Here's a question I received today about duplicate content in article marketing.

Nicole – I have a potential client that is concerned about article submissions. She was told that Google requires a 20% change in the article or it's discounted. Have you heard of this?

I actually receive this question quite often. And, I just wrote a huge long response and, of course, my internet connection blurped and I lost it. 😐 So, here's take two.

This is the gist of things. Article marketing has many benefits outside of google. It can open doors for you as an expert. (Examples: Kelly McCausey of WAHMTalkRadio.com hits the article directories when she needs to find a guest. I've been interviewed for huge newspapers from articles I've written.)

Article marketing can also help build relationships with leads, and get your articles in front of thousands of people when your articles get published in ezines.

Articles are also a great tool to provide to your affiliates so they can promote you as well.

Does google count every single instance of every single article you publish on multiple sites? No. It would be silly of them to. Many article submission services will blast your article to hundreds of article directories. It wouldn't make sense for google to have every instance of the same article show up for a particular search term. (In fact it would be dumb. And, google is NOT dumb.)

My point here (yes, I have one) is to focus on building a “quality” business, and not get caught up in these details. Focus on writing “really” good articles that stand apart from all the rewritten PLR trash that is being circulated. Focus on writing articles that your affiliates will want to put on their websites. Focus on writing articles that the huge ezine publishers will snap up and send to their huge lists. That's so much more important than “gaming” the search engines.

And, yes, I've tried spinning, and I've tried rewriting my articles. To me, I'd much rather focus on things that directly make me money. Take the advice or leave it. I'd love to hear your opinion as well. 🙂

End of lecture. Now, get writing!

Nicole

PS. My course www.EasyArticleMarketing.com is still a big seller. If you're new to this topic, I suggest you check it out.