Website has copied my articles and ranking higher

1. 96

   alexadryposted 8 years ago

   There is a website that has copied  from 3 Hubs I have here--very likely even more. They have though changed the words around so to disguise, but it is clear that they have used my articles to get all their ideas as every paragraph section tackles the same subjects and this can't be a mere coincidence as all 3 articles use the same style.  How do I tackle something like that? I am used to report to Google when websites copy and paste word-by-word but is there something I can do about something like this? What's worse is that Google gives this website a higher ranking apparently because it's not a "content farm" so the articles they have copied are surpassing my original ones here on Hubpages.  Very sad:(
   
   Found other 4 articles. I think about 75% of this website is built by just re-wording my articles, same topics, same subheads just all strategically re-worded. Any ideas if there is something I can do about it?
   
   Update: I found them on Facebook, website has 112,000 likes (pretty impressive for lifting other people's work) and sent them an email to their admin. Explained that copying is more than copy and paste and that re-wording other people's ideas is also a form of plagiarism and gave them 2 options: to credit me and post a link back or to remove the sections that are copied. Found so far 18 articles based on mine,  there are many more but got too tired of searching. Website is in the UK and has been getting over 2.5 Million visitors a month!

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   1. 91

      Susana Sposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      From memory I think you only need 6 words copied in sequence to make a copyright complaint. If there are a few strings like this you should be able to get the work removed from the host and google. I know I've had spun articles successfully removed from google search. If they have AdSense then I'd go for that first - hit them where it hurts.

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   2. 54

      paradigm searchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      .
      The website and situation you have described is one that Google very much wants to hear about.
      
      https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Pw1KVO … 5340082246
      
      Here's hoping you can put that thief out of business.

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2. 71

   Happy Momentposted 8 years ago

   It is very disheartening to see someone reaping from your own effort without your consent. Hard work never goes unrewarded. Sorry.

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3. 69

   Duane Reeveposted 8 years ago

   Sorry to hear this has happened to you. It's something that is very difficult to prevent. The only tool I know of that helps prevent plagiarism is www.copyscape.com. IT may be worth your while checking them out or even contacting them for advice...

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4. 80

   LeanManposted 8 years ago

   Susana's advice is sound, if you can get the posts taken down for plagiarism then that is best - but then they may just go ahead and change the wording a little more! Also check on the images!
   
   Unfortunately if someone has completely rewritten your article and none of the text is the same then it can be hard to prove that it is your article. But kick up a stink anyway!
   
   You have over 10 million views and many hundreds of articles on dogs here - you really should consider doing what those other sites are doing! Google is never going to favor HubPages as an authority site on dogs so it is always going to rank other dedicated sites way above this site which is why this other site is able to copy your articles and make a killing on them.
   
   I would seriously suggest that you have your own dedicated site rather than just using HP, this is a good place to start but you are going to get far more traffic and potential earnings through a site of your own if you don't already have it. There is no need to remove articles from here - I would do exactly what the other site is doing and just rewrite your own articles and republish on your own site.
   
   Good luck

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