I have a relatively new global blog in English that also has a local, non-English version. I have a few very long articles (between 7-12k words) that rank well for the local version (in the top 3) because of low competition. However, for the English version, the competition is much tougher, and I need to use long-tail keywords instead of the short-tail keywords that were effective for the local version.It is difficult to definitively say whether splitting a long article into smaller ones, while keeping the original unchanged, would be considered duplicate content by search engines. The effectiveness of this strategy likely depends on several factors, including the specific content, the keywords used, and the overall competition for those keywords.My question is: Is it good practice to divide a long article into smaller articles, (500 to 1500 words), while keeping the content of the original article unchanged? Essentially, I would copy-paste the relevant content from the main article into a separate article that focuses on long-tail keywords; This “smaller” article would have its own introduction, summary, featured image and table of contents. It will also have an internal link to the “main” article.
I want to maintain the integrity of the original article because these specific sections are crucial for maintaining the overall flow of reading. Additionally, in terms of user experience, it makes sense to have an additional shorter article that is more focused on specific keywords; This way, users coming from SERP can get a targeted answer instead of having to search within a lengthy article.
I have successfully used this strategy to rank my local posts for more specific keywords. Amusingly, in some cases, both the “main” article and the smaller one rank in the top 3, with one appearing below the other, despite having the same content in both. However, I am unsure if this same strategy will be effective for English content? I believe the reason this strategy works is that while it may appear as copy-pasting to human readers, Google recognizes these articles as distinct entities because the smaller one is only a fraction of the complete content of the long article.
What do you think?
One perspective is that, while the content may be similar, the smaller articles focus on specific, long-tail keywords, which makes them distinct entities in the eyes of search engines. This could potentially lead to better rankings for those specific keywords, even if the original article also ranks well for broader terms.
However, it’s important to be cautious and monitor the results closely. If the smaller articles are seen as overly similar to the original, they could be penalized by search engines.
It’s recommended to test this strategy carefully and document the results. If the smaller articles are not performing well or leading to penalties, it might be best to revert to the original approach or modify the strategy to reduce the risk of duplicate content issues.