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I have an established blog that has been putting out content for a year.

Today I noticed that somebody has cloned my entire website, word-for-word, and hosted it on a separate domain. When I say cloned, I mean you could put them side-by-side and they would look identical, so everything has been copied, including content, layout, etc. I looked at the source and the HTML has been copied verbatim. The new domain has only been registered a few weeks ago.

Unfortunately the copied site is now outranking my real site on a few keywords in google search results! On some keywords the fake site has taken my place on the first page of the search results, and my site is no longer even listed!

What can I do about this?

Update: I filed a DCMA complaint with Google.

Update: I just discovered that he is just using his site as a proxy to access mine. I can block his IP from accessing my site which would effectively solve the problem (maybe only temporarily?), but then what happens when Google investigates the DCMA and finds nothing?

CaptainCodeman
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  • If you are in the U.S., you can file federal copyright charge immediately regardless of where the site is located. I would hire a lawyer. Some will do this on a fee if win basis. Otherwise, File a DCMA complaint at least through Google: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/dmca-dashboard but you would need an account. The complaint will not only effect Google, but also those who participate in ChillingEffects. I would do this today if you can. – closetnoc Jun 29 '14 at 20:20
  • @closetnoc I'm not in the US, but I have already filed a DCMA complaint on that URL, thanks. – CaptainCodeman Jun 29 '14 at 20:49
  • By the way, I discovered that he is just using his site as a proxy to access mine. I can block his IP from accessing my site which would effectively solve the problem, but then what happens when Google investigates the DCMA and finds nothing? – CaptainCodeman Jun 29 '14 at 20:51
  • In this case, I am not sure a DCMA complaint is right just yet- but still an option/idea. Are you able to determine an IP address?? How about the sites domain name? – closetnoc Jun 29 '14 at 20:54
  • Yes, I found out the site's IP address, as I noticed the error pages were the same as mine so I suspected he was just redirecting all requests to my server, and I was right. I sent a request for a page that doesn't exist, and found the request in my logs. – CaptainCodeman Jun 29 '14 at 21:00
  • Smart man!! Can you redirect the IP address to a new page that you will create? One that is not linked to on your site? One that makes a very interesting point? I am an ex-sailor so my language on the page may be rather blue. I am not suggesting that unless you want to... ;-) – closetnoc Jun 29 '14 at 21:08
  • @closetnoc Indeed that was my first thought as well! :) The problem is that it hurts the users which may be expecting to find my site, and also what happens when Google investigates the DCMA and finds nothing? As I can control everything that goes on the fake website now, I'm thinking of either just blocking him so the site becomes becomes blank, or writing an honest message on his website explaining the situation to both Google, and everybody else. – CaptainCodeman Jun 29 '14 at 21:15
  • Yeah. I would do it just for fun! But you have a point. I would file a DCMA complaint explaining everything. Wait a while to see what happens. Then after a while, not sure how long, I would consider redirecting to a blank page that then explains the situation and allows a person to click a link to your site. This is likely a domain monetizer that will do anything. These guys are getting desperate these days since the past few Google updates! BTW- You can see DCMA complaints here: https://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright/ filed with Google including yours. – closetnoc Jun 29 '14 at 21:26
  • BTW- You can answer your own question after 8 hours. You might was well. – closetnoc Jun 29 '14 at 21:28
  • Thanks closetnoc.. Do you know how long they usually take to respond to DCMA complaints? – CaptainCodeman Jun 29 '14 at 22:01
  • I have no idea. I assume not too long. Google has been a leader on this issue (DCMA) of late so I assume that they would want to act quickly. I would imagine that it would take some time to research on their end and come to a decision- perhaps a couple of weeks. The good news is, when they do make a decision, the response is immediate. It may be immediate from just filing a complaint. I just hope they keep you apprised along the way. Let us know how it goes. It would be helpful to hear your experience. – closetnoc Jun 29 '14 at 22:09
  • @CaptainCodeman This is a pretty common question we get here - see this recent one as well: http://webmasters.stackexchange.com/questions/65324/parallel-website-running-a-copy-of-my-original-website Please be sure to search for similar questions before posting a new one, and if you have additional questions (as added under your "Updates"), please ask them as separate questions. – dan Jun 30 '14 at 03:40
  • @closetnoc In case you're interested, the DCMA complaint went through and the offending site was delisted.. unfortunately they only removed the main site and not all the individual pages so I think I have to go through and file a complaint for every single page! I have another problem though, about recovering my search engine rank: http://webmasters.stackexchange.com/questions/65601/how-can-i-recover-my-sites-search-engine-ranking-after-another-site-copied-my-c – CaptainCodeman Jul 02 '14 at 12:52
  • Congratulations- sorta? What a pain! At least we know something more about filing a DCMA complaint with Google. – closetnoc Jul 02 '14 at 14:54

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