Hey guys, I have my own theory as to how this works, but I'd just like to get some other input from experienced heads on the board... If I download and install a song lyrics script, what can I do to avoid a duplicate content penalty? Does Google automatically penalize every single song lyrics website? Or is there a system in place to allow for such shared content?
Unfortunately google will still penalise it I don't think it is sophisticated enough to tell the difference.
Said it before, will say it again. Duplicate content penalty is a myth. Read this: http://www.jonathanleger.com/who-says-you-cant-rank-duplicate-content/
Since you can't avoid the duplicate content issue, try to add some information like trivia about the band/singer, etc. to make it a lil more different than the rest
Also, using bullet points within the lyrics every now and then.. or a <hr> and stuff like that might help... it's what I did on one of my sites where I have a few lyrics.
First off, there is no duplicate content "penalty" - what many people perceive as a penalty is really the duplicated content being removed entirely from the index, which many SEO practicioners consider to be a fate worse than death. Now, with that said and out of the way, the best way to avoid it would be to have your own value-added content on the page alongside the lyrics.