Does using Wikipedia content harm a page/sites SEO rankings?

Question

Wikipedia allows you to reproduce its content.

If you want to use Wikipedia materials in your own books/articles/websites or other publications, you can do so -- but only in compliance with the GFDL. See here.

I am considering using some wikipedia content to pad out pages on my website. For example - just taking the first couple of paragraphs. The motivation for this is not for SEO , but to provide information to the website user.

My question is: by doing this will I hurt my own page SEO? I have googled around and mentions of Google Supplemental index keeps cropping up.

Answer 1

Having duplicate content within a site certainly leads to your ranking being penalised, but probably not between sites. Google's algorithm is very advanced though, so it might catch you out. That said, if you're having to pad your site out with content from other places, perhaps it's a sign that something else is not quite right. Why not just link to the Wikipedia article? That way you'll definitely not be penalised.

Answer 2

Google is a complex beast, so there is always a chance that you'll get caught out.

However, if you're only planning to use a paragraph or two from Wikipedia then I cannot see why Google would mind, as long as you were to provide a link to reference the article.

The other option is to rewrite the information yourself, then to link to Wikipedia to reference the information. This is a method I use often for technical pages, as this way I get credited by Google for the content and Wikipedia is correctly referenced for both Google and user (using the Harvard Referencing System).

Answer 3

The answer is yes. You and wikipedia will both be penalized by Google's algorithms for having identical content. Google allows the actual copyright owner to submit a DMCA request to remove the plagiairizing site from Google's index.