Recent Google updates have made duplicate content a bigger problem than ever before. Sites that were doing well were suddenly struck down as their content was basically the same page recycled over and over. With all the fear around duplicate content, where do quotes fit in? I mean, a quote is inherently duplicate content, but quoting has value. Any Digital Marketing Company knows that if you write enough content for both pages and blogs, eventually you'll be compelled to quote. So how do you do it in a way that doesn't hurt your page? Luckily, Matt Cutts supplied the answer.

The first thing you have to do is put your quote in "blockquote" HTML coding. This code tells search engines that the included text is a quote. Most content management systems like Wordpress can do this with one click, but if yours can't, the code is <blockquote>YOURQUOTE</blockquote>.

Once you blockquote, the second step is to include a link to the source. This shows that you aren't stealing the information, you actually are giving credit where credit is due. This also makes where you find your quotes important because you don't want to have a lot of links to poor quality websites.

Thirdly, and most importantly, surround the quote with unique, quality content. If you have a 100-word quote and a 25-word setup, you'll get flagged. A quote should be the seasoning in the dish, not the meat. Even if the post is ABOUT the quote, the post still needs to have inherent value in and of itself.

Finally, use common sense. If you quote an entire article (or multiple articles) for your own web page, you'll get flagged for duplicate content and you'll only have yourself to blame.

According to Matt Cutts, Google really is okay with quoting. Just follow the tips above, and you shouldn't run into any trouble.

Original post about duplicate content SEO can be found on Wikimotive's blog under the title, "Quoting Without Getting Flagged For Duplicate Content."