What is the negative impact of duplicate content on a website's performance?

Duplicate content can adversely affect a website's performance primarily because it can impact search engine rankings. Search engines strive to provide the most relevant and unique content to users, and when they encounter multiple pages with the same content, they may struggle to determine which version to rank higher. This can result in diluted rankings for all duplicate pages, ultimately leading to lower visibility in search results.

Moreover, duplicated content can create confusion for search engines about which page to display in response to a user's query. This might cause a situation where none of the pages rank well, reducing organic traffic to the site. Additionally, having duplicate content can lead to the misallocation of link equity, as inbound links could be divided among multiple versions of similar content instead of consolidating strength to a single page.

In contrast, the incorrect options either suggest benefits where there are none or fail to address the broader implications of duplicate content on both user experience and search engine optimization. For instance, while poor user experience might result from duplicate content, the primary concern in the context of website performance is indeed its negative impact on search engine rankings.