How Effective Is Content Syndication? Time to Find Your Answer

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we create brand content for reaching our target audience. To value customer empathy and priority has become more important than meeting promotional goals through the content. In fact, it has been quite a task to find a balance between the two in 2020. So, if you are trying to play safe this year, we don’t blame you.

However, not taking a chance is also a blunder you should not make.

When you take calculated risks, they can bring in big returns for your business in today’s competitive market. In this blog, we tell you why content syndication is an area you must delve into. Although it is a bit risky, syndication can increase your brand exposure when used cautiously.

Still confused? Read the blog, and we will have you convinced by the end.

So, Does Content Syndication Really Work?

Before we jump into the debate whether content syndication is good or bad, let us understand what it exactly stands for.

Content syndication is the practice of republishing your content on a third-party website. The platform which decides to repost your content can either keep the piece intact, modify it a little, or publish just an excerpt from it. The best part is the publisher also mentions the website where the content has been originally posted right at the top of the article. Look for the following mentions to identify a syndicated content:

“originally appeared on….”

“originally published in….”

“republished with permission…”

That content syndication is gaining momentum can be understood from a report acknowledging this practice as an important lead generation tactic among B2B marketers (themarketingscope.com). Having understood the benefit it offers, B2C companies are also starting to leverage syndicated content for enhancing their brand exposure. If you think it’s overhyped and not worth it, we believe you’ll reconsider once you’ve gone through the benefits of this activity.

Expand the audience base – Re-publishing your website content on a third-party site will no doubt improve the readership of your brand content. After all, the more people read your content, the higher impact on the audience. It will not only get the audience talking about your content, but syndication also strengthens your brand identity and recognition.

Want to expand your online reach & presence? Be unafraid to experiment with content syndication.

Improve website traffic – Do you wonder if Google will find syndicated content valuable? According to the experts on SEO services, the answer is yes, but it is not that simple. Whether it boosts your organic traffic or not is dependent on how cautious you’re with content syndication. When you go by the rules, this practice can be a valuable method for attracting quality organic traffic to your website.

We discuss the guidelines in the next section, so bear with us.

Maximise lead generation – The audience that reads your content may also be a great customer-fit. So, when you distribute your content, you are not only expanding the readership, but you are maximising lead opportunities for your business. To get your content read by the target demographic with buying potential can mean more customers or clients for your business.

Guess what follows next? Improved chances of conversion and revenue generation.

How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Content Syndication?

Now that we know the benefits of syndicated content, it’s time to discuss something tricky – how to achieve SEO-friendly syndication? We’ll touch all major areas so that you understand what to do and what not to for this strategy to work for your business. Let us get started then!

Select the syndication partners – While many websites are open to content syndication these days, choosing the high-ranking platforms is the real deal. So, research the prospective syndication partners and send your pitch to the most relevant ones. If you are looking for free of cost options, you can consider platforms like Quora and Medium. Also, you may go for paid options like Taboola, Outbrain, and Scoop.it among others. Along with a direct and concise pitch, you should also send an excerpt of your article/blog to convince the third-party site that your content is worth re-publishing.

Our pro-tip – work on the portfolio because it can make or break the deal for you.

Ensure SEO-friendliness – Now, we come to the crux of the matter! See, when you syndicate your content, Google may or may not show the website you’d prefer on the search engine rank page. Here, the chances are that your website content might get outranked by the syndicated post on the third-party site. Also, the duplicate content issue can tarnish your brand image in the worst way possible. To find a way around these problems, specialists in digital marketing services request the publishing websites to use ‘rel=canonical’ tag while reposting the content.

How does it help, you ask? Adding a canonical tag to syndicated post will not only tell Google which is the original content, but it also ensures that your website does not lose out on the link juice that the third-party site acquires. As you can see, if you want to redistribute your content, asking the syndicate partner to add the canonical tag is THE MOST IMPORTANT task to perform.

Don’t neglect guest blogging – Some may confuse syndication with guest posting, but there is a fine line between them. While guest posting involves creating and posting a content meant for the third-party site, syndication happens when the original content is on your website but, you have it republished on another platform. Content syndication is a better option because reposting content is more feasible than creating more and more fresh content for guest blogging.

However, there is a catch. To have the authoritative websites publish (read advertise) your content is a huge deal. They will settle for nothing lesser than top-quality original content. You can only find success with syndication if the writing chops of your team are on fleek.

Till then, you should focus on guess blogging, and create a good impression on high-ranking websites with quality content creation. If you go by the advice of experts in content marketing services, steady guest blogging can eventually open doors to full-fledged content syndication. So, you can’t neglect guest posting even if it requires more effort & time.

Conclusion – Still wondering ‘to do or not to do’? When you are going by the rules, content syndication does not remain as intimidating as it is often said to be. To avoid making mistakes and reap the benefits, you may follow the suggestions we outlined and mark this blog as your go-to guide. Once you have tried out our tips, don’t forget to share your results and experience with us. For now, we wish you all success!