Some people think Google will send your site into oblivion if you use duplicate content that is already published on the Internet. But it’s not quite that bad as everyone seems to think.

Google will not give you any bonus points for using duplicate content that’s already out there on the web, it just prefers new fresh original content to the same old copied content.

If you use a freelance writer, then you require 100% original content for this exact reason, you don’t want to find your content has been copied and pasted from someone else’s work. If it has been copied then you could have some problems on your hands, your host could receive a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaint , which could lead you to being sued.

So before you publish and work from a freelancer or any other place, check it for plagiarism, you can search using a website called Copyscape or use Google, enter a few sentences in between quotes and see if Google shows up any similar content.