Someone wrote about the same subject as I did.

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   poppyrposted 6 years ago

   I don’t think they did it on purpose, but I just saw on my feed an article which is almost the same as an article I wrote around a year ago. What do I do, comment on their article with a link to mine or just leave it? I don’t want to lose traffic but also don’t want to upset that person or make them feel they have to delete an article that probably took a while to write.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      If you think this person "spun" your article, I'd email the team about it and let them decide.  However, the truth is that millions of people write on line, many on the same topic.  You just have to make sure that your article is better than theirs!  This is why updating is so important.

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         CatherineGiordanoposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Good advice. It only happened to me once. It was obvious that the hubber (who was new to HP and maybe didn't know better) had spun my article. I reported it to HP. I don't know what happened.
         
         No one can claim ownership of a subject; but you can claim ownership to your words and to some extent, your approach to the topic.
         
         Fortunately, hubbers who spin usually aren't good writers, and they don't last long on HP. Just make sure your article meets all the quality standards and you shouldn't be hurt by the copycat.

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      Christy Kirwanposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Hi poppyr,
      
      I know this can be really frustrating, but unfortunately, as others have mentioned here, unless the other author is plagiarizing you or spinning your content, there's nothing much we can do.
      
      The good news is that your article has a head start in gaining traffic and authority from Google. As long as you keep your page updated and make sure it is the best resource on the subject possible, you will most likely not lose traffic even if other people write about the same thing later.

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   EricDockettposted 6 years ago

   Unless they have plagiarized your article there isn't much you can do. We all step on each other's toes from time to time. It's one of the downsides to writing on a site like this.
   
   It would be nice if people would take the time to look before writing an article. If you are already ranking for a keyword it is unlikely they will unseat you in the SERPs. It doesn't help them, and it certainly doesn't help you.
   
   I have a fairly successful niche account written around a certain topic. A few years back another Hubber decided not only would he start writing extensively about the same top, but he'd cop a lot of my style and even the format of many of my titles. He obviously looked at what I had been doing and went from there. 
   
   It really, really sucks, and I'm sure it has cost me some traffic, but like I said, not much you can do.

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   theraggededgeposted 6 years ago

   Also, because the search function is so useless, it's difficult to check if someone else has covered it in a similar way.
   
   It's fine to write about the same topics as someone else as long as your approach is different.

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      EricDockettposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      During the process of keyword research you can see if someone is already ranking for those keywords on one of the niche sites.
      
      You can also use the site: search function in google to find similar titles.
      
      Unfortunately, many Hubbers have no idea what any of that means.

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         theraggededgeposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, however they may not be ranking well, but you might still tread on their toes, as it were. Who's going to scroll through Google looking for a possible match?
         
         The site search function is a better idea

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   Barbara Kayposted 6 years ago

   Some of the topics I wrote about years ago now have as many as 3 other hubs covering the same topic. With this many writers on the site it is just to be expected.
   
   Because your hub is older, it should always stay at the top. At least that is my experience. Just be sure to keep it the best. Don't worry about saying anything to the other person.

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   Ladymermaidposted 6 years ago

   Never link drop as this is spam and would defeat the purpose of writing responsibly.

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   Kenna McHughposted 6 years ago

   "Rewriting" articles from the Internet is  a common practice. I don't think the original writer has recourse.

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   Wesman Todd Shawposted 6 years ago

   I never think about whether or not someone has already done a subject which I wish to write about. There was one time when I did want to do a thing and I saw that my biggest competitor here had already done it, and so I opted not to waste my time.
   
   I write about a lot of stuff, but I have one primary focus, and there is another guy on the network who also has that focus. He's every bit as good as I am, and possibly better. It's not a big deal. He's good. I'm okay. There is always going to be room on the internet for one more article. Always. May the best scribbler win, and they will.
   
   But yeah, spun is spun, and spun ain't no fun. You know what? If someone spun your stuff, it blows, but it presents you with an opportunity to make your original page better than it once was.

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