How to protect your content from stealing? Some of the best methods include internal linking, Google Alerts, plugins, and watermarks. Get professional tips from SEO and content-making specialists.
How to prevent content theft: tips and lifehacks
Content theft is probably the most common problem on the Internet. It can lead to traffic loss, lower-ranking, poorer reader loyalty, and other unpleasant consequences. While Google is quite good at detecting original authors and copied content, it is not enough. That is why it’s so important to take action: from setting Google Alerts and obtaining a DMCA badge to purchasing external hard drives and setting secure passwords.
What is plagiarism? How to do the internal linking? Is there a way to protect content offline? Continue reading and get all the answers in a matter of minutes.
1. Google Alerts and other tools
Google Alerts is a universal product that can be used in numerous ways. For example, to get inspiration, follow the news, or monitor the brand’s mentions. Google Alerts can be used as a plagiarism detector as well. It is very simple to use: indicate words, titles, or phrases that you want to find. You will get an alert every time a new post or article occurs.
A common way is to insert a seed phrase into every piece of content you create. For example, ‘At Domain.com we believe’. Or you can choose a new sentence for every post. When it occurs in someone else’s text, Google will let you know.
There are also a few other instruments that may be quite helpful: use a plugin to disable right-clicks or selection options. If a thief is too lazy, they won’t bother retyping everything you have written.
2. A DMCA badge
Digital Millennium Copyright Act or DMCA protects textual and visual content of your website and is available both in free and paid modes. When scammers are found, they receive official notification and a legal warning. There is a bunch of DMCA services to choose from: watermarking, keywords and image monitoring, reprocessing protected pages, indexing, and much more.
To start using DMCA, find its plugin in the WordPress account and install it. The badge will be inserted on the page automatically.
3. Internal linking
One of the most effective SEO tools is linking from one page to another. It increases involvement and the time a user remains on your site. Plus, Google indexes each page of your website.
But that’s not all. Internal linking is good for content plagiarism prevention. Many scammers copy texts without editing included links. Website owners get a notification once someone mentions it. Those links can be seen using WordPress, Google Analytics, or other backlink monitoring instruments.
4. Plagiarism scanners
As a rule, plagiarism checkers are used for ensuring that the content you have created is original and unique. They are widely used by copywriters, journalists, and students. However, some of the most popular scanners allow finding out whether your content is used by someone else.
The most popular tool is Copyscape which scans millions of online documents to find duplicate content. You can also use Grammarly to scan old texts and find whether there are any matches on the Internet. There are tens of plagiarism scanners that come in all shapes and sizes, so you can surely find the most suitable option.
5. Including website’s address to the text
Apart from using side tools and programs, you can work on the content and pages. For example, indicate copyright or mention brands and authors as many times as the optimization allows. Many thieves are so lazy that they copy the article as it is without reading it attentively. That is why if you insert the website’s address into the text, there is a probability that it will remain in the article, and Google notices it.
And even if the content will be published, it is easier to trace such an article and lay claim to publication.
6. Watermarks and other tips for graphic content
Many scammers not only duplicate content but also use pictures and other visual elements. Not to let that happen, you can use one of the following instruments:
- Restrict copying through the context menu. If you are not familiar with JavaScript or CSS, use CMS plugins.
- Utilize watermarks. It is easy to create them in programs like Adobe Photoshop, uMark, and Arclab Watermark Studio.
- Post licensed pictures, and Google will label them with a Licensable sign.
- Cut the picture into several segments and then post them as a single piece using a code. If a plagiarist decides to download the image, they will only copy one part.
- Use different digital marks. Indicate the time, date, camera type, or location to prove ownership of the picture.
How to protect content offline
You may be surprised to know that the content requires protection not only online but offline as well. Especially if the files are confidential and classified. Protection measures can be different: two-factor authentication, password managers, storing an external CD drive in a secure place, and much more.
Even though more and more people choose cloud storage, many believe that keeping copies of data on CDs and DVDs is a good idea. And you don’t have to pay anything: the free CD burners 2021 has given us are secure, fast, and convenient.
Wrap-up
None of the methods above will give you a 100% guarantee that your texts and pictures won’t be stolen. However, their combination may reduce content theft to the minimum. If you have found out that the stealing took place, we recommend reporting a copyright infringement according to the DMCA law, filing a Google complaint, or even contacting the scammer directly.
However, evaluation of requests and proofs may take a while, so prevention is always a better idea.
