Duplicate content refers to blocks of content that appear in more than one location on the internet. It can occur within a single website or across multiple domains and can negatively impact search engine rankings and user experience. Search engines like Google strive to provide users with diverse and relevant search results, so they typically prefer to index and rank unique content. Pages with duplicate content may be filtered out or penalized in search results. Common causes of duplicate content include boilerplate text, printer-friendly versions of webpages, URL parameters, and syndicated content. Webmasters should use canonical tags, 301 redirects, or URL parameters in Google Search Console to consolidate duplicate content and improve indexing and ranking.