Take Note To Avoid Wasting Your Time

Today I came across a problem I have never had on a content site that I write for, but I assume that it has to do with whatever software is now being used to check for duplicate content.

I decided to remove my content from another site and publish it on the site. To avoid problems with duplication I deleted the articles from the other site.

I waited ages to have them published and then was ‘declined’ because the editors said they are duplicated elsewhere.

A bit of investigation revealed that although I had totally deleted the articles from the other site, they were still in the system and that it takes 24 hours for them to clear. I did this 48 hours ago but apparently they are still there.

So, if you do this, it might be wise to leave a gap and save your articles until the system clears. It will save a lot of messing around and frustration as you email back and forth to try to sort it out.

I have spent hours this afternoon trying to find out why the content was refused on the grounds of ‘duplication’, when it did not exist anywhere else. It seems that the wheels turn very slowly in some areas.

I have discovered the reason for the problem, but I still have perfectly good articles sitting in the ‘declined’ box and I can do nothing about it.

It would seem that once something has been published it cannot be totally deleted and therefore remains published, even if you remove it from the website. At least that is the explanation I have been given by the website.

Watch out for this if you are thinking of doing the same thing.