Content Marketers Who Cheat
In today’s online marketing world marketers are pushed to get fast results: get heaps of content quickly, make sure it’s full of the right keywords, get on the first page of Google, get more clicks, feed the funnel, increase those enquiries so we can make more sales etc…
With so much pressure, it’s understandable that some marketers may want to find some shortcuts. I heard a story recently about a content marketer doing exactly that AND working for a busy Sydney agency.
Let me explain their strategy and maybe you can tell me if it’s wrong or right.
Copy, Refactor, Paste
This marketer looks up old websites that are expired and their content is no longer live on the web. They take this content, refactor it (chop it up), then republish it on their client’s websites.
Some would say this is genius but it puts my back up for a few reasons:
1. It’s Stealing
As a content writer myself, I understand that our inspiration often comes from other articles and content on the Web. But whether a website is live or not, doesn’t give you a free pass to their content. Also if some content really grabs you and you must share it, then you can easily reference it.
2. It’s Lazy
I know, too many content creators do this, but does this mean it’s right? Creating quality and original content takes time and brain power, but I feel in the long run, you stand a better chance of getting a customer’s attention, engaging them, and getting linked to and referenced if the content is truly yours.
3. It’s Risky
What if the old website is republished? Or the original content owner reuses their content? If they keep their original publish date, then you can look like you stole the content. To get around this, you would need to do some crazy refactoring, but then why not just use that time and energy to create your own articles?
Of course, I’m always open for discussion on this matter. As I mentioned, the pressure to get things moving quickly can create some desperate ideas. Black Hat SEO has been around since search engine ranking began, and although Google has clamped down and punished most websites using these techniques, there will always be people trying to get one by.
Ethical marketing rocks, and will always produce better results in the long term. so if your business is aiming for the long term, this is the smarter way to go.
As always I welcome your thoughts and comments…