What Is Content Syndication?

You put in a lot of effort to develop excellent content You shared it on your blog and social media channels, and you made sure it was search engine optimized.

However, the number of views and subscribers isn’t where you’d like them to be. If it’s any comfort, know that gaining traffic is a frequent issue for the majority of marketers.

While there are several strategies to increase those numbers, content syndication stands out since it is extremely cost-effective, aids in brand recognition, and enhances SEO performance.

That is, of course, if you do it correctly. Otherwise, you risk getting outranked by competing publishers’ content. Furthermore, choosing the improper website to syndicate on might have a detrimental influence on your SEO results.
You may be asking at this point, “What is the ideal method to apply this approach, and how can I avoid the drawbacks?”
In this article, we’ll discuss what content syndication is, its importance, if it’s good for SEO, and what paid content syndication is.

What Is Content Syndication?

Content syndication is when web-based content is re-published by a third-party website. Any kind of digital content can be syndicated, including blog posts, articles, infographics, videos, and more. The third-party website gets free, relevant content. The content creator gets free exposure and publicity, and backlinks to their own website, which in turn boosts their organic traffic.

Syndication in the media industry is not new. Before the internet, newspapers, and magazines with large circulation and readership sometimes printed syndicated content provided by smaller publications and freelance writers. Both benefitted. The small player got to reach a much wider audience and hopefully attain a measure of fame; the large publication got more content – without having to invest resources in creating it.

In the age of the internet, it’s much the same story. You can ‘recycle’ your online content by syndicating it. And, if done correctly, syndication may help you promote your content online by increasing visitors to your website, reaching a larger audience, and ideally converting some of them into conversions.

Why Is Content Syndication Important?

If you’re currently producing excellent content, the next step is to concentrate your efforts on broadening your reach – and content syndication may help. Content syndication is important because it:

Obtains referral traffic
Most websites that reprint your work notify their viewers where it first appeared and include a link to the original source. If readers appreciate the syndicated content, they may visit your website to learn more.
Increases brand recognition
It should seem obvious to syndicate your content to websites with huge, devoted readership. After all, why wouldn’t you want more people to see your content? If you are currently producing excellent content, repurposing it is a simple method to expose your brand to new target groups. In addition to increasing brand recognition, you will be able to enhance referral traffic and lead creation. If someone reads your content and likes it, the ultimate aim is for them to visit your website to learn more.
It’s inexpensive
Although content syndication can be free or compensated, many websites and newspapers would gladly publish your content for free if you pitch them well. You may accomplish this by locating the name and email address of the website’s editor and contacting them to see if they would be interested in syndicating your content. Another free option to syndicate content is to self-syndicate – this can be accomplished by republishing your work on other sites such as Medium or LinkedIn.
Boosts SEO performance
When it comes to content syndication, one of the most typical goals for marketers is to increase website traffic. While Google dislikes duplicate content, this is not the same as content syndication. In fact, Google considers syndicated content to be authoritative and a high-quality source.

As a consequence, syndication can aid in the growth of organic and referral traffic. Google is all about authority, and when SEO fairies see links from authoritative sites, they believe you have great content as well. This can assist increase your domain authority, allowing you to rank better in organic search results.

Content Syndication FAQ

Is syndication good for SEO?

Google, as you’re undoubtedly aware, dislikes duplicate content.
It will not immediately penalize a website for duplicate content, but it may also have a negative impact on its SEO performance.

The good news is that syndicated content is not synonymous with duplicate content. Even Google thinks it’s fine to syndicate content as long as you do it responsibly and make it clear to search engines and readers that what they’re looking at is a syndicated item. You can accomplish this by providing a link back to the original article and, ideally, obtaining a canonical link from the third-party publisher.

The publisher will usually dictate how you add the canonical link. If the procedure is unclear, it is important to address it with the editor from the start.

What are syndication links?

If your content partner is of similar or better worth than your website, content syndication can boost your total website authority. Content syndication improves the number of hyperlinks to the article that is being syndicated.

Most major companies are republishing (syndicating) their existing content on other websites, getting visibility and backlinks to their original content.

All these links are called syndication links.

What does it mean when an article is syndicated?

Syndicated content is just taking the same piece of information and republishing it on multiple sites with permission. From the standpoint of the reader, it’s easy to discern if an article was syndicated rather than a guest post because the original source is generally mentioned on the page.

Syndicated articles are often marked with language similar to this: “This article first appeared in [Original publication + Link].”

What are some content syndication examples?

Examples of syndicated content include;

• Articles,
• Blog posts
• Infographics
• Webinars
• Videos

What is paid content syndication?

Paid content syndication is when you pay to get your content published.
The most frequent type of paid syndication has been around for quite some time. Big companies frequently work directly with large publications to deliver their content in front of a large audience. This strategy, however, was not available to smaller businesses with a tighter budget.

Fortunately, technologies like Outbrain and Taboola now allow even modest companies to appear as recommended content on sites like CNN, BBC, and The Guardian.
These platforms operate similarly to any PPC campaign. You may choose a budget limit, a cost-per-click, and a target audience. The platform then displays your ad to users as a suggested article, complete with a picture, a short title, and a link back to your website.
It’s definitely worth emphasizing that these links have no SEO authority. Search engines, and occasional readers, regard them as “sponsored content.”
You are charged a fee every time a reader clicks on one of these advertisements, which varies based on the target demographic and other campaign parameters.
Paid syndication is a far easier way to have your work included in large media. It’s also likely the only method to have your work published on sites like CNN. Paid syndication, on the other hand, does not provide the same SEO and even brand recognition benefits as free syndication.

Content Syndication and SEO

Hopefully, this article has given you a better understanding of content syndication.

Syndicating content may be an excellent content marketing strategy for both websites in need of content and businesses looking to broaden their reach. You should not experience any negative SEO side effects by correctly labeling content to lead Google to the original version (or preventing it from being indexed in the first place).

If you’re a content marketer, you understand how vital it is to have a range of B2B marketing techniques under your sleeve. They may help you raise brand awareness, broaden your reach, create more sales leads, and much more.

Syndicating content accomplishes some of these goals. When you syndicate content that you’ve authored or generated, you’re sending it to third-party organizations so that they may distribute or publish it on their platform.

If you aren’t currently syndicating your content in some form, you should be. Because the internet world is vast and crowded, it is unrealistic to believe that you can confine the circulation of your information only to your own site. It’s always a good idea to bring your blog content in front of a new audience who would not otherwise be aware of them.
What more do you want to know about content syndication? We’d be delighted to assist you! Contact us today and let’s discuss link building and SEO.