Useful, optimized web content is just the first step to increased lead generation. The next step in any content marketing strategy is to attract plenty of targeted traffic. Sharing articles and blogs is an excellent way to get more human eyes on your content.
Social media sharing, guest blogging, and building links manually are still effective to drive traffic to your content. But today, the landscape has evolved with AI and automation tools, making content syndication even more effective and far-reaching! Ready to boost your SEO, your traffic, and get more leads? Take your optimization efforts to the next level by building out an automated content syndication network!
What Does Content Syndication Mean?
Basically speaking, content syndication is republishing articles and content on third-party sites to reach a wider audience. Often the material is from a company blog, but can also be videos, photos, infographics, and more. Sometimes the article is republished in its entirety. In other instances, the initial paragraph or an excerpt might be featured on the site, based on how the publication syndicates content. Usually, the original author is credited at the third-party site with a link back to the article or your website.
Both sites benefit from this arrangement. The third-party site gets free content that is fresh and relevant enough to attract the search engines and continued traffic. And your site gets exposure to a new audience it might never have attracted organically. These types of links are created without writing new content, which maximizes the investment in your existing articles. The strategy is an affordable way to realize excellent returns. Syndicated content creates social signals, attracts traffics, and pushes your content to some of the most authoritative sites on the web. Building a content syndication network helps brand your business and control the results for your brand through proactive reputation management.
What Is Syndication In SEO?
Any effective content marketing strategy is founded on intelligent keyword research to attract search engines and searchers. Building a reliable content syndication network improves SEO and getting authoritative links to a page act as votes, boosting its value on Google. Each time a syndicate publishes your article with a link back to your site, it’s like another vote for the web page. But will the syndicated content cannibalize the traffic from the original material that appeared on your website? Top concerns about content syndication networks are duplicate content and republished content outranking the original article.
The bottom line: SEO is always a risky endeavor, and the benefits of syndication outweigh the risks. Syndication is one of the most effective ways to bring new visitors to your site. Plus, it increases the chances your content shared for greater exposure. It is rare for Google to penalize anyone for syndicating content. In some instances, duplicates of the same article are removed out of the search results. Either way, your content still appears on the search engines. Always remember to include links back to your website to get the SEO juice.
Getting Started: Know Your Website Entity
To start, get to know your website entity to develop a viable content syndication network. Per one of Google’s patents, an entity is a concept or thing that is unique, well-defined, singular, and distinguishable. A website is an entity with many entities within it such a location, photos, content, and more. And your site entity is connected to other online entities through reviews, knowledge panels, local searches, and more. The goal is to ensure your website’s entities have value.
But how can you increase the value of your online entity and the numerous entities it contains? First, create meaningful content that offers useful and unique information rather than articles that outline your services or products. If your content answers multiple search inquiries, it has enough value to attract more traffic and generate leads. Also, build relevant links to authoritative sites. Make sure your company has a Google Business Profile listing. Finally, add Schema to your website to show its association with products, topics, and more. And all of these factors help feed the potential of your content syndication network.
How Do You Do Content Syndication?
Some of the leading sites on the web feature syndicated content, including CNN and The New York Times. It can be difficult for people to find the articles on your blog with the din of all the competitors online. Writing guest posts is a smart way to get authoritative links, but it is a time-consuming and challenging process. Using traditional SEO methods takes months to see results. Often sites see a notable difference in traffic within weeks of building a content syndication network. After a continuous flow of traffic, conversion rates slowly improve.
One of the exceptions is a new blog that might have little or no organic traffic. Guest posting gives you a jump start. Creating and publishing quality content gives your brand credibility when building out a content syndication network. Content from your blog can be automatically syndicated through its RSS feed. Other options include publishing tools on social media, such as Quora and LinkedIn, and blogging sites such as Tumblr and Medium.
Make It Good to Go For SEO
While duplicate content isn’t a significant issue, the idea of any potential SEO problem inspires fear in webpreneurs. Google will deem which version of the article is most appropriate to show in search engine results. One way to avoid it is by adding the rel=canonical tag in republished posts to link Google with the original content source. A less effective method is to tag a page as “NoIndex,” so it is not picked up by Google’s bots. When content is not indexed, it won’t appear in search engine results. If a syndication partner does not permit either, verify the content includes a backlink to your site with attribution.
The integration of AI tools like ChatGPT in content creation and syndication has become a significant advancement. AI can generate unique content versions and assist in creating tailored content for different platforms, enhancing reach and engagement. This automation aids in avoiding issues with duplicate content, a critical factor in SEO.
Also when building your syndication network, consider the authority of the content syndication partner. For example, a high-profile syndication site such as Huffington Post is sure to outrank a young, little-known blog. Taking steps to SEO-proof your original content helps ensure a republished post doesn’t outrank your original one. And if it does, adding a backlink to your site and attribution will direct more traffic to your site.
Choose the Tentacles for Website Entities
Now that you’ve taken a crash course in web entities and syndication networks think about choosing the tentacles to promote your content. Each site should showcase your content and put it in front of people who might otherwise miss it. Consider the best medium to share your work. Build up a following on social media. Then decide the platforms that are suitable for your content topic and tone. For example, a tech company would want to find sites with plenty of tech-savvy and business-related content.
Make the original content outstanding. Do your research, provide little-known facts, and add images and infographics for added optimization and value to the reader. Include links to authoritative resources and internal links within your site. And remember to include at least one call to action in your content to help generate leads. Build a content syndication network using sites that have their own syndication networks. With more traffic comes increased sharing that drives additional traffic to your site. The process feeds itself and helps generate more leads over time.
Keep It Coming
Like most other SEO strategies, a syndication network is not a fast fix. A one-and-done approach sends a stream of traffic that soon turns into a trickle. Content marketing requires ongoing sharing and promotion to reach your target audience and get them to take action. Plus, branding means putting your company out in front of as many eyes as possible. As people continue to view your content, your business gains brand recognition. Consider how people feel hungry when they see a fast food logo. You want people to think of your offerings as soon as they see the company name.
A content syndication network is most effective when content is republished regularly. When a publisher accepts your syndication request, ask if it can be a regular situation. Choosing respected syndication partners sends ongoing traffic to your site with a host of lead generation opportunities. A handpicked syndication network pushes your content out on some of the most highly trafficked sites on the web – and that’s sure to mean results.
Automation tools have become more sophisticated, allowing seamless integration and distribution of content across various channels. Platforms like Zapier, Make, and IFTTT can automate the syndication process, ensuring a consistent presence and saving valuable time.
Guest Blogging Versus Syndication Networks
Guest blogging continues to be one of the best ways to draw in targeted traffic and generate leads. While this strategy works, it is not very scalable. Finding sites that accept outside blogs, writing stellar content, and optimizing it all take time and effort. With the hours and expertise that go into guest blogging, outsourcing can be expensive. And some business owners are poor writers. All it takes is one excellent piece of content to share on a syndication network.
Your content can appear on dozens of authoritative sites each month by writing just one article. Most marketers discover guest blogging, and building syndication networks go hand-in-hand. Once your content is published on recognized blogs, more syndication partners will be interested in sharing your content.
What’s the Deal With Google and Links?
Link building has evolved over the past decade. The days of thin links with little or no valuable content are over. Quality link building requires time, patience, and continued effort to achieve results. Google recognizes robust content that provides value based on the searchers’ criteria. Guest blogging social media sharing, and content syndication are the smartest way to build links that keep sending traffic to your site. The Demand Gen. Report, 2017 revealed 70 percent of consumers prefer to learn about a product through content rather than advertisements. Consumers want relevant content, so give it to them and make sure they can find it.
Also, links from respected sites help boost your site’s ranking and trustworthiness. People want to check out new content on sites they read regularly. As a result, a blog that gets a few hundred visitors can start enjoying thousands of visitors once the content is republished via a syndication network. Choose sites that have been around for years to ensure your link will deliver juice for a long time to come.
Don’t Get Left in the Dust
As Google algorithms become more sophisticated, marketers need to adopt reliable strategies that deliver measurable results. More companies are discovering the power of using syndication networks for branding, authority, and lead generation.
Web content syndication puts your content in front of eyes that matter. And plenty of free syndication partners offers as much – or more – value than their paid counterparts. Keep in mind sites such as Reddit, YouTube, SlideShare, and SoundCloud. From visual and audio to written content, there are countless opportunities to expand the reach of your articles. Don’t get left in the dust as your competitors adopt this effective marketing strategy.
As we move forward, the essence of creating a brand that Google recognizes remains rooted in delivering valuable content. By integrating AI and automation into your content syndication strategy, you can stay ahead in the digital landscape, enhancing SEO, attracting more targeted traffic, and generating leads effectively.
Now you understand the concept of content syndication networks but do you know how to get started? It’s time to revamp your content marketing strategy. Consult with a team of professionals who understand what it takes to build syndication networks that deliver results. Watch a steady, growing stream of traffic to your site. Then see the leads start coming in. The experts at Galileo Tech Media will help you build a network that builds your brand and business.