Content is an indispensable part of online marketing. However, there are many ways of doing that. You can create blogs, social media posts and do a number of things. But whatever method you choose, you’d need a way to procure the content. If that’s what you’re looking for, maybe you’d like to learn about content syndication. This article talks about just that.
Those who have existed before would remember the days when newspapers and magazines were the only sources of information. You’d know that content syndication is not a new concept. Even then, re-publishing content was a common practice. Newspapers and magazines would re-publish already existing articles, of course with due credits. This tells that content syndication has been a common practice.
Content syndication comes with a combination of advantages and disadvantages. The creator gets free publicity while the publisher gets free content. However, it can often create the problem of duplicate content. And as you must know, search engines like Google hate duplicity. As a result, it may penalize you.
However, content syndication can be an effective content marketing tactic. It all eventually depends on how you use it.
Let’s talk about it a little more clearly.
What is content syndication?
When an existing piece of digital content is re-published on other sites, it is called content syndication. You can syndicate about any digital content. It can benefit both the syndicate and the original creator.
The original creator gets more exposure and a wider audience. They get free publicity and backlinks. This also helps them expand their reach. As a result, they enjoy high web traffic.
On the other hand, content syndication will solve the problem of procuring content for the publishers. This helps them provide fresh content to their readers. All you have to do is give the due credits and backlinks, and you get free content and traffic on your website.
So basically, it’s a win-win situation.
Now let’s understand what content syndication is not.
Content syndication is not Guest Blogging
Content syndication is generally confused with guest blogging. However, both are different things.
In guest blogging, you invite an expert (who is outside your website) to write a blog on your website. The content created in a guest blog is completely unique. It is created especially for the given website.
On the other hand, syndicated content is not unique. It is literally just copied and pasted along with due credits and backlinks.
Content is not limited
Another misconception is that content only means blogs and articles. Content can be anything from blogs, videos, articles, infographics, and so on. The point being, it is not limited in the terms of forms or the platforms it is found on.
Content can be found in a blog post, a social media post, a YouTube video, and so on.
How content syndication affects SEO?
Syndicated content can affect SEO.
If we look at it from the perspective of the publisher, content syndication can help you provide fresh content to your visitors. In turn, they will engage better with your website. This can improve your dwell time.
However, if Google somehow gets the impression of duplication, it can hurt your Search Engine Optimization.
For the original creators, content syndication is a good thing. It helps them enjoy a wider audience and higher reach without having to put extra effort. Your content gets free publicity and exposure. And since syndicated content is posted with backlinks, you enjoy a boost in web traffic. Not to forget how Google loves quality backlinks. Hence, having quality sources syndicate your content can help with your search engine rankings.
This is why; many syndicates their own content and post it on big websites for exposure. In this case also, content syndication can affect your SEO in a positive way.
What are the ways to syndicate content?
Content syndication can take place in a number of ways. It generally goes like this:
- Re-publish your own content on bigger websites
- You can also re-publish your content on websites of the same size and authority level
- Sometimes websites organically pick syndicate content
- Post as a guest on big publication and re-publish on your original website later
What is the right way of using syndicated content?
At some point in digital marketing, content syndication becomes important. This is why it is best to understand what the right ways of using syndicated content are.
- In order to prevent the problems of duplication, make sure to use canonical tags.
- If you duplicate content with malicious intent, Google is smart enough to see through that. Therefore, be sure to not syndicate content unless genuinely needed.
- Always link back to the original source and give due credits. If you don’t do that, Google may find you guilty of duplication. Hence, it will penalize your site accordingly.
- Make sure you get proper backlinks when someone else syndicates your content. If you don’t make sure to do that, your syndicate partner may enjoy all the SEO benefits alone as Google may identify them as the original creator.
- Similarly, you also need to make sure that you get the due credits for your work clearly.
- Syndicate your content on the relevant websites only. If you re-publish your content on unrelated websites, it would be of no use.
Final Word
Content syndication can be a really effective content marketing tool for both publishers and the original creators. It solves the problems of content procurement for the publishers. At the same time, it helps the original creator earn free publicity and exposure. Hence, it’s a win-win situation. However, it is important to be careful with content syndication. If you fail to be enough careful, you may end up harming your SEO.
This article ends here. If you are interested in reading about blogs, you should hang around here more often!
