There’s a serious SEO issue hiding in plain sight—and most small business owners don’t even know it’s there:
Duplicate content.
It sounds simple enough—just copying and pasting content from one page to another, right? But in reality, it’s one of the most common (and damaging) mistakes that can tank your rankings.
Here’s the kicker:
Google punishes duplicate content by either pushing it down in rankings or, in some cases, ignoring it altogether.
So, if you’ve been wondering why your website isn’t performing or why pages aren’t showing up in search results, this could be the reason.
In this blog, I’ll walk you through:
What duplicate content is and why it matters
Why it hurts your rankings and online visibility
How to spot and fix duplicate content issues on your website
What we do inside MSW’s Performance Marketing Program to prevent and fix duplicate content problems
And how you can clean up your content and restore your SEO health
Let’s start with the basics.
Duplicate content refers to content that appears on multiple pages of your website, or across different websites, that’s either exactly the same or very similar.
This might look like:
A blog post published elsewhere (e.g., copied from another website or industry article)
Identical or nearly identical product descriptions on multiple pages
The same content appearing in several places on your site (e.g., homepage, service page, and blog all saying the same thing)
A “category” page and a “product page” that both contain the same or nearly identical text
Google doesn’t know which page to rank because it sees the same content multiple times. So, it either ignores one of the pages or pushes both of them down in the rankings.
Google’s algorithm is designed to give searchers the best, most relevant results. When it sees the same content in more than one place, it doesn’t know which version is the most authoritative.
Here’s what can happen:
Lower rankings: Google may choose to rank only one page (or none) for your query.
Penalty risks: If your content is considered “copied,” Google may penalize your site, reducing its visibility overall.
In other words:
Google wants unique, valuable content—not copied text.
Duplicate content doesn’t always mean “copy-paste.” It can show up in different forms:
This is when you have identical text on multiple pages of your site. It’s the most obvious form of duplication.
Example:
You sell plumbing services in three different cities. But instead of writing unique content for each city page, you copy and paste the same “Plumbing Services” page for each location. Now you have three pages with the same content, and Google doesn’t know which one to rank.
This happens when you change a few words, but the overall meaning is the same.
Example:
A product page description with “Our team of expert plumbers provides top-tier service at affordable rates.”
Then, on another page: “Our team of professional plumbers offers expert service at a reasonable price.”
It’s different enough to not be an exact match—but Google still sees it as close enough to consider it duplicate.
This happens when your content gets copied and reposted on other websites—like news outlets or industry blogs.
If the content isn’t properly linked back to the original source, Google might give credit to the other site, not yours.
Example:
You publish a blog post on your website, but a local directory or news site picks it up and reprints it with no attribution back to your website.
Google’s main job is to answer search queries with the most relevant and helpful content. If your content appears more than once across your website (or worse, on other websites), Google can’t tell which one to show. And that leads to lower rankings.
Here’s what happens:
Confusion: Google doesn’t know which page to prioritize.
Thin Traffic: Multiple pages competing for the same ranking can split the traffic, reducing the number of visitors to any one page.
Wasted Authority: If another page is ranking for the same query, you lose the chance to rank for that search term.
And ultimately, if you have a lot of duplicate content, Google might just stop ranking your site altogether. This can mean the difference between being found and being buried on page 2 or 3 of the search results.
So, how can you tell if duplicate content is hurting your site?
Here are some ways to find it:
You can use “site:” operators to check if the same content appears elsewhere. For example:
Copy a section of text from your homepage
Go to Google and search:
site:yourwebsite.com "insert copied text here"
Google will show you where that text appears on your site and any external pages it might be on.
There are tools like:
Copyscape
Siteliner
Semrush’s Site Audit tool
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
These tools crawl your website and identify duplicate content issues across your pages or external sources.
If your website has duplicate content, don’t panic—there’s always a solution.
The easiest and most effective way to handle duplicate content is by creating unique content for each page.
If you have multiple location pages or product descriptions, make sure each one is tailored to that specific service, location, or product.
For example, instead of copying your homepage content for every city you serve, write location-specific descriptions and services for each city page.
If you have a duplicate page that’s no longer needed (e.g., a page with outdated or near-identical content), set up a 301 redirect to point to the most relevant page.
This tells Google to pass the “link juice” (ranking authority) from the duplicate to the page you want to keep.
If you must have similar content (like a blog post syndication), use a canonical tag to tell Google which page should be considered the original.
For example, if your blog is republished on an external site, add a canonical tag to the external page that points back to your original post.
If you syndicate content to other websites, make sure they link back to the original page. Use rel=canonical to direct Google to the original content.
If you’re publishing content to third-party sites, always ask them to link back to your site.
In our Performance Marketing Program, we:
We make sure your content doesn’t just pass Google’s tests—it works for you, driving traffic, leads, and conversions.
Duplicate content isn’t just an SEO mistake—it’s a trust issue with Google. If Google doesn’t know which page to rank, it won’t rank any of them.
But the good news? It’s fixable.
By auditing your content, creating unique, value-driven copy, and properly marking duplicates, you’ll give your site the best chance at ranking.
And if you want help identifying and fixing duplicate content issues, that’s what we do every day at MSW. Let’s make sure your site is working hard to attract the right traffic—and rank for the right terms.
We’ll scan your website for duplicate content, suggest improvements, and help you implement changes that get you seen by Google.
📞 Call us at 573-552-8403
Or book your free SEO audit at:
https://mswinteractivedesigns.com/pages/request-a-quote
Let’s fix your content so it works for you—and Google knows exactly what you do.
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Sandy Wardenburg Waggett is the Founder & CEO of MSW Interactive Designs, a premier digital marketing agency specializing in SEO, AI-powered content strategies, and website optimization. With over a quarter century of experience (eek!), Sandy has helped thousands of business owners increase visibility, generate leads, and dominate their local markets through strategic online marketing.
As a Certified High-Performance Coach, Certified Maxwell Leadership Coach, and LXCouncil Moderator, Sandy is not just a marketing expert—she’s a trusted mentor and business strategist who equips entrepreneurs with data-driven insights and future-proof tactics. She leads AI & Marketing Mastery Training and exclusive CEO mastermind groups, helping business leaders stay ahead in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Sandy is also the author of the upcoming book, The Future-Proof SEO Blueprint: AI, AEO, and SEO Tactics for Small Business Dominance—a must-read for business owners looking to outsmart competitors and win in the new era of search marketing. The book provides cutting-edge strategies on AI-driven SEO, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and how to leverage AI tools to future-proof your digital presence.
When she’s not crafting game-changing marketing strategies, Sandy enjoys coaching entrepreneurs, speaking at business conferences, and empowering leaders to make bold moves in their industries.
🚀 Want to take your digital marketing to the next level? Connect with Sandy at MSWInteractiveDesigns.com or call 573-552-8403.
