It appears unfair when a competitor replicates your content yet achieves higher search rankings, but Google’s ranking systems, as of December 2025, evaluate hundreds of factors beyond just content originality, with technical SEO and user experience playing a significant role.
Google’s core ranking system relies heavily on its Search Generative Experience (SGE) and Multitask Unified Model (MUM). While duplicate content *can* be penalised, the penalty isn’t always immediate or severe. Currently, Google prioritises websites demonstrating strong E-E-A-T – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. A competitor with a technically optimised website – fast loading speeds (crucial for Australian mobile users, where mobile search dominates), mobile-friendliness, structured data markup compliant with Schema.org, and a secure HTTPS connection – may rank higher. Furthermore, Google Business Profile optimisation is increasingly important for local search, and a competitor actively managing theirs with accurate information and responding to reviews will gain an advantage. In 2026, Google is rolling out further updates to its indexing system to better identify and reward original research and reporting, but this will be a gradual process. The system also considers user interaction signals like click-through rates and dwell time, which can be influenced by factors unrelated to content originality.
Ultimately, Google’s ranking algorithms assess a complex web of signals to determine relevance and authority, meaning a technically superior or more user-friendly site can outrank a source of original content.
