Can we copy content from wikipedia to our site

Don't forget to give the credit to the writer if available.

 

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights#Reusers.27_rights_and_obligations]

So most likely in your case you need to follow those instructions.

 

I was wondering this too! Thanks everyone!

 

Hello,

I dont understand why do you want to use it in your site, if your pages will become as duplicate content....

 

The same reason someone might use articles from article directories: free content.

 

It's legal if you follow their general license. See answers.com for an example of using wikipedia content. However, make sure the material is ACCURATE.

 

But answers.com comes in top results in almost all search engines ?
how does that happen?

 

Yes you can because its under GPL (General public license)
You can quote the reference from the wiki in your site and that would be good enough to just COPY

 

As stated already in this thread, they use the GNU Free Documentation License, not the GPL (that's for software).

 

If you used full content, it is honestly to written from where it came from. Or do modify it

 

Really good thread. Yeah , if you ever decide to copy, please give back a link stating the original source. But as stated earlier, your's will be treated as duplicate content and it may not get you much hits.

 

Its completely legal but I recommend against it because wikipedia will always rank higher than you for those keywords, and then it'll be no point.

 

i dont think it ok specially for google....duplicate contents is a NO-NO!

better rephrase or make your own version using your own words
its ok to look for some resources on Wikipedia, but when it comes to publishing them to your site, you have to write a unique content.

 

interesting topic, well, but you should consider writing content your own since as some one suggested duplicate content does no good if you want naturally rank your site in google say

 

Yes you can.. but search engines may penalize you for that.. so add a link back to the source page..

 

Another approach is to use Wickipedia as anchor text to provide reference depth to your article.

 

I guess you got the answer mate. The GPL act will help you copy stuffs from Wikipedia and yes, its alway's a wise idea to thank the provider and show your gratitude

 

Is Google that smart that it can work out if there is duplicate content and then penalise whoever copied it. Half the stuff on the net is copied from somewhere else.
Has anyone actually been penalised for it?
If so what happened.
regards Michaelr

 

Do a search here for "duplicate content" and find out. But yes, Google is "that smart."

 

Sure, go ahead. But I doubt you'll ever rank higher than wikipedia's PR9, so google will always hold their content above yours and you will get penelized.