What is it and why does it happen?
It is so easy these days to start a website and install a bunch of plugins that will go content scraping. Scraper bots can source content from various websites so that it is possible to create an entire website with stolen content.
There are many reasons for why someone would want to scrape content from your site. Pure laziness is one of them. Another is a lack of resources to produce quality content. Sometimes site owners hire out content creation to someone else and are themselves unaware that their site contains scraped content.
Some website owners try to create a one stop database about a certain subject by sourcing from various sites based on a similar theme. Usually though, these sites are using your content to make money by advertising or through affiliate commissions.
How does it work?
There are two methods of content scraping. One is using a content scraper bot that scrapes and copies content from various sources. Another is manually looking for relevant content and reposting it somewhere else without accrediting the original source. Sometimes a person will cherry pick the best material – articles, posts, images – that is relevant to the theme of their website.
Why is it bad for your blog?
Someone else reaps the benefits of the time and resources you have put into creating quality content. Scrapers use your content to gain higher page rankings, stealing away the audience that you get from search engine results. Worst of all, Google can’t always distinguish the original website from the scrapers and has sometimes been known to mark down the original website.
How to find out if your site is a victim of content scraping?
One of the easiest ways to find out is to Google Search with exact article titles. Another way to keep a check on scrapers is to provide interlinks in the content and tracking the backlinks. WordPress has an option that notifies you every time someone backlinks to your site. High numbers of backlinks from a single site or multiple backlinks from a single page are usually good reasons to check that site out.
What do I do if I know that my blog content is being scraped?
You can contact the site owner through the contact form on the website if there is one and ask them to take the content down. Whois.com can also help determine who the IP address is registered with. If they refuse to take the content down you have the option of filing a DCMA complaint against the site owner.
It takes a lot of time and energy to follow up on these instances of content scraping, contacting each site owner and getting them to take down your content. At times, it may seem best to do nothing. While prevention is certainly better than having to chase down each scraper, entirely avoiding taking any action is not considered to be a good idea.
Some tips and tricks
Disabling trackbacks and pingbacks can be helpful in some ways. It doesn’t give the scraper an option to steal your audience by posting a link on your page or to have his website authenticated by you in the form of a backlink.
You can also download plugins that will help you deter content scraping in various ways. Look for plugins that will add text attributing the content to you in the RSS feed itself. If a bot is sourcing the content from your RSS feed, it will publish this information along with the content, thereby identifying you as the original source. There are also plugins available that will block the IP addresses that are scraping content from your blog.
You can even turn content scraping to your advantage with a few simple techniques. Add internal links to your website within the body of the content, which allows the traffic to be redirected your own website when posted elsewhere. Adding your own affiliate links can also help increase your revenue, especially if the scraper website has a higher reach.
Summary
As of now, there is no foolproof method to completely prevent content scraping. The best thing to do is take preventative measures, be alert, take immediate action, and above all, keep creating great content.