08/01/2021
You’ve worked hard creating great content. You’ve posted it on your blog, optimised it for Google and pushed it out on your social media. But, you’re not getting the views that would have quite hoped for.
Don’t worry! If it’s any consolation, most businesses struggle to generate the numbers they’re looking for. And while there are different strategies to drive organic website traffic, content syndication is one you should be using because it helps build brand awareness and is extremely cost-effective when it comes down to ROI.
But, that’s only if you know exactly what it is and do it in the right way. Otherwise, you could end up negatively affecting your SEO or even worse, being outranked by other websites with your own content.
At this point, you’re probably now wondering what the right way to syndicate content is and how to avoid certain drawbacks. Well, lucky we’re here right? Firstly, let’s take a look at what content syndication really is (and isn’t!).
Content syndication basically means republishing a piece of content (whether that be an article, infographic or a video) on one or more websites. All publications, big or small, like syndicated content because it providers their readers with fresh information. The authors of the syndicated content hugely benefit from the practice because it gets their content and brand in front of new audiences.
It’s important to know that although they both might seem similar, content syndication is not the same guest posting (guest blogging) and link building. A guest post is a new piece of content which is written for a single publication or website. Syndicated content is simply taking the same piece of content and republishing on it on other publications with their permission.
Readers can normally tell when a piece of content was syndicated and not a guest post because they’ll be a mention about where the content originally came from. Most publications mark syndicated content with text like this:
“This article originally appeared in [link] and has been published on this website with our permission.”
Stating where a piece of content has come from is extremely important not just for giving credit to the writer but to also avoid duplicate content issues.
If you weren’t already aware, Google isn’t a fan of duplicate content. It won’t necessarily penalise your website for having duplicate content, but it might not help with your SEO and ranking position either. But, let us be the bearers of good news! Syndicated content is not the same as duplicate content.
Google is okay with syndicated content as long as it’s done carefully and makes it evident to readers that what they’re reading is a syndicated piece of information. This can be done by including a link back to where the content was originally published and getting a third party publication to include a canonical link. This is a way of preventing problems caused by identical content appearing on more than one URL.
There are a few different ways you can syndicate content, and it won’t cost you a penny.
Republish Your Content on A Website With Higher Authority Than Yours
When you syndicate your content on a website with more visitors and higher authority, you’re massively expanding your reach. However, since readers will consume your content on a third-party website, there’s not much incentive for them to go on and seek out of the original source. With this being said, if your goal is to expand your reach and build brand awareness, syndicating content is a road you’ll want to go down.
Syndicate Old Content On Websites That Have The Same Authority
If you’re currently targeting a niche audience, you should consider syndicating your content on websites that have the same audience and authority as yours. These websites might also allow contextual links so that your content references back to your own blog. This is great for lead generation.
Write a Guest Post and Syndicate Later
Sometimes it’s good to publish on a big website first as the webmaster/business may only be interested in fresh or “on-trend” content. The biggest benefit of this is getting your content in front of an audience that you’ll have never reached with your own website. Depending on what publication you go for, you’ll then be free to republish the content on your own blog and promote it on your social media channels.
Paid content syndication is exactly what it says on the tin; it’s when you pay a fee to get your content published on a third-party website. The most common paid syndication tactic has been used for years. Large companies often team up directly with big publishing networks to get their content in front of the masses. This tactic, however, wasn’t a financially viable option for smaller companies with tighter budgets.
The good news is, there are now a few platforms available, including Taboola and Outbrain. This gives smaller companies the opportunity for their content to appear on major websites like the BBC, The Guardian, MSN and The Washington Post.
These platforms work just like a typical PPC or Microsoft Advertising campaign. You can set a pre-defined budget, the audience you wish to target and a cost-per-click. The platforms will then serve readers with an ad that promotes your content as a recommended article and a link back to your website.
It’s worth us mentioning that the links back to your website don’t carry any value to SEO nor your domain authority because they are seen as sponsored content by Google.
Paid content syndication is a much more straight-forward process than attempting to get your content featured in major publications. If you’re a small business owner, it’s also the only way you’re going get your content on websites like MSN. However, paid content syndication doesn’t have the same SEO and brand awareness benefits like free syndication does.
As a digital marketing agency, it’s fair to say that we’re well versed in the content marketing world. This includes knowing what the best content syndication partners and services are. So, here’s a list of some that we recommend making the most of.
Now that you know all about content syndication in digital marketing, here are some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind if you plan on syndicating your own content.
Don’t Give Another Publication All of The SEO Credit
A risk of syndicating your content with another publication is that they’ll rank higher in Google and be credited for your work. Like we previously discussed, request that a publication includes a canonical link that directs back to your original content.
Spend Time to Find The Right Publication(s)
If you’re a small business owner looking to reach a larger audience, it’s important to find the right outlets to publish your content. You also need to keep your expectations in line if you’re a small business; expect to start small and then work your way up to bigger publications.
Make Sure You’re Pitch Perfect
Some of the biggest publications that accept syndicated content are picky and receive a lot of requests, so make sure you only send out your best content. Make sure you read a publication’s editorial guidelines first, then create a pitch that is perfectly tailored to their requirements.
Syndicate Content On An On-going Basis
To make the most of the content syndication, you have to do better than being a one-timer. You’re only going to reap the benefits if you regularly send content to publishers and utilise a syndication network.
Revive.Digital’s content marketing services go far beyond just blog posts and SEO website content. We can lead the creation of innovative and eye-catching content such as videos, animation, infographics, social media assets, photography, e-books, whitepapers, press releases and much more.
As a digital marketing agency, we excel due to our great attention to detail, our creative execution and the strategic alignment behind it all. This ensures that we reach our clients’ audiences and take them to the next level.
Interested in improving your content marketing strategy? To speak with us, please get in touch with our team. Call us on 01702 619 139 or visit our contact page today!
