Affiliate programs and added value
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Monday, January 27, 2014
Our quality guidelines warn
against running a site with thin or
scraped content without adding
substantial added value to the user. Recently, we've seen this behavior on many video sites,
particularly in the adult industry, but also elsewhere. These sites display content provided by an
affiliate program—the
same content that is available across hundreds or even thousands of other sites.
If your site syndicates content that's available elsewhere, a good question to ask is: "Does this
site provide significant added benefits that would make a user want to visit this site in search
results instead of the original source of the content?" If the answer is "No," the site may
frustrate searchers and violate our quality guidelines. As with any violation of our quality
guidelines, we may take action, including removal from our index, in order to maintain the quality
of our users' search results. If you have any questions about our guidelines, you can ask them in
our
Webmaster Help Forum.
Posted by Chris Nelson, Search Quality Team
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
[null,null,[],[],["The provided content highlights concerns regarding websites with thin or scraped content, especially on video sites using affiliate programs. Sites must offer substantial added value beyond content readily available elsewhere to avoid violating quality guidelines. Such violations may result in actions, including removal from the search index. The core issue is whether a site offers unique benefits that would draw users instead of directing them to the original content source. Questions regarding the quality guidelines can be asked in the Webmaster Help Forum.\n"],null,[]]
