It might seem like some businesses have all the luck: They “only” have a handful of products and services that are so different from one another, the content writer doesn’t have to be that creative to avoid duplicate content. In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), duplicate content is a black hat trick that can severely penalize a site even when it’s done unintentionally. Most writers have experienced a time when they were “caught” by Copyscape even though they weren’t plagiarizing. Some content simply demands to be so similar (such as like products or medical terminology) that it won’t pass Copyscape (or Google’s SEO algorithms).
When you have to write descriptions for 50 different bathroom appliances that are nearly the same thing, there’s only so much you can do, right? Wrong. As an SEO content creator, it’s your job to seek out those variants and make the content organic, beautiful and totally different from paragraph to paragraph. Here’s how:
- Use the Thesaurus (a little)
It actually doesn’t have to be a Thesaurus, but any site that gives you fresh ideas (including Google Keywords Tool, of course) can help you get on a different path. Every writer has certain words they “like” and will appear in their work over and over again. The only way to break that cycle is to actively seek out alternatives. Just make sure they sound authentic and not like a pompous royal trying to impress.
- Utilize an active voice
This should be a given for content writers, but some fields (such as medicine or law) require a more passive voice traditionally. However, sticking with the active route will naturally keep the flow going at a better rate. Plus, it allows for less room to write similar phrases, trimming the fat from the content easily.
- Change the word placement, not the words
You can completely re-write a sentence without swapping out any of the major keywords. It’s like piecing together a puzzle knowing that there’s more than one way to complete the job at hand. As a writer, this should be a fun challenge and one you get better at the more you practice. For example, “This marigold, contemporary bath fixture brightens up your personal spa” can easily become “Put a pop up color in your at-home spa with a marigold bath fixture in contemporary styling.”
Use your skills and have fun with the process. If you do, that will shine through.