Duplicate Content SPAM

QUESTION: We're a very small company with an 11 year website history, with web development resources somewhere between quite miniscule and non-existent. Nonetheless, SEO has been a keen focus of awareness since before it was called that, and up until that infamous "Florida" event 3 or so years ago, we did very well in the SERPs. Over the years a number of people have worked on the code comprising our site, and while there is nothing egregiously, obviously wrong with our content, no one knows if now we're being penalized for something 'lurking' in our code that may be left over from yesteryear and never found and rooted out. The biggest worry and source of disagreement seems to involve "duplicate content". Two questions: (1) is there a fast way to ensure elimination of all code that could be found objectionable to major SE 'anti-spam' filtering? and, (2) is there any way to learn how the SE algorithms define "duplicate content", e.g., is it a matter of word-for-word duplicity, or would a site get penalized even for re-worded content that had the same general meaning -- appearing on more than one page? - Steve F. ANSWERS Thanks Steve, I am going to answer your questions in reverse order below. Question 2 Answered: First of all, duplicate content is any substantial piece of content that has been duplicated, word for word, elsewhere on your website. I know, 'substantial' is a bit of a weak explanation but there is no official formula describing how much content can be used without triggering a search engine's spam alarm. Just to be sure, if you are trying to use foil the search engines by using slightly reworded duplicate content then chances are you will not end up a happy site owner. Search engines are getting 'smarter' by the day and frankly I and my Search Engine Guide, murdok (Forum: StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc., an SEO firm that has been providing expert services since 1997. Rosss considerable experience in the world of search has made him a respected writer for countless publications and an SEO consultant for small business and Fortune 500 web properties.