Is It OK To Post Articles From Article Directories To My Blog Or Website?
I was asked this very question recently and I have actually never seen an answer posted to it anywhere, so I felt than an article about it would be an appropriate thing to write.
First of all, with respect to the question: "Is It OK To Post Articles From Article Directories To My Blog Or Website?", we must ask ourselves, is it OK in the eyes of whom?
There are several possible answers to this question and we will discuss them one-by-one. Is it OK in the eyes of a writer or publisher who submits their work to an article directory? Well, unless the writer or author of an article doesn't understand the Terms of Service of basically any and all article directories, the answer to that question would have to be "yes". Writers, authors and content generators in general submit their work to article directories viewing the article directory as a store front of sorts. It is generally, the hope of the author that the article is not only published by the directory, but also published by others using the HTML provided by the directory.
This actually partially answers the second question. Do article directories care if you re-publish the content submitted to them. All article directories syndicate content to whomever wants to publish it on their website with no restrictions provided that the article content remains unchanged and all of the links published in the article and in the resource box remain in tact and that no "new" attributes are applied to them. Article directories encourage the publishing of their content mainly because of the SEO value that it brings to the directory. This is done via a source link pointing to the article directory that is inserted into the HTML that is made available.
So, as you can clearly see, both authors and article directories are more than happy to provide you with free content being that they benefit from it and benefit greatly. I have personally benefited from using article directories as a means to advertise and syndicate my content. It works amazingly well if you give it time to.
Now, the big question is: "Does Google Care If You Publish Content From Article Directories To Your Site?"
That is a question that many webmasters have been asking themselves as of late especially considering recent changes in their search algorithm.
In my experience, Google seems to be fine with webmasters who publish content that has previously been published to article directories. The web is literally packed with websites that publish syndicated content. You will find the exact same news articles and press releases from the Associated Press on countless websites that have great traffic and Page Rank, both of which are granted by Google. I have personally published articles to many of my blogs and have not seen any ill effects in terms of traffic or page rank.
That being said, there are some questions that ANY webmasters must ask themselves with respect to publishing duplicate content and these are questions that search engine engineers as themselves also when modifying search algorithms. These question are:
Is this article being re-published because it is considered a resource, contains valuable information and will help people?
Does the theme or purpose of this article match the theme or purpose of the website or blog that it is being republished on?
Does the blog or website re-publishing this article have any original content that supplements the re-published content on the site?
Do behavioral metrics as measured by Google Analytics (if it is installed) show activity around the re-published content as well as any original content that may be on the site?
There are many more questions that could be asked with respect to how search engines view re-published or duplicate content, but in general, if the answers to the above questions is yes in all cases, then Google will probably say "yes" also.
Search engines serve web-pages in organic search results that are resources. More and more, behavioral metrics are being incorporated in algorithms. If a webmaster focuses on building a website that is a repository for relevant and helpful information, both original and duplicate, then they will find even their pre-published material being served in organic search queries.
First of all, with respect to the question: "Is It OK To Post Articles From Article Directories To My Blog Or Website?", we must ask ourselves, is it OK in the eyes of whom?
There are several possible answers to this question and we will discuss them one-by-one. Is it OK in the eyes of a writer or publisher who submits their work to an article directory? Well, unless the writer or author of an article doesn't understand the Terms of Service of basically any and all article directories, the answer to that question would have to be "yes". Writers, authors and content generators in general submit their work to article directories viewing the article directory as a store front of sorts. It is generally, the hope of the author that the article is not only published by the directory, but also published by others using the HTML provided by the directory.
This actually partially answers the second question. Do article directories care if you re-publish the content submitted to them. All article directories syndicate content to whomever wants to publish it on their website with no restrictions provided that the article content remains unchanged and all of the links published in the article and in the resource box remain in tact and that no "new" attributes are applied to them. Article directories encourage the publishing of their content mainly because of the SEO value that it brings to the directory. This is done via a source link pointing to the article directory that is inserted into the HTML that is made available.
So, as you can clearly see, both authors and article directories are more than happy to provide you with free content being that they benefit from it and benefit greatly. I have personally benefited from using article directories as a means to advertise and syndicate my content. It works amazingly well if you give it time to.
Now, the big question is: "Does Google Care If You Publish Content From Article Directories To Your Site?"
That is a question that many webmasters have been asking themselves as of late especially considering recent changes in their search algorithm.
In my experience, Google seems to be fine with webmasters who publish content that has previously been published to article directories. The web is literally packed with websites that publish syndicated content. You will find the exact same news articles and press releases from the Associated Press on countless websites that have great traffic and Page Rank, both of which are granted by Google. I have personally published articles to many of my blogs and have not seen any ill effects in terms of traffic or page rank.
That being said, there are some questions that ANY webmasters must ask themselves with respect to publishing duplicate content and these are questions that search engine engineers as themselves also when modifying search algorithms. These question are:
Is this article being re-published because it is considered a resource, contains valuable information and will help people?
Does the theme or purpose of this article match the theme or purpose of the website or blog that it is being republished on?
Does the blog or website re-publishing this article have any original content that supplements the re-published content on the site?
Do behavioral metrics as measured by Google Analytics (if it is installed) show activity around the re-published content as well as any original content that may be on the site?
There are many more questions that could be asked with respect to how search engines view re-published or duplicate content, but in general, if the answers to the above questions is yes in all cases, then Google will probably say "yes" also.
Search engines serve web-pages in organic search results that are resources. More and more, behavioral metrics are being incorporated in algorithms. If a webmaster focuses on building a website that is a repository for relevant and helpful information, both original and duplicate, then they will find even their pre-published material being served in organic search queries.