Scraped content is text, images, or data taken from other websites, often automatically, and republished elsewhere. This entry covers the SEO meaning. Web scraping as a data collection technique is a wider field, and not all of it counts as spam.
What does Google say?
Google’s spam policies define scraping as taking content from other sites, often through automated means, and hosting it to manipulate search rankings. The examples are:
- republishing content without adding original content or value
- copying content and changing it only slightly, for instance with synonyms or other automated techniques
- reproducing content feeds without providing a unique benefit to users
The manual actions report in Search Console also points site owners to check for duplicates of content found elsewhere.
Scraping and syndication
Syndicated content appears on another site with permission and attribution. Scraped content is taken without either, according to Page One Power. Google’s guidance on syndication is a separate topic.
Example
A script pulls the product descriptions of a competitor’s shop every night and publishes them unchanged on another domain, with ads placed next to them.
Sources
- Spam policies: scraping – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- Manual actions report – Search Console Helpsupport.google.com
- Scraped Content Explained – Page One Power (secondary source)pageonepower.com
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