Why You Should Check for Plagiarism in Your Blog Posts

In partnership with

Publishing your own original content is a great way to build trust and a long term relationship with your audience. Whether you're running a personal blog, growing a business, or writing for clients, making sure all of your content is original will help avoid legal problems and keep your reputation intact. Even if you write all your posts yourself, accidental overlap with existing content can happen—and that’s where plagiarism checkers come in.

This post will explain why checking for copied content is worth your time and effort, and which tools can help.

Unlock the Social Media Tactics That Work Right Now

Is your social strategy ready for what's next in 2025?

HubSpot Media's latest Social Playbook reveals what's actually working for over 1,000 global marketing leaders across TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube.

Inside this comprehensive report, you’ll discover:

  • Which platforms are delivering the highest ROI in 2025

  • Content formats driving the most engagement across industries

  • How AI is transforming social content creation and analytics

  • Tactical recommendations you can implement immediately

Unlock the playbook—free when you subscribe to the Masters in Marketing newsletter.

Get cutting-edge insights, twice a week, from the marketing leaders shaping the future.

Why It Matters

1. Protect Your Reputation

Copying someone else’s work—or appearing to—can damage your reputation. People may question your honesty or your writing skills, even if the overlap was unintentional.

Text copied from books, articles, or other websites might be protected by copyright. Even short phrases can cause issues if they’re taken from a published source without permission. Checking your work before publishing reduces the risk of legal complaints.

3. Stay on Search Engines’ Good Side

Search engines look for original content. If your posts contain content found elsewhere, your site may not rank well—or could even be penalized. Unique writing is more likely to bring organic traffic and improve your visibility.

4. Improve the Quality of Your Writing

Running your work through a plagiarism checker helps you spot repetitive phrases or similarities with other online content. This gives you the chance to improve your writing before it goes live.

Plagiarism Checkers to Try

There are many tools available—some are free, some are paid, and each has its own strengths. Below are several popular options that bloggers and writers use regularly.

1. Grammarly

  • Type: Free and Paid

  • Website: www.grammarly.com

  • Grammarly is known for checking spelling and grammar, but its premium version also checkers plaigerism. It will compare your writing to billions of other pages on the web.

2. Quetext

  • Type: Free and Paid

  • Website: www.quetext.com

  • Known for a clean interface and color-coded feedback. The free plan allows for basic checks, while the paid version provides full reports and citation suggestions.

3. Copyscape

  • Type: Paid

  • Website: www.copyscape.com

  • Used by many businesses and professional writers. You can paste text or enter a URL to check whether the content already exists elsewhere online.

4. Plagscan

  • Type: Free and Paid

  • Website: www.plagscan.com

  • This tool is popular among academics and publishers. It checks documents against a large online database and provides a similarity report.

5. Small SEO Tools

  • Type: Free

  • Website: www.smallseotools.com

  • Offers a variety of writing tools, including a basic plagiarism checker. This is a great, budget friendly checker to start with.

  • Type: Free

  • Website: www.writer.com/plagiarism-checker

  • This checker is simple to use and completely free. While it may not be as deep as paid services, it gives you a quick look at potential overlap.

7. Turnitin

  • Type: Paid (Mostly Academic Use)

  • Website: www.turnitin.com

  • Mostly used in schools and universities. While not designed for blogging, it's known for being very thorough. It may be worth considering for long-form writing or research-based posts.

Tips for Staying Original

  • Use your own voice. Writing how you speak can help your content sound fresh and avoid accidental copying.

  • Quote and cite your sources if you're referencing other people’s ideas or research.

  • When using AI tools or templates, always rewrite the content in your own words.

  • Review past posts on your blog to avoid repeating yourself too often.

Final Thoughts

Running a plagiarism check doesn't take long, and it can save you from a lot of trouble down the road. Whether you're writing for your blog, a client, or a growing audience, originality should be a habit, not an afterthought.

Even a quick scan can alert you to text that’s too similar to something else online. When combined with thoughtful writing and careful sourcing, plagiarism checkers help you protect your name, stay clear of copyright issues, and build something people can trust.