Unlocking the Power of Content Syndication: A Comprehensive Guide

Are you interested in expanding the reach of your content and driving more traffic to your website? If so, content syndication might be the strategy you’re looking for. This article will explore the world of content syndication, including what it is and how it differs from guest posting and plagiarism. We will also discuss the benefits of content syndication and the potential downsides. And lastly, we’ll provide you with some tips on syndicating your content successfully. So, whether you’re a seasoned content creator or starting, keep reading to learn all about content syndication and how it can benefit your online presence.

What Is Content Syndication?

Content syndication is a marketing strategy that involves republishing your content on other platforms or websites to expand your audience reach. Third-party sites may syndicate your content in its entirety or publish a shortened or edited version. The publisher needs to credit the original creator and provide a link. To engage in content syndication, you should have a well-defined strategy. You can employ several methods, such as republishing the entire content piece, editing it to create a shorter version, or sharing an excerpt or summary from the original work.

Content Syndication vs. Guest Posting

Content syndication is distinct from guest posting because it involves republishing your content. Guest posting, on the other hand, entails creating original content for third-party websites.

One key advantage of content syndication is its extensibility. With this approach, you can write a blog post and publish it on your blog, then distribute it to various other blogs or syndication platforms.

By reposting your content, you can leverage it multiple times. In contrast, guest posts are only easily scalable if you can access a site with numerous web content syndication partners.

When you write a guest post for a popular blog in your niche, it remains solely on that blog and cannot be republished elsewhere. This lack of flexibility makes content syndication more scalable than guest posting. After all, how many guest posts can you write each month?

Content Syndication vs. Plagiarism

Syndication and plagiarism are two distinct concepts. Syndicated content refers to a copy of existing content that you have already created. Plagiarism, however, involves taking original content from a website and republishing it without crediting the original author.

While syndicated content indicates where the original post was published, plagiarism fails to acknowledge the source. It is essential to syndicate content properly to avoid it being seen as plagiarism.

Content Syndication vs. Content Curation

Content syndication also differs from content curation. With content curation, you gather content from various sources and organize it in a way that provides maximum benefit to readers. This involves adding your commentary. However, you are responsible for producing the core content in both syndication and curation.

In content syndication, you can publish your original content on other platforms or publications, such as print/digital magazines and industry-related platforms.

Content Syndication: Pros and Cons

Companies can effectively amplify their message and attract new potential customers by distributing content to various platforms and websites. However, like any marketing tactic, content syndication has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, which we discuss below.

Content Syndication Benefits

Content syndication offers several benefits: 

• It allows you to distribute your content to new audiences, maximizing your investment in content creation. 
• By working with relevant partners such as digital publishers or industry influencers, you can increase brand awareness and establish your brand as a trustworthy voice. 
• Additionally, syndicated content may include a link to your site, which can drive referral traffic and improve your SEO by gaining backlinks. 

However, one potential problem is that Google may need to display syndicated content in search results as you would like. Google aims to provide users with the most appropriate version of content, which may not align with your preferences. 

Despite this, the benefits of extra referral traffic and brand recognition usually outweigh any potential downsides. To mitigate this issue, it is advisable to use content syndication alongside other content marketing efforts, ensuring you’re not solely relying on content that Google may consider duplicating.

Content Syndication Downsides

Content syndication has its positives, but it also has downsides. Here are a few things to consider:

• Reputation risks. Syndicating content on spammy sites can harm your online reputation. Researching and ensuring that your chosen platform is trustworthy and relevant to your business is essential. Checking social media, forums, and other sources can help you make an informed decision.
• Challenging lead generation. Acquiring leads from third-party websites may be more difficult to convert than leads already familiar with your brand. To overcome this, offer higher-level content that can convert viewers, even if they are unfamiliar with your brand.
• SEO impact. Syndicated content might outrank your original content in search engine results, affecting your SEO. However, this can be mitigated by clearly linking to the original post when syndicating the content and waiting for search engines to identify the original post before syndicating it.

5 Steps to Content Syndication

Marketing content syndication can provide great exposure, but it’s crucial to do it correctly. Syndicated content that needs to be done right can harm your online reputation and SEO. To successfully syndicate content, follow these steps:

1. Create high-quality content that is link-worthy, focusing on quality, depth, relevance, and authority. Make sure your content fulfills the requirements of syndication platforms, stands out on those websites, and serves your goals.
2. Identify the right platforms to syndicate your content. Partner with platforms with a larger audience than your own and are industry leaders in your field. Research these platforms to understand their style and the type of content they publish. Reach out to them with a customized outreach message to inquire about syndication opportunities.
3. Use appropriate methodologies for content syndication to prevent search engines from considering syndicated content as original. Use the rel=canonical tag on the URL of syndicated content to indicate that it is syndicated. Consider using the meta no-index tag to remove the syndicated page from indexing fully. Alternatively, you can use regular backlinks to allow only a snippet of your post to be syndicated, with readers needing to click on the link to access the entire post. However, the safest option is to use rel=canonical or meta no-index tags.
4. Track the performance of your syndicated content to generate high-quality leads. Pay attention to engagement, qualification, conversion, and win rates. Also, consider brand lift and traffic as secondary factors indicating campaign success.
5. Continuously evaluate and improve your syndication strategy. Measure the return on investment (ROI) from content syndication and experiment with additional publications when successful. This will help you scale your syndication strategy.

Remember to constantly refine your approach and strive for better outcomes in content syndication.

Content Syndication Best Practices

• Modify content as needed, adding links or CTAs to direct readers to your site.
• Utilize canonical tags recommended by Google to indicate the preferred version of a syndicated page in search engine results.
• Include a link to each syndicated piece’s original article to enhance SEO and drive valuable traffic.
• Promote syndicated content on social media platforms to attract readers and increase visibility.
• Measure key metrics, such as referral traffic, to identify effective strategies and refine your content syndication marketing approach.

Free vs. Paid Content Syndication

Like many marketing strategies, content syndication offers free and paid options. When deciding where to syndicate your content, consider your budget and the outlet’s target audience to ensure it aligns with your goals.

You can republish your website content on other platforms or publications for free content syndication. This can be done by:

• Free, public websites like Medium or LinkedIn, where anyone can repost your content (with proper credit).
• Industry or special-interest blogs that are open to publishing relevant content for their audience.
• Large media outlets, like HuffPost or Forbes, may approach you to repost your content if it meets their standards.

Other free platforms for syndication include community-specific forums like Reddit and niche Facebook groups. However, it’s essential to participate and understand these platforms’ specific language and culture before syndicating your content.

On the other hand, paid content syndication involves paying for distribution. There are two main forms of paid syndication:

• Companies like PRNEWS distribute content publicly for a reasonable fee.
• Native advertising services, like Taboola and Outbrain, function similarly to Google Ads. Companies pay to display their articles at the bottom of third-party websites, targeting users based on browsing history. Unlike other types of syndication, only the headline and image appear on the third-party site, with the link directing users back to the original site. Taboola and Outbrain operate on a pay-per-click model.

In a Nutshell

By syndicating your content to other platforms and publications, you can extend its reach and maximize its impact. Keep your hard work noticed after hitting the publish button. Take advantage of syndication to reach new audiences and enhance your brand awareness. With this approach, you can ensure that your great piece of content gets the recognition it deserves and continues to make a lasting impression.