My Site Got Scraped and Reposted: How Do I Stop It From Ranking?

You spent weeks researching, writing, and formatting that deep-dive guide. You hit publish, and within 48 hours, you find your exact article—word-for-word—on a low-quality site. They even kept your images. Now, they are outranking you in Google for your primary keywords. It’s frustrating, it hurts your SEO, and it feels like a violation.

I’ve been running websites for a decade. I’ve seen the automated scrapers, the "content farms," and the bots that mirror every post I write. Let’s skip the fluff and the "just contact support" nonsense. Here is exactly how to clean up your content and protect your authority.

Step 1: Document and Screenshot (Do This First)

Before you send a single email or file a report, screenshot everything. If a site is hosting your content illegally, they can delete it or change it the moment they smell legal heat. You need a timestamped record of the theft to prove ownership.

• Screenshot the post: Capture the full page, including the URL bar.
• Archive the page: Use The Wayback Machine to create a permanent snapshot of the scraped content.
• Export your original: Keep a PDF or a text file of your original WordPress post with the date of publication clearly visible in the site’s database.

Step 2: Assess the Risk Level

Not every scrape is worth Great site a war. You need to know if this is a minor annoyance or a legitimate threat to your business. Use this table to decide your next move:

Risk Level Indicator Action Required Low Bot/RSS feed with no traffic, "via" attribution included. Monitor; it likely won't impact your SEO. Medium Full article copy, no attribution, starting to rank below you. Send a takedown email (see Step 4). High Full copy, high-authority domain, outranking you for primary keywords. File a DMCA to Google immediately.

Step 3: Fix Your Own House (The Canonical Tag)

Before you blame the thief, check your own setup. If you are syndicating content or cross-posting, you might be causing your own duplicate content issues. If you control both sites, always use a canonical tag.

In WordPress, if you have a piece of content that is being mirrored elsewhere, ensure the original site has this tag in the section:

This tells Google, "Hey, this is the original version, please give the credit here." Plugins like Yoast or RankMath make this easy, but you should verify it’s actually rendering in your page source code.

Step 4: The Takedown Workflow

If you decide to take action, follow this order of operations. Do not skip steps, and do not waste time posting "I see you copied me!" in their comments section. That just tips them off.

The "Friendly" Email (Only for real humans)

Sometimes, a site owner is just lazy or misconfigured a plugin. Send a professional, cold email.

Subject: Copyright Infringement Notice: [URL of their post]

Body: "I am the author of [link to your post]. Your site is hosting my content without permission. Please remove this content within 48 hours or I will be forced to file a formal DMCA notice with your hosting provider and Google."

The DMCA to Google

If the site is a scraper farm (like the ones I’ve seen often disguised as legitimate tech blogs), they won't reply. Don't wait. Use the Google Copyright Removal Tool.

• Provide the URL of the infringing content.
• Provide the URL of your original content.
• Attach the evidence (screenshots) you took in Step 1.
• Note: Google takes these seriously, but they only remove the link from their search index, not the site itself.

The Hosting Provider Takedown

If the scraper site is dangerous or malicious, find out who hosts them. Use a tool like Whois Lookup to find the "Abuse Contact" email. Send a formal DMCA takedown notice to the host. Hosts are legally obligated to remove content if they receive a valid DMCA request. If they don't, they lose their own safe harbor protections.

What About "99techpost" and Similar Sites?

I get asked often about specific scraper patterns found on sites like 99techpost or similar low-effort aggregators. These sites are usually automated. They scrape RSS feeds or specific HTML tags. Because they are automated, there is often no "human" to email.

Do not waste energy engaging with the admins of these sites. They rely on volume—scraping 1,000 articles a day hoping 10 get some search traffic. Filing a DMCA to Google is the only way to stop them from profiting off your work. By de-indexing them, you remove their incentive to keep scraping you.

Checklist: What to do right now

1. Verify the theft: Check your Search Console to see if the scraper's URL is appearing in your "Links to your site" report.
2. Snapshot: Screenshot the evidence and save it locally.
3. The Canonical Check: Ensure your WordPress installation is properly setting canonical tags on all posts.
4. Google Removal: Submit the URL via Google’s Legal Removal tool if you are being outranked.
5. Stay Professional: Never harass the site owner. Keep the paper trail strictly business-like so you can provide it to lawyers or hosts if needed.

Finally, stop checking if they took it down every ten minutes. It takes Google time to crawl and de-index. Set a calendar reminder to check back in one week. If it’s still there, move to the next level of escalation (hosting provider). You’ve got a business to run—don’t let the content thieves rent space in your head.