If you are someone who has a blog, is a writer who creates pertinent content for certain websites, or if you are someone who manages an online site that provides necessary information for a specific niche, you may have already experienced having your content being stolen once or even a couple of times. When your content is stolen, it is generally being reposted on other websites or blogs without any permission or proper credit from you, the owner.
Today, online theft (especially when it comes to online content) has become a huge concern for a lot of businesses since these people steal all the content that you have worked on; furthermore, these content thieves also taint your credibility when people see your content on other sites – making them wonder if you or the other stole the content.
There are a couple of things that you can do to make sure that your content is safe, and you do not really need to invest a lot of time or money for these. So with that in mind, here are some ways for you to protect your website’s content from being stolen:
- Make Use of Google Alerts
Setting up Google Alerts will help you watch what Google finds online; if you usually have a specific phrase, keyword or if you usually have your URL appearing on your post or content, it is highly suggested that you setup a regular Google Alert to be notified whenever Google locates a match.
- Present your Copyright Notices
Another great way to thwart any theft content is by displaying copyright notices on your website or blog. It blocks a lot of online users from trying to steal your content, though it still does not prevent some content thieves who ignore such things. This works as a simple reminder to those people who think that everything on the web can be taken freely.
- Watermark all your Content
If you include photos or other types of visuals on your content, make use of a watermark with your brand, text, or your company logo to let people know where the content originally came from. You can easily create this using a photo program that you have and you can even create a watermark that links back to your site. If you want to use a logo but haven’t created one yet, visit Squadhelp to start a logo making contest and you will surely receive a great logo that you can use as a watermark for your content. If your readers see any of your content or visuals on another site, they will know that the site stole your content and it will definitely damage their credibility.
- Stop Hotlinks
Disabling hotlinks on your site is possible, so if someone tries to steal your content, a different image will appear which will alert people that someone has stolen your visuals, etc. When this happens, the offending site will automatically remove your work to avoid further embarrassment and to prevent their visitors from actually realizing or learning that they are stealing content from others.
These are all full-proof ways to prevent your content from being stolen so it does not matter which method you prefer to use. Just ensure that your content is safe and be mindful of the many risks of online theft.
Remember that plagiarism will never be an acceptable act since it offends copyright laws; plus, it is actually easy to get caught when someone attempts to do this. With the simple tips that have been previously mentioned, you can now protect all your original work from any online thieves who are trying to steal your visuals or any material from your site or blog.