How garden centres use duplicate content to be more successful

Experts have always been telling you to create unique content. If it’s not unique, Google won’t index you; you won’t hit the top-3 rankings and eventually, you have to file for bankruptcy. We’re not sure about the last point, but the other ones are true. 

But there are some examples in which duplicate content is useful on your website. Do you want to know when? Keep reading, and we’ll share with you the 5 cases where duplicate content is useful on your garden centre website!

 

1. Google won’t give you a penalty if you have duplicate content

 

It’s a myth Google will give you a penalty if you have duplicate content on your website. A lot of people we’re talking with, especially in the garden industry, are scared that duplicate content is like the plague: it will eat your website from the inside, harming your Google rankings. 

That’s a myth. 

If you copy/paste content from third parties, it won’t add value to your website nor will it rank well, but it doesn’t affect your rankings on other keywords. Google just ignores the content it has seen before. 

 

 

2. You don’t believe the previous point, do you?

That makes sense since old habits die hard. And myths die even harder. 

Perhaps you should spend some time reading the Google guidelines to find your conclusive answer. Have a look at https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/66359?hl=en and check this comment:

Duplicate content on a site is not grounds for action on that site unless it appears that the duplicate content intends to be deceptive and manipulate search engine results.

Your intent won’t be to manipulate search engine results. And if you do, you’re on the wrong website (try Black Hat World!). 

Now you know some duplicate content on your website isn’t a problem, we can explain how we use this to improve garden centre websites. 

 

3. How we use duplicate content

Since 2002, we have been sharing news items among websites who opt-in for this service. It makes sense to share practical information: if it’s time to buy a Christmas tree in Bristol, it’s probably time to buy a Christmas tree in Manchester as well. 

Why not share the content to make it cost-effective?

Having a team of dedicated writers is a huge investment for an individual garden centre. Sharing the costs of planning, copywriting, sourcing images and publishing the news item saves time and money. 

That’s how we help garden centres to get up to 12 news items a month on their website. 

 

4. Why would you have content on your website which isn’t ranking?

You’d be surprised to learn there’s more in life than Google rankings. 

Take your most loyal customer in mind. If she visits your website every week to check offers, doesn’t it make sense to give her some tips & inspiration on what’s going on in the garden? Don’t you think she wants to have an idea about the latest gardening trends? Or perhaps she needs tips to water her containers during her holiday? 

Visitors to your website expect you to have these things. You’re a garden centre. You’re an expert. And experts have useful information on their website. And according to Google Analytics, they love the content:

 

 

And to make sure you’re in charge, our flexible Platform tells you which news item will be published two weeks in advance, so you can always opt-out or edit the news item before it goes live. 

 

5. How our customers are using our content

Every lead is asking us about the content we provide and why we provide the same content to multiple garden centres. The question has been answered above. 

But it also matters how you use the content we provide.

Some garden centre marketers are using our news item as a starting point for their own unique news items. They use our articles as mock-ups, change the wording and tone of voice to make it Google-proof and upload it. No need to be creative. It’s a very effective way of having unique content without the hassle of sourcing information and doing research.

Other garden centres publish it as-is and use the images and snaps of the content on social media. It helps them to keep their social media channels up to date. These posts drive a lot of traffic without the need to spend a lot of time on writing content. 

And most garden centres use it to populate their newsletter. They add their offers and events to the newsletter and use the news item to give customers some hardcore gardening tips. 

Successful garden centres know how to get the most out of the content provided by Garden Connect. Among them is the group of 28 GroenRijk garden centres in the Netherlands. 

 

 

6. When not to use duplicate content

So duplicate content can be used now and then, but there’s one place where you should avoid it like the plague: your webshop.

Your webshop is online to drive traffic and to generate sales: online and offline. 

If you want to catch visitors who are looking for “garden furniture New York”, you’d better have unique content about garden furniture. 

It’s a no-go to copy descriptions from your supplier on your website. It would be best if you had unique descriptions on your own webshop, period. 

 

In an ideal world, all content on your website is unique. Our team of 7 content marketers is creating unique content for our customers every day. But if your budget is limited, you’d better have some generic news items on your website. It won’t drive a lot of traffic via Google, but at least your visits are informed & inspired. With a limited budget, the alternative will be a website without any content. 

Do you want to learn how we help garden centres to develop a content marketing strategy? Or do you need some garden centre marketing ideas? Reach out to us via sjors@gardenconnect.com or call +44 203 475 5541.