Scraped Content

Scraped content is material taken from other websites, often automatically, and republished with little or no original value added. Google lists scraping as spam. If your own content is scraped, Google usually works out which version is the original, but copied pages can occasionally outrank the source.

Written by Paul Hoda, SEO consultant since 2005. Last updated 8 November 2026.

What counts as scraped content

Google’s spam policies describe scraped content as including:

  • Sites that copy and republish content from other sites without adding original content or value.
  • Sites that copy content and change it slightly, for example by swapping in synonyms or using automated rewriting.
  • Sites that reproduce content feeds from other sites without any unique organisation or benefit to users.
  • Sites that mainly embed content such as videos or images from elsewhere without substantial added value.

Copying with permission and adding value is different. Properly attributed quotes, commentary, reviews and licensed content syndication are not scraping.

Why scraping is a problem for SEO

For the site doing the scraping, the risks are demotion, removal from the index or a manual action. Scraper sites also tend to be fragile: they depend entirely on other people’s work and can disappear from results with a single update.

Pages that add nothing new tend to struggle anyway. Google’s guidance on helpful content asks whether a page provides original information, reporting or analysis, rather than simply repeating what already exists.

For the original publisher, scraping can create duplicate content. Google usually identifies the original, but sometimes a scraper with a stronger domain, or one that got indexed first, ranks above it.

What to do if your content is scraped

  1. Check whether it is actually hurting you. Many scraper sites get no traffic and can safely be ignored.
  2. Use absolute URLs in internal links and add a self-referencing canonical, so automated scrapers often copy links pointing back to you.
  3. Get new pages indexed quickly with an up-to-date XML sitemap, so Google sees your version first.
  4. Contact the site owner or hosting company and ask for the content to be removed.
  5. If a copy outranks you, file a copyright removal request with Google under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), using Google’s legal removals process.
  6. Report persistent spam sites through Google’s spam report form.

Content scraping and AI

Many AI companies crawl the web to train models or to answer questions with live information. This is not the same as spam scraping, but it raises similar questions about control. Site owners can manage AI crawlers through robots.txt, accepting that blocking some bots may also reduce visibility in the tools those bots serve.

Avoiding scraping on your own site

If you publish product descriptions from manufacturers, aggregate news or reuse partner content, add something of your own: original photos, expert commentary, comparisons, or data your visitors cannot get elsewhere.

Key Takeaways

  • Scraped content is copied from other sites with little or no added value.
  • Google lists scraping, including lightly rewritten copies, as spam.
  • Attributed quotes, commentary and licensed syndication are not scraping.
  • Google usually recognises the original, but scrapers can sometimes outrank it.
  • Self-referencing canonicals, quick indexing and DMCA requests help protect your content.

Related Terms

Want to know where your site stands? Book a free SEO health check, or keep learning in the SEO Encyclopedia.