undefined
Skip to content
Moz logo Menu open Menu close
  • Products
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Pro Home
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Home
    • STAT
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Home
    • Compare SEO Products
    • Moz Data
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis
    • Keyword Explorer
    • Link Explorer
    • Competitive Research
    • MozBar
    • More Free SEO Tools
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
    • SEO Learning Center
    • Moz Academy
    • SEO Q&A
    • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Agency Solutions
    • Enterprise Solutions
    • Small Business Solutions
    • Case Studies
    • The Moz Story
    • New Releases
  • Log in
  • Log out
  • Products
    • Moz Pro

      Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

    • Moz Local

      Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

    • STAT

      SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

    • Moz API

      Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

    • Compare SEO Products

      See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

    • Moz Data

      Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis

      Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

    • Keyword Explorer

      Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

    • Link Explorer

      Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

    • Competitive Research

      Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

    • MozBar

      See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

    • More Free SEO Tools

      Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO

      The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

    • SEO Learning Center

      Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

    • On-Demand Webinars

      Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

    • How-To Guides

      Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

    • Moz Academy

      Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

    • MozCon

      Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
    Moz API

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

    Find your plan
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Small Business Solutions

      Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

    • Agency Solutions

      Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

    • Enterprise Solutions

      Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

    • The Moz Story

      Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

    • Case Studies

      Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

    • New Releases

      Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

    Surface actionable competitive intel
    New Feature

    Surface actionable competitive intel

    Learn More
  • Log in
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Dashboard
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Dashboard
    • Moz Academy
  • Avatar
    • Moz Home
    • Notifications
    • Account & Billing
    • Manage Users
    • Community Profile
    • My Q&A
    • My Videos
    • Log Out

The Moz Q&A Forum

  • Forum
  • Questions
  • Users
  • Ask the Community

Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

  1. Home
  2. SEO Tactics
  3. On-Page Optimization
  4. What's the best practice for handling duplicate content of product descriptions with a drop-shipper?

Moz Q&A is closed.

After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

What's the best practice for handling duplicate content of product descriptions with a drop-shipper?

On-Page Optimization
4
11
1.8k
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as question
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
  • Adam-Perlman
    Adam-Perlman last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 12:21 PM

    We write our own product descriptions for merchandise we sell on our website.  However, we also work with drop-shippers, and some of them simply take our content and post it on their site (same photos, exact ad copy, etc...).  I'm concerned that we'll loose the value of our content because Google will consider it duplicated.

    We don't want the value of our content undermined... What's the best practice for avoiding any problems with Google?

    Thanks,

    Adam

    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • DavidKonigsberg
      DavidKonigsberg @ORob last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 1:10 PM Oct 25, 2012, 1:10 PM

      I totally agree but you should be able to have another set written with great quality - The big drop shippers always rewrite manufacturer descriptions because of this issue.

      • You need to decide if the gains out-ways the costs 🙂
      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • Adam-Perlman
        Adam-Perlman @ORob last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 1:08 PM Oct 25, 2012, 1:07 PM

        oops, hit submit button twice..

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Adam-Perlman
          Adam-Perlman @ORob last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 1:07 PM Oct 25, 2012, 1:07 PM

          Having two sets of ad copy does effectively solve the Google issue, but it creates two non-Google issues, both of which are potentially costly.  For example:

          1. I have to write new copy for them which costs time and money, and even then they may still not use it, which creates enforcement issues.

          2. If it's substantially different copy (and possibly inferior, because let's face it, it's hard to write two sets of good compelling copy on the same item), then it may not convert as well, which means they sell less... and we sell less 😛

          I'm not saying you can't solve my original problem with this method.  I'm just saying that there are some very real costs to take into consideration 😉

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • ORob
            ORob @Adam-Perlman last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 12:59 PM Oct 25, 2012, 12:59 PM

            Go with David's method, or a hybrid. Present them useable text and ask that they put that on their sites and if they won't then ask they they use canonical or noindex directives.

            Adam-Perlman DavidKonigsberg 3 Replies Last reply Oct 25, 2012, 1:10 PM Reply Quote 0
            • DavidKonigsberg
              DavidKonigsberg @Adam-Perlman last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 12:47 PM Oct 25, 2012, 12:47 PM

              You could have them add a rel- canonical - But dropshippers want your content so they can rank they will not want to use it.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • Adam-Perlman
                Adam-Perlman last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 12:45 PM Oct 25, 2012, 12:45 PM

                Hey guys, thanks for all the fast responses!

                I thought I remembered reading something about a technical method for demonstrating to Google that your version of content is the original version.  Is there a way to do that?

                And yeah, we could ask them to change their behavior (or require it), but there are costs to both and I'm wondering if there's a more effective solution (such as the possibly mythical one above).

                DavidKonigsberg ORob 2 Replies Last reply Oct 25, 2012, 12:59 PM Reply Quote 0
                • DavidKonigsberg
                  DavidKonigsberg @William.Lau last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 12:39 PM Oct 25, 2012, 12:39 PM

                  penalization isnt the only thing you need to worry about its a dropshipper that is stronger then you out ranking you.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • DavidKonigsberg
                    DavidKonigsberg last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 12:37 PM Oct 25, 2012, 12:37 PM

                    The best way is to give your drop shippers a feed with 1 set of descriptions and your site having another set (people will still copy but much less)

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                    • ORob
                      ORob last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 12:31 PM Oct 25, 2012, 12:31 PM

                      Are these dropshippers people who have to obey by your agreements in order to continue doing business with you? Would it hurt your business to create a requirement that they either create unique content or have their pages use the noindex code to prevent google from finding the dupe?

                      Do most of your dropshippers get their traffic via Organic Search? Or are they using other advertising sources?

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • William.Lau
                        William.Lau last edited by Oct 25, 2012, 12:27 PM Oct 25, 2012, 12:27 PM

                        There is really nothing you can do because someone else is copying your description.

                        The only thing I can initially come up with is asking your dropshippers to not copy descriptions.

                        However, the content that is duplicated and might not really negatively effect your SEO. Google understands e-commerce and a lot of the times products on e-commerce sites are very similar and they do not get penalized. Another thing is that you originally created the description and Google does index according to freshness. As long as you are indexed first with the description, I don't see how Google can penalize you.

                        DavidKonigsberg 1 Reply Last reply Oct 25, 2012, 12:39 PM Reply Quote 0
                        • 1 / 1
                        1 out of 11
                        • First post
                          1/11
                          Last post

                        Got a burning SEO question?

                        Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                        Start my free trial


                        Browse Questions

                        Explore more categories

                        • Moz Tools

                          Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                        • SEO Tactics

                          Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                        • Community

                          Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                        • Digital Marketing

                          Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                        • Research & Trends

                          Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                        • Support

                          Connect on product support and feature requests.

                        • See all categories

                        Related Questions

                        • wearehappymedia

                          Duplicate content with tagging and categories

                          Hello, Moz is showing that a site has duplicate content - which appears to be because of tags and categories. It is a relatively new site, with only a few blog publications so far. This means that the same articles are displayed under a number of different tags and categories... Is this something I should worry about, or just wait until I have more content? The 'tag' and 'category' pages are not really pages I would expect or aim for anyone to find in google results anyway. Would be glad to here any advice / opinions on this Thanks!

                          On-Page Optimization | Dec 17, 2015, 9:59 PM | wearehappymedia
                          1
                        • Dan-Lawrence

                          Hiding body copy with a 'read more' drop down option

                          Hi I just want to confirm how potentially damaging using java script to hide lots of on page body copy with a 'read more' button is ? As per other moz Q&A threads i was told that best not to use Javascript to do this & instead "if you accomplish this with CSS and collapsible/expandable <DIV> tags it's totally fine" so thats what i advised my clients dev. However i recently noticed a big drop in rankings aprox 1 weeks after dev changing the body copy format (hiding alot of it behind a 'read more' button) so i asked them to confirm how they did implement it and they said: "done in javascript but on page load the text is defaulting to show" (which is contrary to my instructions) So how likely is it that this is causing problems ? since coincides with ranking drop OR if text is defaulting to show it should be ok/not cause probs ? And should i request that they redo as originally instructed (css & collapsible divs) asap ? All Best Dan

                          On-Page Optimization | Nov 25, 2014, 10:25 AM | Dan-Lawrence
                          0
                        • Jaybeamer

                          Two URL's for the same page

                          Hi, on our site we have two separate URL's for a page that has the same content. So, for example - 'www.domain.co.uk/stuff' and 'www.domain.co.uk/things/stuff' both have the same content on the page. We currently rank high in search for 'www.domain.co.uk/things/stuff' for our targeted keyword, but there are numerous links on the site to www.domain.co.uk/stuff and also potentially inbound links to this page. Ideally we want just the www.domain.co.uk/things/stuff URL to be present on the site, what would be the best course of action to take? Would a simple Canonical tag from the '/stuff' URL which points to the '/things/stuff' page be wise? If we were to scrap the '/stuff' URL totally and redirect it to the 'things/stuff' URL and change all our on site links, would this be beneficial and not harm our current ranking for '/things/stuff'? We only want 1 URL for this page for numerous reasons (i.e, easier to track in Analytics), but I'm a bit cautious that changing the page that doesn't rank may have an affect on the page that does rank! Thanks.

                          On-Page Optimization | May 26, 2014, 1:25 PM | Jaybeamer
                          2
                        • Towelsrus

                          How often should I update category and product content to keep it fresh?

                          I want to keep our site up to date and fresh with content. How often should I update categories and products pages with content? What angel should I take with categories (new products/services etc.) Thanks Craig

                          On-Page Optimization | Jul 5, 2013, 10:21 AM | Towelsrus
                          0
                        • azu25

                          Add content as blog post or to product pages?

                          Hi, We have around 40 products which we can produce plenty of in-depth and detailed "how to"-type pieces of content for. Our current plan is to produce a "How to make" style post for each as a long blog post, then link that to the product page. There's probably half a dozen or more of these kind of blog posts that we could do for each product. The reason why we planned on doing it like this is that it would give us plenty of extra pages (blog posts) on their own URL which can be indexed and rank for long tail keywords, but also that we can mention these posts in our newsletter. It'd give people a new page full of specific content that they can read instead of us having to say "Hey! We've updated our product page for X!", which seems a little pointless. Most of the products we sell don't get very many searches themselves; Most get a couple dozen and the odd few get 100-300 each, while one gets more than 2,000 per month. The products don't get many searches as it's a relatively unknown niche when it comes to details, but searches for the "categories" these products are in are very well known (Some broad terms that cover the niche get more than 30,000+ searches a month in the UK and 100,000+ world wide) [Exact].
                          Regarding the one product with more than 2,000 searches; This keyword is both the name of  the product and also a name for the category page. Many of our competitors have just one of these products, whereas we're one of the first to have more than 6 variations of this product, thus the category page is acting like our other product pages and the information you would usually find on our product pages, is on the category page for just this product. I'm still leaning towards creating each piece of content as it's own blog post which links to the product pages, while the product pages link to the relevant blog posts, but i'm starting to think that it may be be better to put all the content on the product pages themselves). The only problem with this is that it cuts out on more than 200 very indepth and long blog posts (which due to the amount of content, videos and potentially dozens of high resolution images may slow down the loading of the product pages). From what I can see, here are the pros and cons: Pro (For blog posts):
                          1. More than 200 blog posts (potentially 1000+ words each with dozens of photos and potentially a video)..
                          2. More pages to crawl, index and rank..
                          3. More pages to post on social media..
                          4. Able to comment about the posts in the newsletter - Sounds more unique than "We've just updated this product page"..
                          5. Commenting is available on blog posts, whereas it is not on product pages..
                          6. So much information could slow down the loading of product pages significantly..
                          7. Some products are very similar (ie, the same product but "better quality" - Difficult to explain without giving the niche away, which i'd prefer not to do ATM) and this would mean the same content isn't on multiple pages.
                          8. By my understanding, this would be better for Google Authorship/Publishership.. Con (Against blog posts. For extended product pages):
                          1. Customers have all information in one place and don't have to click on a "Related Blog posts" tab..
                          2. More content means better ability to rank for product related keywords (All but a few receive very few searches per month, but the niche is exploding at an amazing rate at the moment)..
                          3. Very little chance of a blog post out-ranking the related product page for keywords.. I've run out of ideas for the 'Con' side of things, but that's why I'd like opinions from someone here if possible. I'd really appreciate any and all input, Thanks! [EDIT]:
                          I should add that there will be a small "How to make" style section on product pages anyway, which covers the most common step by step instructions. In the content we planned for blog posts, we'd explore the regular method in greater detail and several other methods in good detail. Our products can be "made" in several different ways which each result in a unique end result (some people may prefer it one way than another, so we want to cover every possible method), effectively meaning that there's an almost unlimited amount of content we could write.
                          In fact, you could probably think of the blog posts as more of "an ultimate guide to X" instead of simply "How to X"...

                          On-Page Optimization | Jul 3, 2013, 11:37 AM | azu25
                          0
                        • NiallTom

                          Duplicate Content for Spanish & English Product

                          Hi There, Our company provides training courses and I am looking to provide the Spanish version of a course that we already provide in English.  As it is an e-commerce site, our landing page for the English version gives the full description of the course and all related details. Once the course is purchased, a flash based course launches within a player window and the student begins the course. For the Spanish version of the course, my target customers are English speaking supervisors purchasing the course for their Spanish speaking workers.  So the landing page will still be in English (just like the English version of the course) with the same basic description, with the only content differences on that page being the inclusion of the fact that this course is in Spanish and a few details around that. The majority of the content on these two separate landing pages will be exactly the same, as the description for the overall course is the same, just that it's presented in a different language, so it needs to be 2 separate products. My fear is that Google will read this as duplicate content and I will be penalized for it.  Is this a possibility or will Google know why I set it up this way and not penalize me?  If that is a possibility, how should I go about doing this correctly? Thanks!

                          On-Page Optimization | Apr 10, 2012, 4:01 PM | NiallTom
                          0
                        • CommercePundit

                          How to Define Best URL Structure for Product Pages?

                          I am working on my website to edit structure with help of Google's search engine optimization starter guide. There is really good instruction to define URL structure which help us to perform well over Google's organic search. I have resolved issues regarding category pages but, I have confusion to define best URL structure for product pages. My website's product page URL structure is as follow. http://www.vistastores.com/marketumbrellas-californiaumbrella-slpt758-f13-red.html http://www.vistastores.com/homefurniture-winsomewood-93630.html URL structure is constructed with following terms. 1. Root Category Name (Market Umbrellas or Home Furniture or ....) 2. Brand Name 3. Manufacturer Part Number I am not happy with this structure and also not performing well over Google's organic search. I am thinking to include product name or title tag in URL after root domain. But, it may create very long URL and create issues in organic search display. Does it really matter to perform well over Google's organic search? How can I define best URL structure for product pages?

                          On-Page Optimization | Jul 2, 2012, 8:36 AM | CommercePundit
                          0
                        • Shipyard_Agency

                          Best practice for franchise sites with duplicated content

                          I know that duplicated content is a touchy subject but I work with multiple franchise groups and each franchisee wants their own site, however, almost all of the sites use the same content.  I want to make sure that Google sees each one of these sites as unique sites and does not penalize them for the following issues. All sites are hosted on the same server therefor the same IP address All sites use generally the same content across their product pages (which are very very important pages) *templated content approved by corporate Almost all sites have the same design (A few of the groups we work with have multiple design options) Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Again Aaron

                          On-Page Optimization | May 27, 2011, 9:33 AM | Shipyard_Agency
                          0

                        Get started with Moz Pro!

                        Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                        Start my free trial
                        Products
                        • Moz Pro
                        • Moz Local
                        • Moz API
                        • Moz Data
                        • STAT
                        • Product Updates
                        Moz Solutions
                        • SMB Solutions
                        • Agency Solutions
                        • Enterprise Solutions
                        Free SEO Tools
                        • Domain Authority Checker
                        • Link Explorer
                        • Keyword Explorer
                        • Competitive Research
                        • Brand Authority Checker
                        • Local Citation Checker
                        • MozBar Extension
                        • MozCast
                        Resources
                        • Blog
                        • SEO Learning Center
                        • Help Hub
                        • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                        • How-to Guides
                        • Moz Academy
                        • API Docs
                        About Moz
                        • About
                        • Team
                        • Careers
                        • Contact
                        Why Moz
                        • Case Studies
                        • Testimonials
                        Get Involved
                        • Become an Affiliate
                        • MozCon
                        • Webinars
                        • Practical Marketer Series
                        • MozPod
                        Connect with us

                        Contact the Help team

                        Join our newsletter
                        Moz logo
                        © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                        • Accessibility
                        • Terms of Use
                        • Privacy

                        Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.