If you’re confused about what PLR articles are, it’s no wonder. Copyright can be a confusing matter in itself, with laws differing from country to country, as well as affected by an international set of laws. PLR articles are a particular type of content with all sorts of quirks involved.
PLR articles are ready-made articles you buy that you can modify or alter. You can rearrange paragraphs or sentences. You can add material, take some away, or enhance the text. You can even put your name as the author of the article. You can do all sorts of things to PLR articles.
You can’t do anything you want with PLR articles, though. The articles may have certain rights reserved by the creator of the content. The creator’s limitations can vary, and you may not be able to distribute content anywhere you want or claim that you own the material outright. You may not be able to resell or distribute the articles via email. Reading the fine print on the buyer’s agreement for the PLR articles you’re purchasing is important.
One downfall of PLR articles is that you may be buying good articles of high quality, but they are not unique. Other people may have bought the same articles, which means that you might not be the only one distributing the content on the Internet. With Google cracking down on duplicate content, PLR articles aren’t always a good way to go.
However, PLR articles are cheaper than original works, and they allow you to modify the content, saving you from spending money while avoiding duplicate content issues. You’ll still have to invest time or more money to make your articles unique. Do read the fine print on your buyer’s agreement, though, to see just what you can modify and how you can distribute the PLR articles you buy.
One thought, though. Someone wrote those articles. Was the writer aware that when he or she created 100 articles and sold away all the copyrights, that someone else was going to make a small fortune by turning them into PLR articles?
You’ve got the basic idea of PLR right, James. You can (and absolutely should) change any PLR you buy to reflect your voice, your unique views on the subject, and your site’s purpose. PLR is an inexpensive way to get a lot of good content, especially if you’re on a budget and don’t want to settle for those $3 article writers you find at some freelance sites.
If, as you say, Google is cracking down on duplicate content, it won’t have any effect on sites that use PLR – or at least not simply *because* they’re using PLR. Duplicate content refers to the same content published multiple times on the same domain, not similar content published on many domains. There’s a good article about it on Google’s blog here: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/09/demystifying-duplicate-content-penalty.html