribute, and meet your goals by producing something real and meaningful that will genuinely help people.
There is too much meaningless garbage out there as it is.
Gordon
I still remember when the first “you gotta have this product” came out about backlinking and article marketing.
I took the same stand then that I take now – steer clear of it because anytime you try to buck the system, it will come back on you tenfold.
Those who hopped aboard this gravy train are now finding it wasn’t worth the effort or the loss of Google indexing.
Bonnie
Yes I have to hold my hands up to you for this debate. I was the person of the original post on that Facebook Group. I know that people use them and just wondered to what extent? I personally do not but have experimented and thought the output was crap!!
I read the debate with great enthusiasm as you both reasoned your corners.
However Bonnie – you get my vote!!
I totally agree with everything that you said on the thread and in your blog post above.
If I have five hours to spare to write / rewrite an article I much rather read the original and take bullet points from it. I would then write new articles from their perspectives giving me unique content and in my writing style too, but furthermore of sound grammar, readability and sense.
So I stand united with you Bonnie all the way.
Glad I inspired a post for you. I love posting questions on the groups as all have resulted in some really good feedback.
Now for my next one…..ummm……?
I noticed you sat back after posing the question and took it all in without uttering a single word. ROFL
Can you say W A L L F L O W E R?
Ah, for your next hat trick – I am wise to you grasshopper! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Gary!
It takes a LOT of time and effort to spin a decent article. I used to write pre-spun articles for people and it wasn’t unusual to spend a full day writing one. On that level it is more than changing a few words, it’s nested 3 levels deep. The info would be the same, but it is like reading different articles – just like reading the same info from different authors. There is very little truly unique information online, it’s just presented in a different way.
And here comes the BUT (several of them)
1. Most people spin crap, they don’t take the time and effort to produce something that many times would read like a human wrote it.
2. Spinning and mass submitting is old, and while it can still work right now, I do believe it’s time is limited
3. Backlinks are still important, but a link profile consisting of mainly article directories, wiki’s and bookmarks is a dangerous game to play. It’s not “natural” That’s what Penguin is for, and it’s only going to start pecking harder, not easing off
4. Article marketing is not about reguritating crap and mass submitting for a link – anyone still teaching that needs to be shot
5. In the 5 hours or a day it takes to write a proper spun article, you could do so much more and reach people on different levels, whether its presentations, video, audio, researching and writing a guest post, producing a short report and so on. Targeted traffic is far more important than playing for rankings – it converts better.
It all boils down to your business model.
An internet marketer ranking several sites for adsense, amazon or affiliate sales may think the short term gain is worth the risk of being blasted later.
I work with small businesses who rely on 1 maybe 2 sites to bring in customers, for me it’s not about thinking “rankings” but how can I get infront of the people who matter. Oddly enough, the rankings follow.
I think we can agree that you’re not the “norm” when it comes to Internet marketing. Most article spinners don’t sit there making a new article 3 levels deep. At best, they do as we’ve all become accustomed to seeing – they change a few works here and there and settle for the outcome.
I don’t believe article spinning is limited – I think it died a long time ago; though, some people refuse to admit it. 🙂
Unfortunately, I do know at least one person who teaches mass submitting for links and his price tag is a little steep. I can’t believe people pay for it.
RE: I work with small businesses who rely on 1 maybe 2 sites to bring in customers, for me it’s not about thinking “rankings” but how can I get in front of the people who matter. Oddly enough, the rankings follow.
I think you need an infographic to spread the news! 🙂
Spinning sounds like hard work to me. With very little return.
Spinning is easy, when you use the article spinning software and that’s half the problem. You load an article, add a few words (such as use this in place of this) and hit a button.
You can even walk away while the software does the work, but what you get in the end isn’t worth sharing with others.
I agree with you, Bonnie. I spun an article once which took about 30 minutes and looked utter trash so the spinner got deleted and the article got rewritten. Waste of time.
Glad you agree, Shan; and good for you on deleting the spinner!
Spinning is pointless. No matter how hard you try, the articles aren’t likely to feel as natural as the original. Besides, we all know that in the end the best way to succeed is to put your readers first.
On top of it all, Google watches for those “SEO Tricks” and does anything they can to make them pointless. The best way to rank in Google is to forget about tricks and focus on creating awesome content for real people.
So true, Amanda!
Too bad the spinners don’t feel the same way, eh?
I am too egotistical to spin an article unless I’m doing it by hand. Why? I’m an English teacher. I don’t want my name attached to something that is full of incorrectly used words.
On a less personal note, I’m not totally against an article that is rewritten by hand and distributed to a different place than the first article. Most likely, different readers will read the different articles. They’ll get value out of whichever version they read, so there’s no real harm.
I’m just not sure why you’d do that. As I understand it, there’s no reason why you can’t have the same article posted in different places. It’s called syndication. News services do it all the time.
The real issue with duplicate content is when you try to make your site look fuller or more frequently updated than it really is by posting the same article multiple times, isn’t it? Or have I completely misunderstood the concept?
Disclaimer: There’s an Internet rule that once you start talking about grammar or punctuation, you’re doomed to make a mistake in your post. I haven’t found the mistake in this comment, but I’m sure it’s there.
Syndication works best if you spread your cheer across the terrain with different articles. Many online editors, seeking newfound information, will go to the top 5 directories searching for content.
If you use the same article across all 5 syndication outlets, you’re not offering enough variety for an editor to choose from. Just because syndication is available, doesn’t mean you should stifle your chances of getting published!
Duplicated content is an issue when you stuff your website with the same article, but it equally becomes a nuisance when that same article is posted on other outlets. For one, you no longer have the UNIQUE content situated on your site when you share it with others and secondly, Google frowns upon it if you’re doing it incorrectly.
According to Google, any piece of duplicated content needs to be given the “noindex” tag to prevent their search engine from picking up both pieces of content.
They specifically state they want to follow ONE copy of the material and the other needs to be flagged as noindex to block these pages from being added to the index.
While this be may possible when you’re sharing the same article across 2 of your websites, you lose control once you submit it to a third party resource.
As I said in my article, article marketing isn’t about getting indexed in Google or getting the backlink – that is something that transpired from people bragging they were getting on page 1 of Google as a result of fooling the system.
The entire idea behind article marketing is to circulate your expertise! Getting your material into the hands of more editors that isn’t possible by publishing from your blog. If people would accept this fact, duplicated content wouldn’t be an issue.
The bottom line here is spread your knowledge far and wide, but do it in a manner that is acceptable to the search engines, adds value to the readers, while extending your reach.
It’s not about backlinks, nor should it be.
Hey Bonnie
I never really got excited about the spinning. I think it is because I read one or two spun articles. I could not even understand what the article was talking about. The sentences did not even make sense.
I never did really understand why you would want that – unless I was missing something.
Mary Kathan
That certainly is part of the problem. Most spun content isn’t quality material. Of course if you’re spinning from a bad article to begin with the spun one isn’t going to be much better. LOL
You’re not missing anything… You understand it completely!
I and many coaching colleagues understood that repurposing is basically the same as spinning. Thank you for showing me the difference between the two. I definitely see it now!
You’re so welcome Debra! If you need me to make examples of recycled content and spun content to clarify for your coaching friends, just let me know.
I agree with you – waste of time. I like to write a unique article 🙂
Yup, I agree!
I’ve seen some places that “spin” my blog posts–they read like they’ve “been through the wringer” and are unreadable.
I’m with you. If 90% of everything is Crap, and on the internet, that may be a conservative estimate, how much better does your stuff look when each piece adds more information and value?
That’s exactly how I feel, Charlotte!
Hi Bonnie, Interesting and useful post, thanks.
I used to spin (I’ll confess!) because several “people” had encourage me to do it to get backlinks which seemed so necessary (to me then).
I don’t do it any more. Several reasons:
It took me ages and I was never 100% sure it made sense.
I read other articles that had obviously been spun and they were TRIPE!
The Google update seemed to make it a bad idea
I’d like to say I was smart enough to have come up with your reason, but having read your post that’s the most important reason of all.
Joy – still learning 🙂
Good for you, Joy. I totally understand that you were taken in by the direction of others. It happens many times, on many occasions, in the industry.
The good point to take away from this topic is that you realized it wasn’t a good idea and have changed your methods. I call that growth, don’t you? 🙂
Something to be proud of, girlfriend!
Hi Bonnie, thank you for this super article! In the coaching business many famous coaches and mentors recommend repurposing content and it is an acceptable practice. I admit that I have done this myself in the past. I appreciate your insight on the subject and I agree with you. Fresh, new content will build a following on it’s own merit especially with my readers and I’d rather smell like a rose (my name):) Debra Rose
Recycling content is not the same thing as spinning it, Debra. Those are horses of a different color.
By all means, recycle your content. Take text documents and turn them into video and/or podcasts. Or turn video tutorials into written PDF files, etc. That’s an acceptable form of reusing your material to get the most mileage out of every piece of educational material you own.
When you have a person who doesn’t want to READ your material, you can accommodate them by turning your article into a video format they can watch or a podcast they can listen to. It’s providing several different options of consuming your goods.
Spinning is like giving your audience 10 copies of the same article. The only difference is you changed the title and replaced some of the words. Pretty different compared to recycling, isn’t it?
TBH I never even considered doing this, but I’m sure some people do. Seems a pretty soulless way of spending a day:)
I agree that it doesn’t make sense. That’s 5 hours that can be spent doing much more productive (and effective) marketing for your business.