What is duplicate content, and why does it matter?

Duplicate content is when the same, or almost the same, content can be reached at more than one URL, and it matters because Google may split ranking signals or choose a version you do not want to show in search results.

For most local business sites, duplicate content is not a “penalty” situation. It’s a clarity situation. If Google sees five URLs that look like the same page, it has to decide which one is the “main” version. That decision can push the wrong page into the index, dilute internal linking signals, and waste crawl time on duplicates instead of your money pages and proof content.

Common duplicate content causes we see in Orlando business sites include: http vs https versions, www vs non-www versions, trailing slash changes, URL parameters from ads or tracking, printer-friendly pages, WordPress category and tag archives that repeat excerpts, and “service area” pages that are basically copy and paste with a city name swap (Winter Park, Kissimmee, Lake Mary, and so on). Even if Google figures it out eventually, you are giving it extra work and you are giving your customers extra ways to land on a weaker version of the page.

• Exact duplicates: the same page text at multiple URLs (often from redirects not set up, or multiple page templates).
• Near duplicates: pages that are 90% the same (city pages, provider pages, or thin blog variations).
• External duplicates: your content republished on another site or directory without a clear original source signal.

The fix is usually simple: pick one “preferred” URL for each piece of content and make everything point there. That means using one version of your domain, one version of each page URL, and one version of the page content.

Here’s the order we like for small business websites:

1. Lock your preferred domain format: choose https, and choose either www or non-www, then 301 redirect the other versions to the preferred one.
2. Use a canonical tag when duplicates must exist: for example, product filters, tracking parameters, or very similar pages that you still need for users. (If you want the plain-English version, see our FAQ on what a canonical tag is and when to use it.)
3. Fix duplicate paths created by CMS settings: for WordPress, watch category, tag, author, and search result pages that repeat content, and noindex the ones you do not want indexed.
4. Clean up location and service pages: if you serve multiple areas, build fewer, stronger pages with real differences, like local photos, job examples, reviews that mention that area, FAQs you actually get, and staff or location details. City name swaps are easy to spot and usually do not hold rankings.
5. Point internal links to the preferred URL: your navigation, footer, and in-content links should all use the same final URL format. Our FAQ on how URL structure affects SEO explains why consistency here helps.

If you want help finding and fixing duplicates without guessing, our SEO service usually starts with a crawl and a short list of fixes that remove confusion fast, like canonical settings, redirects, and page cleanup that improves which URLs Google keeps.

A quick gut check: if you can copy a paragraph from one page and paste it into five other pages without changing anything meaningful, that content is probably not doing much for rankings or conversions. We would rather help you ship one strong page that looks real to customers in Central Florida than publish ten lookalikes that compete with each other.