Will having similar sites hurt my ranking?

[MikeM]

Would I get penalized if I have multiple sites with similar information and articles? In fact, much of the information would be duplicate.

I'm thinking of creating various sites for specific niches. Let's say one for renters, one for general 1st time homebuyers, one for newlyweds, etc. Since they are all buyers, the content on the sites would be similar, just the look and some general verbage would be different.

Would this hurt me with Google?

[gwen]

Hi Mike,

It's funny but i"ve read somewhere around this forum a similar discussion about that, have a look here:
http://www.realestatewebmasters.com/thread13319.html

Apparently no one knows exactly what Google does for duplicate content, but there's a possibility it's not gonna help a lot on your ranking.

[webmaster]

Yes it will hurt you. Screw the duplicate content "penalty" issue, throw it out the window and think like google for second. They want unique, quality content to offer their users that provides a positive user experience and keeps them coming back to use their service again.

You have stated that your sites are basically "duplicates" which means they cannot possibly be unique, AND if the content is so generic that it can be applied easily to several niches then it certainly will not be quality either (At least in the sense that matters to Google)

[MikeM]

Thanks for the info. I had a feeling I would get Google penalized but I wasn't sure how much.

I'll rethink my strategy.

[jlryan]

I have success with some (minimal) duped content. It's not always don't or die. It has more to do with the entire theme of the site than anything else. I wouldn't copy two sites exactly, but if two sites need similar content for a page or two, I don't hesitate to use it, and Google doesn't hesitate to rank both sites on Page 1 when I do. A third site, now that's a different story.

[Eric Blackwell]

Mike;
IMO it is not as much about "What will get me penalized in G!". Search engines are in the relevance business. Sooner or later, they will ALWAYS find ways to root out content not relevant to their customer, the browsing public.

That's why creating quality, UNIQUE content is a winner and the converse of that is a loser-long term. Keep in mind that that it is less about what you can get away with at the moment and more about longer term online asset building.

Assuming as Morgan said above that you are talking about relatively duplicate sites or pages, bad idea IMO.

Best;

Eric