Synonym substitution – the content maker takes an article and then changes words, usually using synonyms (words with the same or similar meaning to each other) so that the content appears to be different. This process can be done by hand using a word processr such as Open Office or MicroSoft’s Word. Over the past year we have seen software designed to make the task automatic, or semi-automatic.

This is a popular technique for creating unique content. There are many software packages and scripts that promise rapid success when using this technique. At first glance synonym substitution makes a lot of sense. By changing a word with a particular meaning for another word of similar meaning the writer can rapidly/quickly/speedily/hastily create an article that appears/seems/looks to be quite different from the original. But the technique is not perfect. Very often words mean one thing in one context but have a different meaning in another. So a sentence that makes sense with one word can be nonsense when your software chooses/culls/elects/singles/craves/hankers an inappropriate substitute.

There are two main ways of doing synonym/word substitution. Firstly one can do the job manually, simply going through the article and using a thesaurus, either on paper, or online and choosing words to change. This is a very slow process unless one has a very large personal vocabulary. The slowness is the reason most writers tend to use automated systems. Synonym substitution software can be very fast but there are two problems. Unless the writer has a very large personal vocabulary he or she can not always know which words suggested will be appropriate and so poor choices will be made. If the substitutions are left to the computer then poor choices will absolutely be made! Some interesting synonym substitution examples.

Another drawback of synonym substitution is that it does nothing to change the structure of an article. A human might be fooled by a few word changes but a computer duplication checking algorithm will not and so there is little point in using synonym substitution on its own. As a part of an integrated content system that employs multiple techniques to ensure good quality results from the point of view of both humans and search engines word substitution can be very effective, as long as the results are carefully monitored by the user.

Interested In These?

• Poor Choices Show » Blog Archive » Episode 37: Hey You Guys. DUFFY
• WordSteps – personal vocabulary manager | Finding the best online tools for time management and managing projects and tasks
• Lamictal word substitution | Kolyaz.msk.su medical archive
• Download free Software » Blog Archive » 10 things I can never find in Word 2007
• Senatorial priorities: Let’s ban the word “retarded” | RedState