Unique Content

Unique Content – Short Conceptual Explanation
Unique content versus duplicate content
Unique content and search engine optimization
Unique content and social media
Tips for creating content that is unique

Unique Content – Short Conceptual Explanation

Unique content is online content that is created to be completely different than any other content found on the web. Creating this kind of content is extremely important because it can enhance search engine optimization (SEO). The opposite is duplicate content, which is content that can found word-for-word on the web. In contrast to unique content, duplicate content doesn’t perform well in regards to SEO.

Unique content versus duplicate content

Unique content cannot be found anywhere else on the web. It includes specific information, like locations and company information, as well as unique combinations of words that aren’t repeated on any other websites.

The opposite of unique content is called duplicate content. This is content that can be found elsewhere on the web. It can include product descriptions, website content, blog articles, and more where the content is repeated word-for-word on other sites and web pages.

Unique content and search engine optimization

There are a couple of reasons why unique content is so important. First, it is the best way to provide value to readers. Customers, clients, and followers don’t want to read content that they have already seen elsewhere on the web. They want to know they are following a company or organization that is authentic, which means providing authentic content.

Search engines, like Google, understand the importance of unique content, which is why it is so important to search engine optimization. Google wants to provide the best experience to its searchers, so it punishes duplicate content heavily.

Websites and pages that contain duplicate content will be punished by Google. The content may show up at the bottom of the search engine results pages. Search engines may also choose not to index the page at all, which means it won’t show up in the search results.

If a website contains a lot of duplicate content, the entire site can be punished, not just the individual pages. Google may decide not to index the site, which means none of its pages will show up on any of Google’s search engine results pages, even if all other aspects of the site are SEO-friendly.

Unique content – e.g. product descriptions, category texts, advisors & guide texts, glossary texts, descriptions of destinations, company profiles, blog posts – can be ordered through content agencies such as clickworker.
Overview of the SEO content services provided by clickworker

Unique content and social media

Unique content is important on social media, but there is a little more leeway compared to other content on the internet.

Most users have multiple social media accounts. Those that don’t use different platforms for different reasons. It is important for a business to create unique content for each platform. That means creating visual content on Instagram and written content on Twitter, for example.

Although duplicate content is punished by search engines, the same isn’t true of social media. The nature of social media is for things to go viral, which means people repost things all the time. Although users do have to be careful about stealing content, individual posts aren’t indexed by Google, which means sharing a piece of content or a picture won’t be punished.

Tips for creating content that is unique

It is important to create unique content in order to ensure a site or page isn’t punished by Google. That includes tips like:

Use multiple sources when writing a blog article
Never look directly at existing content when writing
Write from your own memory
Write in a style that is unique to the website or brand
Never copy and paste content
Always cite research and assign credit when it’s due to others
Ensure content is as unique as possible with a duplicate content checker

Content that is unique is king on the web, but there are instances when duplicating content is reasonable and expected. For example, a quotation may be included to support a piece of content. A writer may also include portions of content in an online portfolio that can be found elsewhere on the web.

Fortunately, many website publishing platforms allow the writer to differentiate between this kind of content and content that is meant to be unique. It is important to label it properly so Google doesn’t punish the content accidentally. However, the vast majority of the content on the page should be unique, even if quotations and cited information is used.

It is important to note that Google does differentiate between duplicate content and copied content. Duplicate content is assumed to be malicious in its intent, while copied content is not. Although both are punished, duplicate content is punished more heavily than copied content. This distinction will continue to be important as more and more content is posted on the web, and avoiding at least a little duplicate content when creating unique content will be nearly impossible.