2.3 Body content, quality & non-commodity ✦HighVerified
Internal duplicate content
When several of my own pages cover the same thing, they compete with each other and split signals. I consolidate or differentiate them.
What it is
Same text across multiple pages.
Why it matters
Splits signals; can look manipulative.
How to fix it
Consolidate or differentiate; canonicalise.
How to find it on your site
- Crawl and find pages with substantially similar content.
- Decide which should be the canonical page for the topic.
- Consolidate duplicates into it and redirect, or differentiate them clearly.
- Set canonicals where near-duplicates must coexist.
Cross-reference to ranking and citation factors
Internal duplication causes pages to cannibalise each other. Consolidation concentrates the ranking signal.
Impact
Medium-high. Direct.
Evidence
Consolidate duplicates. Google Search Central, Consolidate duplicate URLs (canonicalization); Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google web search
Sources