SEO Moz Duplicate

Is the Moz suite of SEO (search engine optimization) tools identifying duplicate content on your website? Don’t worry - it happens! It may seem confusing at first, but the good news is that you can easily resolve the problem in a few simple steps.

In this article, we’re going to explore the topic of duplicate content within the Moz suite of SEO tools. We’ll discuss what duplicate content is, why and when your content may be flagged, and what you can do to resolve the issue.

What Is Duplicate Content?

Let’s start with the basics: what exactly is duplicate content, anyway? Well, duplicate content occurs when a piece of content shows up at more than one URL. This can be on separate websites or different pages within the same website.

Seems pretty simple, right? Here’s the thing, though: the content doesn’t need to be identical to be considered duplicate. Even highly similar content can be flagged as duplicate content.

What Does Moz Count as Duplicate Content?

Now, there’s a good chance that you’re not posting identical content intentionally. So, you may be wondering: what does Moz consider duplicate content?

While other SEO tools may differ, Moz will flag two or more pages that contain at least 90% of the same code as duplicate content. So, it’s not just looking at the text itself - it’s considering the source code on the page too.

This means that duplicate content issues can occur for a number of reasons. Some common situations include:

• Multiple versions of the same website with the same content (like one at http:// and a separate one at https://, or even mobile vs desktop versions)
• URL variations, especially when it comes to analytics code and click tracking
• Multiple session IDs for website visitors
• Printer-friendly versions of web pages
• Content that has been scraped or copied. This is especially an issue for ecommerce sites, as they may use the same manufacturer’s description if they’re selling the same items.

Why Is Moz Telling Me I Have Duplicate Content? Is It Bad for SEO?

If you’re using Moz, then you likely care about the SEO of your site. So, if your content falls into the categories listed above, then Moz SEO tools are doing their job if they’re flagging it as duplicate. 

While Google may not have a formal “duplicate content penalty”, having identical or highly similar content on your website can be bad for SEO in a few different ways.

Lower Rankings and Less Traffic

When you have pages that look alike, Google can have trouble identifying the original one. And since the search engine prioritizes original material, they may not rank any suspected duplicate content. Or, at least, not rank them very highly.

Less Backlink Power

Backlinks are great for SEO. Typically, the more quality backlinks you have pointing to a web page, the better. But when you have pages with duplicate content, you run the risk of diluting that backlink power. 

It’s better to have one page with 30 backlinks instead of two similar pages with 10 and 20 apiece.

Fewer Crawled Pages

Are you having indexing issues? It may be because your duplicate pages are wasting your crawl budget. If search engine crawlers need to keep going over the same content, then they may not have the time or resources to devote to your fresh and original stuff. 

This can result in fewer crawled pages, and less visibility on SERPs (search engine results pages).

How to Resolve Moz Duplicate Content Issues for Better SEO

While you don’t need to worry about the mythical “duplicate content penalty” from Google, you’ll likely still want to avoid the other SEO-related issues. And fortunately, this doesn’t have to be difficult. 

Here are some strategies you can try to resolve your Moz duplicate content issues:

Insert Canonical Tags

Also known as rel=canonical tags, these snippets of code will tell Google which URL you’d like them to index in their search results. The process can differ depending on your CMS (content management system), so be sure to visit their website for more information.

Set up 310 Redirects

If you don’t need to keep a duplicate page, then you should consider using a 301 redirect. With this method, visitors and search engines will be automatically redirected to the URL of your choice. In this case, the one with the original content that you want to rank.

Like canonical tags, setting up 301 redirects can depend on your CMS. So, refer to yours for more specific instructions.

Use Originality.AI’s Plagiarism Checker

Now, if you don’t want to dig into the world of canonical tags and 301 redirects, then there’s a simpler option available: using Originality.AI’s plagiarism checker to help change up your content. 

Unlike the free, basic versions that you can find elsewhere on the internet, Originality.AI’s tool makes identifying and resolving duplicate content issues easy. Not only does it detect plagiarism and flag duplicate content, but it will also give you the matching URLs, paraphrasing, and quotes as part of its comprehensive plagiarism report.

This can make the editing process a breeze. See, once it identifies the duplication issues with your content, you can go in knowing exactly what changes are necessary to make it more unique. This can save you a lot of time, and help you recover from any SEO-related issues even faster.

Resolve Your Moz Duplicate Content Problems Today

In conclusion, Moz is letting you know about duplicate content because it’s bad for SEO. There are a lot of different reasons why they may flag your content, but fortunately, it is possible to resolve these issues.

Whether you choose to insert canonical tags, set up 301 redirects, or use Originality.AI’s comprehensive plagiarism checker to help you edit your content, you should be able to get rid of these Moz duplicate content errors. You may even improve your SEO in the process.

So, start resolving those duplicate content issues today, and see the difference it makes in your site!