Whenever someone’s copied your content,  out of ten people who have talked to me on this, nine panic !
After all, someone’s copied your content and is not a good thing. Plagiarism and scraping have been there on the web since blogging, but largely popular these days. Earlier, only high traffic, money making blogs were scraped but these days even smaller unpopular blogs are copied.

The Wikipedia says-

Web Scraping (sometimes called harvesting) generically describes any of various means to extract content from a website over HTTP for the purpose of transforming that content into another format suitable for use in another context.

So is scraping bad? How does it affect you and How can you block scrapers?

First off, I’d suggest that you relax in such situations. There’s nothing to panic as such, when someone is scraping your website/content.

The reason - If someone is stealing your content, that means that guy is clearly a struggler and has a fairly new site, with no authority whatsoever. And in most cases, the site will not have any original content at all, with lot of outgoing links, and the content on the site will be far too similar (remember those templates they use where only your name is changed?) and there’s duplicate content all over the place.

So in effect, he is not going to affect you in any ways, either in stealing your traffic on Google SERPs or in any other way.
All he is doing is copying content from different sites like your’s with a pre made template, in the futile hope that aggregating all the content will automatically throw him up on the SERPs. Which clearly does not happen.

Now, the case is different when an authority site or a relatively older/popular site scrapes content. While I have all the guts to believe that an authority site will not do such practices, accidents can happen.

An example here - Yahoo India had offered it’s content development outsourced to a private firm in Bangalore. These smart chaps went around the Internet copying all the content related to the Yahoo requests and provided them in plenty. What they did is actually rephrasing of the already existing content, and re-packaging it for Yahoo. But there were content like Indian cooking recipes, which had very little content to “rephrase”. So they ended up providing the same thing to Yahoo.

Now, the original site who wrote the content came to know about this, and files a complaint. Long story short - Yahoo lost the case and sacked the outsourcing partner.

The problem here was that, the outsourcing partner copied content from a relatively lesser known site (but with original content) and provided it to yahoo. Now Yahoo being an authority site, ranked better than the original site for all the same content. And this infact troubled the relatively lesser known site.

So in such cases where the “copy cat” has more authority, you have a reason to panic but not otherwise. Mostly in the cases of XML Scrapers, there’s no need to panic.

How can you block scrapers copying your site’s content?

There are more than one way to do it.

• Always link to one of your previous articles on the blog
  A simple text link in your article that links to one or more of your previous articles will make sure that while the scrapers are copying your content, the link still remains and you can trace them from the backlink. And it sometimes help you with another incoming link, it helps when counting number of backlinks on Yahoo, if not Google and some folks even think this is a good thing.
  So include a text link to your blog articles and you have a solution.
• Use partial feeds
  A main source of scraping is XML feeds. As all the blogs these days have a full feed published, it’s easy for scrapers to just leech out the content from teh full feed. It is a clever option to offer only partial feeds, but this could also result in unhappy genuine subscribers. So it is your take to decide whether you want to do it the harsh way or not.
• Use a copyrighter plugin
  If you are on Wordpress there ar plugins available that will help you to include a copyright notice on your XML feeds.
  You can get a nice plugin here
• Use a linkback and signature credit text
  A wiser option is to use a signature text on all your feesd, that may contain a linkback to the original blog and your signature. This will appear on all the scrpaers site too, thereby ensuring credit to your blog.
  Ex:- The one Lorelle has on her articles

If you are looking at content theft and how to fight it legally, Amit has a good article on it.

There are more technical ways to curb the scraping issue, but I leave that to the discussion as I’m unsure of them. Essentially, the fact is that while scraping or copying content can be annoying, there isn’t much you have to worry about becauase these copycats are going to weed out soon.
So ignore them, they keep mushrooming here and there, and is not worth the attention, and like someone said, use them may be for getting some backlinks, I can’t agree that they are of any good use, but yes if you are fond of numbers, may be it will help.

This is no exaggeration. A true story I’d like to share with you, probably you’ll have something to take back home.

I had launched a new website this April 12, related to the IPL chennai super kings. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a cricket team in the Indian Premier League and I support them. I had started this website just because I had to support them and the official website was scrap. I had no intentions of monetizing it, as a matter of fact I wanted to have a better site for the fans, that’s about it. But things have gone totally out of hand now (for the good that is.). Let me tell you in detail.

This is how the whole thing began.

- April 12
Started the blog, put up a good theme from WP Designer, and put a few content as well.
- The next few days, I kept adding more content and used the social media to promote it. Well, that’s submitting content to all those guys out there.
- Placed a banner ad on DailySEOblog.(Check out the right hand panel)
Traffic - Nil

- April 13-15
- Site indexed on Google, picked up a few positions on the SERPs for terms such as “chennai super kings pics” and “chennai super kings wallpaper”.
Traffic - Around 50-100 uniques a day

- April 15-18
Added more unique content, wallpapers, pics, siggies (You know the boys stuff! )
Traffic - Around 50-200 uniques a day

- April 18 - 22
Nothing at all as I was attending the Bangalore Barcamp, and took a days leave further
When I left on 18th to bangalore the traffic was around 300-400 uniques a day. And when I came back, the traffic was around 500 uniques a day.
That got me exciting, as I saw the traffic trickling down, decided to do some “home work” on it.
Though on a tight schedule, decided to spend some time on it, since I saw that on Google Trends, the search frequency for IPL related terms were increasing.

Okay, so I went about doing a quick SEO campaign for the site, the next few days.

1. Went about using all the powers on my social media network and promoted some unique content that was there on the site.
2. Targeted some regional networks, like the star brand amassadors fan sites and networks, and gave them some exclusive viral content to feed on.
3. Link building, link building. No, not the typical directory submission for page rank, but the “new kind” that helps the content travel places and keeps the bots busy on the site. This worked and articles were now getting indexed within 30 minutes.
4. Used Google Trends to fish out the IPL related keywords
5. Wrote excellent SE optimized content targeting the keywords and their combinations.
6. Traffic just multiplied by 100 times (see the stats) in just two days.

Looks very simple eh? It is indeed. Simple strategies but doing the right thing at the right time really matters.
If you look at what I achieved in numbers, check the stats.

Current Stats

VISITS

Total 17,236
Average Per Day 2,097 (It was in 200-300 range 5 days earlier)
Average Visit Length 1:29
Last Hour 175
Today 1,159
This Week 14,677

PAGE VIEWS

Total 34,471
Average Per Day 3,863
Average Per Visit 1.8
Last Hour 345
Today 2,192
This Week 27,044

Traffic Stats over the last 7 days

I think for the little effort from my side, the results are very interesting.

Some crucial things that made me achieve the results are -

i) Putting up a banner ad on DailySEOblog. (If you want one, do let me know)
ii) Promoting the site genuinely on the social media (Mind you, this isn’t just about digging and thumbs ups)
iii) Some careful and timely Keyword research
iv) Some clever onsite SE optimization
v) Getting control over the bots as to when and how should they crawl

Now, that the traffic is there, I’ve put up AdSense ( bad choice huh?) and some banner ads, if at all they make some money, why not try them?

TR Cosby, is a graphic designer from Atlanta, Georgia. An ardent reader of DailySEOblog, Cosby sent me a testimonial today, I thought you might find it interesting. Here it is..(psst..bragging is a shameless thing to do I know, but this one sure is interesting, so…)

Before I read the Daily SEO Blog written by Mani Karthik, I was clueless as to what in the world I was going to do to try and learn Search Engine Optimization. I was new to blogging, and my expertise in the area of HTML, linking, keywords, titles… was virtually non-existent. I was an internet moron who didn’t have a prayer. I own several businesses and I have written a published book, so I knew I had to get on the ball at some point. I don’t remember how it happened exactly, but one night I was surfing the net and I came across Mani’s blog by accident. Thank God I did. Because of Mani’s amazing knowledge and willingness to help people, I am now quite schooled in the areas of blogging, HTML, keywords… and I am growing more confident with all of it every day. It’s safe to say, and it may sound rather cliche, but it is true, Mani Karthik has changed my life. When I do go on to make an online fortune I will be coming back and thanking this awesome SEO Professional. I salute you Mani, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your blog. - T. R. Cosby - Atlanta, Ga.

If you’d like to sent me a testimonial, feel free to do so here.

(Cosby, Thanks for the testimonial. I’m sorry but DailySEOblog will rank better hereafter for a google search on your name, hope that’s okay.)

So that means there’s lot happening behind the scenes, eh? Shortly after the release of Wordpress 2.5, Version 2.5.1 is in the stable. WP 2.5.1 includes a number of bug fixes, performance enhancements, and one very important security fix (Does anyone know what the hell is this?). The wordpress community recommends that everyone update immediately, particularly if your blog has open registration. The vulnerability is not public but it will be shortly. I’m guessing it’s got to do something with the “open registration” thing.

And yea, if you are not upgrading because you think it’s a boring process, there’s this cool Wordpress Automatic Upgrade plugin from Keith that let’s you do it in a few clicks! Yup, the wizard stuff.

Meanwhile, any guesses on what the vulnerability is? Developers?

AdSense is indeed a fine tool to generate some cool cash online. The problem with many young bloggers is that they simply don’t use the AdSense units to optimal use. By optimal use I mean, getting the maximum from the ads using the least resources.

Many bloggers end up just adding the AdSense codes and just earn a few bucks from it even though there is good traffic. The problem here is that they are not able to make use of the traffic and use the ads in the right way to get the clicks.

Well, after all, all AdSense gurus say is  - put the ads in between the articles, mask them, use all the allowed ad units etc. Well, who doesn’t know that? Here are few AdSense plugins for wordpress I found interesting. Now, I can’t possibl tell you how and when to use it. That’s left for the clever guys, but I’ve found luck with most of them. They increase the revenue and also make managing ads a whole lot easier on AdSense.

1. AdSense Deluxe plugin that makes managing multiple ads easier
   This is a ultra cool plugin that helps you to add the adsense code anywhere in your post/theme. Very much manageable and configurable.
2. AdSense manager that helps you manage ads from one interface
   This AdSense plugin helps you to manage several ad-codes from one place and manage them wisely even allowing you to inject it at places without code editing. Cool.
3. AdSense plugin that injects code automatically
   This adsense plugin does not use the tag replacement way, instead it automatically adds adsense codes to older posts, in a finger snap.
4. AdSense plugin for sidebar
   This plugin lets you add the adsense codes to your sidebar and not the articles. Just copy paste the ad-code to the text area in dashboard and voila! it appears on the sidebar.
5. Add AdSense codes inline between posts
   yes, this plugin basically does that. it allows you to add the AdSense code in between articles, between the lines neatly.
6. AdSense plugin that allows to add images next to ads
   No..No..No, I know it is illegal, but this is not it. This plugin helps you add images next to your ads and also adds a line in between. This is legal according to google TOS. Update: This is against Google TOS. Sorry for the wrong information.
   
7. Increase revenue with AdSense referrals
   This plugin adds a neat “Install Firefox” button on your blog that has your referral code in it. So whenever there’s someone who visits your blog from another browser other than Firefox, it throws up the button (not to FF users). You can earn up to 1$ per referral.
8. Revenue Sharing Ads with AdSense
   This plugin helps Admins and a certain number of users with privilege to share their AdSense ads and revenue from it.
9. Simple plugin to rotate between any number of ad codes
   This is great if you are using other ads along with AdSense. When users get different ads each time, there is an increased possibility for attention and clicks.
10. No code edits, easy installation - Same stuff
    Well, this is no different plugin. It helps you add AdSense codes without no code edits. All configurable from the dashboard.
11. Target your ads effectively
    This is a cool plugin that gives you more control over how ads are triggered on AdSense ad units. It helps you with section targeting feature in a more configurable way.
12. Make money from Google referral ads
    This is a cool plugin if you are looking to earn more revenue from the Google AdSense referral scheme. It simply keeps throwing up different referral ads to the readers on the blog. Simple and effective, if you have the right crowd.
13. A plugin to selectively display the AdSense ads ( Super Cool )
    A great plugin that allows you to decide whom the AdSense ads should be shown to. you can decide from search engine traffic, direct hits, older posts etc. lot of options and a brilliant idea to increase your revenue.

There was this interesting thread on Sitepoint forums, where a travel blog was advertised as for sale. It’s PR 6, so I thought I may buy it and headed to the details. Found that the site is www.richardsturner.com and immediately dropped the idea.

Okay, that was a fast forward of what really happened. Let me unfold the story.

Sitepoint is a great place to buy and sell online properties. If not tried it yet, do have a look. What interests me there is the “Established sites for sale” thread, where lot of great online resources are for sale (I thought I already told you that.)

Now, if you are trying to make money online with AdSense and some SEO work, there is an alternative to your “post daily - earn daily” methodology. Of course, you know that building a great website will take almost 6 months time and that too with good posting frequency and steady traffic. But, if you are after the money part, this is a risk you take. There is no guarantee that the site will do well and your hard work may not pay off, well if it does the world will know you, but yea, just thinking otherwise.

A better alternative is to find a great website, on a niche you are comfortable working with, and buy it with both the hands. Now, that’s smart work ! Well, before you buy, you may have to check a few basic details.

Now, the point here is (regards to the earlier case), the blog was on a good niche - Travel, something that I always wanted to experiment with and also the site had a reputation. PR6 is not too bad, is it?

Well, the prob here are two things.

1 - The site had a personal touch to it.
Richard Sturner, in whose name the site is about, is no longer associated with the blog. Boooooo ! That put me down in the first place. I’m not sure if readers will associate with the brand after the sale or not.

2 - The site had been selling links on TLA.
Boooooooooooo!! So that means your page rank is going to get screwed and you might be taken off the SERPs, and that’s indeed a huge risk.

So essentially, if your site had a personal brand, like your name/photo, on your blog and worse if you had your name as the domain, it’s better you not sell the blog. It makes sense to keep the domain to yourself, but if at all selling the blog, let that not be public. Because, your readers may be sticking to your blog because of your expertise and once it is not there, readers simply don’t see the point in following it.

Okay back to some basics today. (Once in a while it’s good to check them right?)

Vaibhav asks what exactly is the search engine friendly URL on Wordpress. Well, very interesting question indeed.
A SEO friendly URL is one which allows the search engine spiders to actually find out what the content is, from the URL itself. So any URL that has sensible phrases and word combinations that help the search engines to find out the content on the page without even going through the content can be termed as search engine friendly. Having said that, the phrases and keywords on the URL should be complimentary to the content on the website and not spammy.

Let’s see how you can make the default URL on wordpress search engine friendly.

If you go to Settings > Permalinks form your Dashboard, you’ll reach the permalinks console that let’s you tweak them. The default option in wordpress is something similar to this - http://www.dailyseoblog.com/?p=123

There are other options as well.
1) Day and name - http://www.dailyseoblog.com/2008/04/22/sample-post/
2) Month and name - http://www.dailyseoblog.com/2008/04/sample-post/
3) Numeric - http://www.dailyseoblog.com/archives/123
4) Custom Structure

The best SEO friendly structure among this is the first one - Day and Time, but the only unnecessary factor is that it’s too long. You only need the Year and Month OR the Month and Date OR the Date alone. We don’t need all of them.

So opt for the “Custom Structure” and give in this format - /%year%/%day%/%postname%/

An alternative way of doing it is including your “Categories” in the URL.
/%year%/%category%/%postname%/

But in this case, I assume that you have SEO friendly categories and are using only one category for each post.

So essentially, make sure that you give all the options on the URL for the search engines to read and make out what the content on your website is all about. So a default option of “www.dailyseoblog.com/?p=123″ gives no information to the search engines, while a custom structure of “www.dailyseoblog.com/2008/how-to-write-seo-friendly-permalinks” does.

Hope it all made sense.

Taking a look around, (some people completely miss that out, while obsessively getting stuck to watching their own blog time and again) I found some interesting articles from friends around. These guys are worth a read.

• Some addictive habits of bloggers to kick this season - From Daniel.  Cool one !
• Things you got to keep in mind while moving your site - Must read from the Google Team.
• Brett has eight ways to remove negative search results - Good points there.
• Zac has an awesome article on improving your landing page - Must Read
• Wired has a good article on how to fight splogs - Must Must Read
• Why big brands need SEO - Good question, well answered by Lisa Barone

And there were some changes and news in the Social Media space, you might have missed or already knew.

• Digg has a new account on Twitter - Mutual symbiosis?
• Alexa announced it’s new ranks with new algorithm - Check your Alexa stats if you haven’t. There might be a surprise around.
• Now you can import your Digg stories on to Facebook profile page - Don’t ask me why you want to do that.

Hola amigos! So how many of you are gonna be there at Bengaluru?
It’s a two day program at IIMB and I’m hoping it’ll be more fruitful than the Mumbai Barcamp. There are some interesting sessions lined up, so can’t wait to get there! Feel free to grab me from the crowd for a chat.

In a reply to this article , Krishna asked a doubt in the comments section.

(a) What is the difference between category and tag in wordpress?
(b) How do we use it effectively for SEO?

That’s a very good question(s) there. I believe many of us had it in mind but did not quite ask it out probably.

Let me try to answer.

We have to see this in two perspectives.

i) The functionality/usability perspective
ii) The SEO perspective

If we take the functionality perspective, on the first look both tags and categories look alike.
Because, they do the same job.

Tags and categories, both are used to label or name articles and arrange them.
If a user clicks on a tag/category URL, he is taken to a page with relevant information.

And there ends the similarity.

Take the usability perspective.

When are tags used?

Tags are used when you have an article that’s already written and you want as many descriptions to it that will associate that article to various topics.
Ex:-  In an article about Michael Jackson, I may use tags like “king of pop” “MJ” and “Michael jackson”

These tags are one-word descriptions of the most important aspects of the article. I’d say - they are tentacles you gift your article so that it can reach out to other social media channels out there on the web, like Technorati for instance.

On Wordpress, tags are used to label a particular article with the most prominent keywords or commonly recognizable words.

Coming to Categories,

When are categories used?

Categories are used to arrange a set of articles that falls into a common label by a common name.

For example, ten articles that I wrote about artists can be fled under the category - Pop. In the Pop category, there would be articles about Michael Jackson, Madonna and MLTR.

Differences in usage

• Tags are used to label important commonly recognizable keywords/topics in a single article. While categories are used to arrange more than one article into a common label.
• Tags are written once the article is written, while categories are made even before the articles are written.
• All categories can be tags but not all tags can be categories.

Ok, so let’s now take the SEO perspective.

If you’ve read my earlier posts, you’d have understood that while using categories, file only one article on one category. Filing a single article into more than one category increases the chances of duplicate content hence avoid it instead use one category for one article.

And that’s why tags are here. Tags allow you to use them on more than one article and make things simple. No long sidebars with long category lists, no or less duplicate content issues and no confusion.

So in the SEO perspective, both tags and categories pose a threat of duplicate content if used un necessarily and in the wrong way. But if you use them properly, then the duplicate content issues are minimized.

URL - Both the categories and tags have the same structure.
www.domain.com/tag/post and www.domain.com/category/post

But category will have more importance and page rank in Google’s eye rather than tags just because Category comes in on a higher hierarchy while tags comes down in a lower level.

So essentially, categories and tags serve the same purpose. But they support different entities. While an article can be multiple tagged, it is not adviceable to multi categorize an article. SEO wise, if they are used as per what they are really intended to be, they pose no threat but otherwise, they may take you to trouble.