While discussing content strategy with a colleague marketer, the idea of content syndication came up. Many firms, particularly those new to the notion, frequently ignore this effective strategy. Content syndication can substantially increase your reach, traffic, and online presence. So, what is content syndication, and why should you start using it now? Let’s get into the specifics and discover some insights.
What is Content Syndication?
Content syndication is the process of releasing your content to third-party websites to reach a larger audience. It’s a strategy that allows you to tap into the audience of established platforms, resulting in greater visitors to your own site and increased visibility for your content. Let’s dig deeper into this notion and grasp its benefits.
Content syndication refers to republishing your existing content on various sites. These venues might vary from industry-specific websites and blogs to large news organizations. By syndicating your content, you may reach new audiences and expand your brand’s reach without having to develop fresh content from scratch.
According to SEMrush, 65% of marketers believe that link development is the most difficult component of SEO, and content syndication can help relieve this by collecting backlinks from authoritative sites.
The Benefits of Content Syndication
- Extended Reach: By syndicating your content, you can reach audiences who would not otherwise have noticed your site. This might result in higher brand awareness and a larger consumer base.
- Improved SEO: Quality backlinks from reliable websites will help you rank higher in search engines, making your content more visible.
- Enhanced Credibility: Being featured on well-known platforms can boost your brand’s credibility and position you as a thought leader in your field.
- Increased visitors: Greater exposure leads to greater website visitors, which can result in higher conversions and sales.
I recall when we first began syndicating our content to a popular industry blog. The traffic increase was immediate. We saw a big boost in website visitors, as well as increased credibility for our brand. Backlinks helped us increase our SEO ranks, increasing the visibility of our content in search results. It was a game-changer in our marketing strategy.
How To Implement Content Syndication
Step #1. Identify Target Platforms
- Look for sites that are relevant to your sector and have a large readership.
- Look for sites that accept syndicated content and are consistent with your brand’s ideals.
Step #2. Create High-Quality Content
- Make sure your content is useful, well-researched, and interesting. High-quality content is more likely to be approved by credible platforms.
- Use a content template to maintain uniformity and guarantee that all important parts are included.
Content Syndication Template: – Title: An engaging and informative title.
- Introduction: A concise review of the issue and its relevance.
- Main Body: Detailed content, including subheadings, statistics, and insights.
- Conclusion: A summary of essential points with a call to action (CTA).
Step #3. Pitching Your Content
- Create a persuasive proposal that explains why your content is relevant to their audience.
- Highlight any previous successes or analytics that show how effective your content is.
Step #4. Monitor and Measure the Results
- Use analytics tools to monitor the performance of syndicated content.
- Track traffic, engagement, and SEO improvements to determine the effectiveness of your syndication activities.
Free Content Syndication
There are four major ways to syndicate your content for free.
#1. Republish your most recent or highest-performing content
Republish your most recent or highest-performing content on larger websites with more users and authority than your own. When you syndicate to a larger publication, you increase your reach. However, because readers may consume the complete piece of content straight from the third-party website, there is little reason for them to visit the original source. As a result, only a small fraction of readers will visit your site. That said, if your primary goal is to raise brand awareness, syndicating in large magazines is the way to go.
Syndicate old content to websites with about the same audience and authority as yours. If you want to target a certain audience, consider syndicating your content to smaller, more concentrated magazines. Ideally, look for sources with comparable authority and readership to your blog. They may also enable additional contextual links, so you can link back to your blog from the article. It’s an excellent method to introduce their followers to more content on your site and generate new leads.
#2. Guest Posting
Guest post for a larger newspaper and then syndicate it on your website, Medium, or LinkedIn. It can be worthwhile to publish on a large site first, as they may only be interested in fresh, original content. You gain the advantage of putting your thought leadership in front of a large audience who would not otherwise have seen your content. After a while, depending on the publication, you can repost the item to your audience and social media networks. Essentially, you receive more value for your content dollar.
#3. Be caught up by websites that organically syndicate content
You’ll see that a number of smaller publications have picked up the headline of a recent article from a major newspaper if you type it into Google. These usually feature an excerpt from the original piece with a link back to the source.
Here’s an example.
To increase the visibility of your blog, start by developing a page that explains how others can syndicate your content. UniverseToday.com’s “steal our content … please” page provides a nice example of how to proceed.
Then, make sure your website is optimized for syndication.
Once optimized, build up the links for automatic syndication, whether by connecting to sitemaps and feeds or developing API connections to different syndication sites. Setting up this mechanism to cross-post your content to sites like Flipboard can save you time in the long term.”
#4. Provide other publications an incentive to syndicate your content
Finally, provide other publications with an incentive to syndicate your content, whether completely or partially. Include charts, infographics, or diagrams that are easily picked up and shared, for example.
“Presenting significant data, insights, and takeaways from your content in a visual style, such as an infographic or slide deck, can help to make it more engaging. Even if a site does not want to syndicate an entire article, they may be willing to share your visual content if it complements their existing piece and helps boost engagement on their page,” said Sara McGuire, Content Lead at Venngage, who used visual content to increase site traffic by 400%.
In the following part, you’ll learn how to find publications where your competitors’ content is syndicated, as well as which ones to choose and avoid.
How To Find Content Syndication Partners
There are various tools available, like BuzzSumo, Ahrefs, and SEMRush, to mention a few. Check any website’s most recent backlinks for content syndication chances.
A Google search is probably the quickest place to start. Look for stories that say “originally published in” or “republished with permission” or “originally appeared on.”
To filter your search to publications in your niche, enter URL: [domain]. Here is a real-world example of an inbound blog that syndicates content:
When selecting periodicals, seek for those that include:
- Similar or higher authority than your blog.
- A readership that matches your buyer persona
- Canonical links to the original articles
There are publications that you should avoid. Publishing there may ultimately hurt your brand’s SEO performance. Make sure you avoid publications that contain:
- Poor authority and spammy outbound links.
- There are no explicit editing guidelines.
To get you started, I’ve compiled a list of websites where you can syndicate content right away.
Content Syndication Services, Websites, and Networks
- Medium
- Quora
- LinkedIn SlideShare
- Reddit Tumblr Pinterest
- Business2Community
- Outbrain (Paid)
- Taboola (Paid)
- Zemanta (Paid)
- Content.ad (Paid)
- RevContent (Paid)
- Sharethrough (Paid)
Paid Content Syndication
Paid content syndication means paying to get published.
The most popular type of paid syndication has been around for a long time. Big brands frequently work directly with big publications to deliver their content in front of a large audience. This technique, however, was not available to smaller brands with a tighter budget.
Fortunately, platforms like Outbrain and Taboola allow even modest firms to appear as recommended content on sites such as CNN, BBC, and The Guardian.
You have probably seen these advertisements before:
These platforms work similarly to any PPC campaign. You can specify a maximum budget, a cost-per-click, and a target audience. The platform then displays your ad as a recommended article, complete with an image, a short title, and a link to your website.
It’s probably worth highlighting that these links have no SEO authority. Search engines classify them as “sponsored content,” as do some readers.
Every time a reader clicks on one of these advertisements, you will be charged a fee that varies according to the target audience and other campaign settings.
However, sponsored syndication is a much more straightforward way to have your content displayed in prominent media. It’s probably the only way to have your content published on sites like CNN. However, paid syndication may not provide the same SEO or brand exposure benefits as free syndication.
Content Syndication Examples
The following companies syndicate content within their properties:
- USA Today and Gannett
- Sydney Morning Herald and Nine Publishing
- Medium.com
Websites that provide content through content syndication include:
- Huffington Post.
- Forbes and SeekingAlpha
Key takeaways
- Content syndication enables you to reach new audiences and increase traffic to your website.
- Get quality backlinks from authoritative websites to improve your search engine rankings.
- Being featured on credible platforms fosters trust and positions you as a thought leader.
- Repurpose existing content to attract a larger audience rather than producing new material from scratch.
- Use analytics to track the effectiveness of your syndication campaigns and make data-driven decisions.
Using Templates for Efficiency
Templates might help you streamline your content syndication efforts. A content syndication template ensures that your content is organized and polished, making it more appealing to third-party platforms.
I’ve prepared a printable content syndication template for you.
This template offers parts and features to help you properly structure your syndicated content. Feel free to adapt it to meet your individual requirements.
Conclusion
Content syndication is an effective marketing strategy for driving traffic, generating leads, and increasing conversions. Whether you choose organic or sponsored content syndication, it is critical to provide high-quality content and select the correct syndication partners. With the correct strategy, content syndication may help you reach new audiences, position your brand as a thought leader, and ultimately expand your business. Personalize your approach and use templates to ensure consistency and efficiency.
Are you ready to use content syndication to increase your engagement and conversions? What challenges and accomplishments have you had with content syndication? Share your opinions and let’s learn from one another!
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