Person Wonders How to Stop a Copycat Who's Stealing Traffic

A site owner who has an affiliate site that ranks well on a specific keyword spends a lot on Google ads. They noticed that a new site copied their design, description and site title. That copycat then outranked them. A few weeks ago, the copycat made a few changes, and the copycat's ranking dropped. After that, the copycat returned their site to be exactly like the original poster's. Their rank went up yet again. They want to know what they can do about it.

One person said there isn't much, other than filing a DMCA notice with Google and the host of the copycat's website. Another person agreed, stating there isn't anything the original poster can do if the site isn't registered. Someone else added that for a copied title and description, DMCA doesn't apply. Yet a different person said to file a copyright claim with Google. They said the Wayback Machine will show that their version was live before the copycat's. If the copycat files a counterclaim, the original poster would have about two weeks ti file a copyright infringement claim in court.

One person said designs can't be copyrighted, but a DMCA may apply if the content was stolen. A person suggested that the original poster focus on customer service instead of this problem. An individual wanted to know how Google ads led the original poster to have this problem. The original poster replied that they spent about $100,000 on ads in the past year to get the traffic. They wonder if Google is seeing their sites as the same place.

A person said that the original poster needs to take action. Branding and message marketing are good steps. The original poster should also have a plan for growing content. One person suggested disavowing back links. A different person talked about negative SEO. A lot of people said that they have had this problem over the years, and they had to send DMCA letters, disavow the back links and keep a closer eye on their rankings. They were able to set up Google programs to do this automatically. For more information click here https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/l6gjup/someonecopiedmysitetitleanddescription_and/.