What is plagiarism exactly? Ok, hold on for a second and let me look up (flips through the “P” in of a dictionary)…found it.
“The act of plagiarism is to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own.” – Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
See, we now have an official definition of the word…Wait, I think…I did attribute the definition to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, right? Who we do and who we don’t attribute our research and writings to can impact our lives as well the reputation for whom we write. Consequently, plagiarism can cause college students to become expelled; professionals to become ex-professionals or even worse, behind bars. Plagiarism is a big deal and rightfully so!
Then why do some SEO firms practice questionable methods of optimization by creating content that is unoriginal and, in some cases, plagiarism? Easy, creating original content, just like in school, takes time and it takes effort.
Copying and pasting content with specific keywords that cater to your optimization plans may seem like the easy thing to do. Instead, creating content that is already available on the internet can be contra-effective to your SEO efforts.
Furthermore, let me pose a question: what would happen to the physical environment we live in if citizens simply threw all of their trash out onto the streets? What if people shared their ideas via irresponsible methods, e.g., plagiarism?
The internet is a growing virtual environment where citizens are capable of sharing ideas, beliefs, experiences, knowledge and power to others. Just like the physical environment, the virtual environment has become polluted in some way shape or form – some areas are worse than others. But, with all the media attention focused on the unhealthy state of the physical environment, there should be equal attention paid to the internet (since many of us probably go online more than go outside on a daily basis).
What can we do to take action against continued pollution of our virtual environment?
Take it upon yourself to be creative and innovative. Write new content that is formidable and attributed to a source – when beyond the realms of your own expert knowledge and experiences. By all means, avoid using duplicated content (content that is already in existence on the internet). Finally, write content for your customers and not for search engines; this will be more effective over the long-term.
Here at The Clix Group, we pride ourselves on our use of innovative, original and creative methods to market our clients. We believe in putting in that extra effort to not only grow our clients’ firms but also help maintain sustainability and originality within the virtual environment – our internet.
