Anyone with a website wants to rank as high as possible in search engine results to attract as much traffic as possible. There are many ways to get to the top. One method aiming to improve SEO is article spinning.
What is article spinning?
Article or content spinning refers to the process of rewriting an article such as a blog post on a website by switching out words, rephrasing parts of the text, and using synonyms to make it look like a whole new article. Rather than creating new content from scratch, article spinning is a cheap way to avoid plagiarism and instead generate large amounts of seemingly unique content in a short amount of time.
The idea behind article spinning is to avoid duplicate content that may be penalized by search engines such as Google. At the same time, people use article-spinning software to recreate articles hundreds or thousands of times, then submit those different versions to other websites, benefitting from links back to their own page they have included in those articles. Google and other search engines tend to rank websites higher that are often linked to as they appear to be more popular and of higher value to readers.
How does article spinning affect my search rankings?
Article spinning is a black hat SEO strategy. While it may temporarily boost your search rankings thanks to more links to your website, there are long-term downsides.
Many articles created via article spinning lack authenticity and are harder to read and understand. Search engines such as Google constantly update their algorithms in order to keep the internet ‘clean’ and ensure their users are only presented with high-quality search results. Duplicate content, no matter how well it is concealed, may result in harsh punishments including your website being temporarily or permanently taken off the index list, meaning it will no longer appear in search results.
What about content-spinning software?
There is a multitude of content-spinning software readily available online. A quick Google search reveals apps completely free of charge to more expensive versions. Most of them offer a range of features and various levels of automation. Some may simply switch out a few words and replace them with synonyms, others are a lot more sophisticated. The end result remains the same.
In short, content-spinning programs do not help create new or unique content. They produce a large quantity of text where each version slightly differs from the other. Not only can this have a negative impact on your rankings, it is also detrimental to the internet as a whole because it makes it harder for users to find what they are looking for and engage with content that is of value to them.
In its worst form, a spun article doesn’t have to make any sense at all and only needs to have a similar collection of words to the original article (check that link for a plagiarism and AI detection tool). It’s far from perfect. Your beautifully written original can end up with some unusual phrases!
An original sentence like…
“The cat leapt gracefully onto the table.”
… by re-write version #147 can easily turn into…
“The feline spring charmingly onto the slab.”
The nature of “Black Hat” spun articles is that they are not easy to read and really aren’t intended to be. Their sole purpose is to create a page of text that is broadly about the same topic as the original, to provide a vehicle for a link to another website.
How can I avoid article spinning?
Let’s face it. Finding a topic on the internet that hasn’t yet been written about is almost impossible. It is absolutely okay to use other articles and websites as a source of inspiration to create your own content. However, try to use your own voice by consolidating ideas and examining topics from a new angle. There is a fine line between paraphrasing and plagiarising. If in doubt, you can use an online plagiarism checker to make sure you haven’t accidentally copied someone else’s work.
If you are looking for quality content writers to provide your website users with regular news and updates, give the expert team at Energise Web a call today. Whether you are planning a regular blog or a one-off feature, we specialize in content writing for various industries to keep your audience engaged. We can also discuss your general SEO strategies to help boost your website rankings without risking Google penalties.
If you take 2-3 articles, combine them. Use the content and re-write with different sentences altogether, rearranging the order of various points and all. Is it still Black Hat?/?
Not if you’re creating an original article from the information in your source material and not just badly-rearranging it.
Thank you, Dave. That was a quick reply and good information too. Now I’d know what I can do with the articles and what I cannot.