Information overload and shorter attention spans have made it quite challenging for brands to get their content in front of the right audience. Most brands will continuously create masterpieces, only to see them gather dust on their websites with almost no engagement.
Fortunately, there are strategies you can use to give your valuable content the exposure it deserves. One of the most effective ones is content syndication.
So, what exactly is syndicated content, and how does it work?
In this article, I will explore the ins and outs of content syndication, from understanding the basics to uncovering the benefits it can bring to your business.
What is content syndication?
Content syndication is the practice of republishing or distributing content that has already been published on additional platforms or websites. The content can take various forms like articles, blog posts, videos, podcasts, and infographics.
The primary goal of content syndication is to expand the visibility and impact of the original content. By sharing content on different third-party platforms, brands can tap into new audiences they would not reach with their channels alone.
What content syndication isn’t
Content syndication should not be confused with other content marketing strategies like guest blogging and content aggregation. Unlike syndicated content which is republished from its original source, guest blogging involves creating original posts to be specifically published on another website.
Content aggregation, on the other hand, involves compiling relevant content from various sources in a single place and linking back to the original sources, as this site does.
So, how do you tell syndicated content apart from, say, guest blogging? The main characteristic is that the online publisher will credit the original creator as shown below.
Remember, syndication isn't just about sharing your content to any website or publication with a large audience. It's about strategically placing your content. For instance, it would not be wise for an eCommerce brand to have its content republished on a spammy essay-writing website.
Note, too, that while syndication is a great way to boost the authority of the brand that wrote the original content, it shouldn’t be the only strategy to use. You should complement it with other just-as-effective tactics for the best results. For instance, you can also tap into an agency that offers a great PR service like reputation management to ensure good public perception of your brand. You can also leverage social media advertising. This will help boost your brand recognition among your target audiences who prefer to get their information from social channels rather than from websites.
How to syndicate content?
Now that you understand what it is, how do you effectively use the strategy to boost your content visibility and engagement? There are two types of content syndication—free and paid.
Free content syndication
Your published content can get syndicated for free in various ways.
a. Content syndication partners
First, you can find the right websites, popular blogs, or media outlets and pitch your content of choice. Forge strong partnerships with the right sites to ensure your articles are featured regularly.
But first things first: how do you identify the right content syndication partners?
The easiest way is using Google. Look at it this way. Websites with a record of publishing syndicated content will be more receptive to republishing yours. As I showed above, syndicated content will credit the original content creator with phrases like:
- Originally appeared on
- Republished with permission
- Originally published on
Use these phrases to find live syndicated content, and include quotation marks to ensure Google gives you relevant results. To narrow down your search to a specific topic or niche, include inurl:[domain], as shown below.
If you have a certain online publication in mind, but you’re not sure if they publish syndicated content, a quick Google search will also help you figure this out. Add ‘site:domain.com’, as shown below.
You can also use tools like Ahrefs’ Site Explorer to identify content syndication partners. This option is ideal if you’ve seen your direct and indirect competitors' content syndicated on a couple of sites. The tools will help you examine their backlink profile and easily identify their syndicated content.
You can then note down any relevant sites you might want to pitch your content for syndication.
When selecting your partners, ensure the third-party websites have similar or higher authority, serve the same niche as you, and include canonical links to original articles. These aspects will protect your brand reputation and SEO performance–which I will discuss later on.
b. Syndicate guest posts on your blog
The other way to syndicate content for free is to republish your guest posts on your blog. Most popular sites accept fresh and original content. Considering they have a larger audience, it makes sense to first publish your content there.
After a while, you can republish the content on your site and include a canonical tag to show search engines that theirs is the original version, as shown below.
However, not all sites will allow you to republish your guest posts. So, ensure you clearly understand the contributors' guidelines.
c. Leverage self-publishing platforms
You can also self-syndicate by republishing your content on self-publishing platforms like LinkedIn, Quora, or Medium, as shown below.
These networks have built-in audiences that will help amplify your reach. Hence, by republishing your high-quality content on these platforms, you can tap into their established user base and drive more traffic to your original site. Additionally, for platforms like LinkedIn and Quora, consider using an article summarizer to create a compelling summary of your article. Share this summary in your feed to drive traffic to your original content
d. Getting picked up by syndicating websites
In some cases, you might just get lucky and have your content picked by websites that naturally syndicate content. Pinto Legal is a great example of a website that usually syndicates content from major publications like The Atlantic and Entrepreneur.
The secret is to create high-quality content that these websites or publications want to syndicate. So, optimize your content and share valuable insights, great takeaways, or industry statistics. Also, keep it engaging by sharing visual content and using interactive types of content like infographics and slides.
Paid syndication
You can also get your digital content syndicated for a fee. Paid syndication networks like Outbrain and Taboola specialize in content distribution across a network of high-traffic websites.
Your content will be labeled as "recommended" or "sponsored" and feature a title, image, and a link to your website:
Syndication networks use algorithms to target your content to specific audiences based on their interests and online behavior. This ensures your online content reaches the right people. So, while the “sponsored” tag does not carry much authority with search engines or some readers, it is still a great way to build brand awareness.
Who uses content syndication?
Content syndication is utilized by a wide range of organizations and individuals across various industries, including:
- Media companies and news outlets: This category frequently uses content syndication to expand their reach and fill their content calendars. For instance, a local news publication might syndicate news stories from a larger publication to offer comprehensive news coverage.
- Digital marketers and SEO experts: This group often uses content syndication to build backlinks and improve search engine ranking, which enhances their sites’ credibility and visibility.
- Small businesses: Startups and smaller businesses particularly benefit from content syndication since it allows them to tap into the audience of larger, more established publications.
- Educational institutions: Universities and colleges can pitch their research papers or academic articles for syndication to academic journals or educational websites to enhance their reach.
Keep in mind that these are only some of the groups. Content syndication is a versatile strategy that any brand or even individual creators can use to reach a broader audience.
How does syndicated content impact SEO?
Syndicated content can have both positive and negative impacts on SEO. On the positive side, it can drive organic traffic back to the original content, increase brand awareness, and build backlinks, all of which are crucial for good SEO.
However, if not done correctly, it can lead to duplicate content issues. Google and other search engines strive to deliver unique, relevant, and fresh content to users. So, when search engine bots find multiple copies of the same content, they will struggle to identify the original post. This could potentially damage the website's original content ranking.
To avoid this, ensure the third-party sites use canonical tags. These make it easy for search engines to identify the syndicated content. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, only partner with reputable sites that have high domain authority to boost the original content's credibility and SEO performance.
Benefits of content syndication
Content syndication offers several benefits. Here are some of the key ones:
- Increased reach and visibility: Syndication allows content to be published on multiple platforms, reaching target audiences that would probably never have visited the original source. The expanded reach helps to increase brand awareness and visibility.
- Enhanced SEO performance: When done correctly, syndicated content can provide valuable backlinks from reputable sites, improving the original content's search engine ranking. This boosts the overall SEO performance of the website.
- Cost-effective marketing: Free content syndication is a cost-efficient way to distribute content widely since it leverages existing content.
- Building authority: Republishing content on reputable sites enhances the authority and credibility of the original publication or website. Credibility helps brands easily win their target audience’s trust.
- Longer content lifespan: Syndication helps extend your content’s lifespan, which maximizes the value derived from each piece of content.
Clearly, if you are looking to expand your content’s reach and impact, then it’s time you include content syndication in your content marketing efforts.
Conclusion
Whether you're a seasoned marketer, media outlet, or small business owner, exploring syndication can help unlock new opportunities for content engagement and brand growth.
But remember, you’ll need to avoid content duplicate issues. Create valuable content and only partner with high-authority sites as well.
Now go ahead and use the free or paid content syndication strategies I have discussed. This way, you’ll get the most out of your content and enjoy the awesome benefits syndicated content offers original creators.
