Can SEO Be Stolen?
Many language school owners are deeply worried that money and time invested in Internet marketing efforts are constantly at risk.
Will keywords, topics, topics (articles, images, videos) be abused and stolen? Will others hijack them online and basically “steal SEO” and redirect traffic and potential customers elsewhere?
It is hopefully clear that anyone can write anything they want online and publish it – and then search engines will spider and rank content according to keywords and topics being used.
It does not mean that it is ok for competitors to spread lies and misinformation against you – that in fact is a case for taking a lawyer and requesting to take down misleading and libelous content against your company.
If you own a brand name, then you can usually take legal action against others. For example not allowing Google Adwords to let other advertisers bid on your trademark names and services.
The challenge here is more on what can be found in search engines when potential customers type in your company name or search for related services in your area.
In order to “own” and dominate keyword phrases in search engines, the only thing you can do is to constantly have updated high-quality content that outranks all other companies and authors.
If you want to be found on top of search results for “Learn Spanish in New York” it is inevitable to have something uniquely written that is compelling, newsworthy and so good that you want to naturally share it with others.
And it is certainly no longer enough to have only one “evergreen” piece of content sitting there. Evergreen content (content that is never outdated because it contains timeless wisdom and value) is a great long-term investment that will help your brand and reputation.
For SEO purposes, however, it is highly advisable to constantly add new relevant articles and posts with a fresh perspective to send active signals of you being an authority for your topic.
The main and most important strategy to protect yourself against other people stealing your content is to obey the marketing concept of the unique selling proposition USP.
Write very specific content that only applies to the unique selling proposition elements USP of your company and services.
If you publish content with unique elements of your own business, it is near impossible to “copy and steal” those unless (sooner or later) you have copycats trying to offering the same kind of services.
If you offer language training courses for seniors in elderly homes in your area, this is something very specific. It will not prevent other language schools to copy this idea and do the same.
But you can make sure that you occupy the topic prominently by writing several quality pieces about this kind of service, adding local elements to it or adding (if it is true) the fact that you are one of the first ones that offered such a service.
Search engines look for people and companies who are experts in their field and reward them ranking them higher than everyone else.
If you fear that someone can “steal” anything from your language school services then it is time to start working on making your business so unique and specific that anyone else will have a hard time trying to compete with you.
Then it is impossible to “steal SEO” from you.
Need help with your SEO? Feel free to check my SEO services, we will be able to help you achieve your internet marketing goals.