Plagiarism and content theft continue to be challenges for online publishers. Unfortunately, there are individuals who copy your content and use it as their own, harming your search rankings and online visibility. Search engines like Google are improving at identifying duplicate content, but it’s important to take action to protect your original content and prevent others from outranking you with your own words. In this guide, we’ll show you how to report instances of copied content to Google, ensuring that your originality is acknowledged and your rankings are restored.
Identifying Duplicate Content
There are several tools available to help you identify copied content, such as Grammarly and Copyscape. Alternatively, you can take a simple approach by selecting a unique phrase or sentence from your blog post, placing it in quotes, and performing a Google search. For example:
“Unique phrase from your blog post”
Once you’ve identified copied content, you can proceed to the next steps and report it to Google.
Reporting Copied Content to Google
1. Visit the Google DMCA page and select “Submit a Legal Request” under “Web Search” (or choose “Blogger” if applicable). If the copied content is from a BlogSpot/Blogger platform, Google will remove it entirely.
2. Choose the appropriate options based on your case.
3. On the next page, select the following options:
– “I have found content that may violate my copyright.”
– “Someone copied my entire webpage or most of it.”
– “Web Search/Blogger” (choose the option based on the copying website).
4. After selecting these options, you’ll receive a link to the form for reporting the BlogSpot blog that copied your content. If the copying website is not on the BlogSpot platform, choose “Web Search” as the first option.
5. Complete the form and include all the links where your content has been copied. You can report multiple links using a single form. Always review your request for accuracy before submitting it.
6. It may take a few days for Google to process your request. However, by reporting the copied content, you’ll notice a significant reduction in duplicate pages, and your original rankings will be restored.
By consistently reporting instances of copied content to Google, you can protect your hard work and prevent others from benefiting at your expense. Reclaim your stolen traffic and maintain the integrity of your content. We’d love to hear about your experiences with reporting copied content to Google. Please share in the comments below and let us know how it has helped you restore your traffic and safeguard your online presence.
