You worked a lot to create great content. You posted it on your blog, on your social media accounts, and ensured it's optimized for search engines.
But the views and subscribers aren't where you'd like them to be.
If it's any consolation, know that getting traffic is actually a common problem for most marketers. And while there are many ways to get those numbers up, content syndication stands out because it's really cost-effective, helps you boost brand awareness, and improves SEO performance.
That's if you do it right, of course. Otherwise, you risk being outranked by other publications with your own content. Additionally, you could end up negatively impacting your SEO performance by picking the wrong website to syndicate on.
At this point, you might be wondering -- what's the best way to use this tactic, and how can I avoid the drawbacks?
In this blog post, I'll show you content syndication best practices you need to be aware of to make this tactic work for your business.
But first, let's talk about what content syndication really is (and what it's not).
It's important to note that, although it might seem similar, content syndication is not the same as guest blogging. A guest post is a completely new piece of content, written specifically for one publication. Syndicated content is literally taking the same piece of content and republishing it, with permission, on other platforms.
From the reader's perspective, one can tell if an article was syndicated, and not a guest post, because there's usually a mention on the page about the original source. Typically, publications mark syndicated piece with text like this:
"This article originally appeared in [Original publication + Link]."
OR
"This article appeared in [Original publication + Link] and has been published here with permission."
This is a very important mention, not only for giving credit to the original author but also to avoid duplicate content issues.
Content Syndication and SEO
As you probably know, Google doesn't like duplicate content.
It won't penalize a website directly for duplicate content, but it might not help with their SEO performance, either.
The good news is that syndicated content isn't the same as duplicate content. Even Google says it's OK to syndicate content, as long as you do it carefully and make it obvious for search engines and readers that what they see is a syndicated piece. You can do that by including a link back to the original article and, ideally, getting the third-party publication to include a canonical link.
Read more: Canonicalization 101: Everything You Need to Know About Canonical URLs
How you add the canonical link typically depends on the publication. If the process is not clear, it's something worth discussing with the editor from the very beginning.
Additionally, let's not forget about the references (links) included within the content. Again, each publication has its own guidelines about references, so it's good to discuss this with the editor before starting a partnership. But if you can reference your own content, a syndicated article can be a driver of referral traffic and a way to improve your rankings and organic traffic performance.
Scott Mathson, Senior Web Strategy and SEO Manager at Auth0, says that "if you include internal links, content that you syndicate across platforms often passes authority and equity through to these links. Signals from an increase in traffic from new and different referral channels, alongside a broadened backlink profile (whether nofollow or follow), and other factors gives search engines further context around your content and its relevancy and popularity."
Scott has seen how content syndication can impact a website's SEO performance (directly and indirectly). Over the past two years, he's used content syndication (among other tactics) to grow the website's backlink profile from 200K to over 4.4 million backlinks.
Now that we have the basics covered, here's how to do content syndication successfully.
There are two ways to go about content syndication -- free, or paid. The free way means you focus on finding the right publications, pitching your content, and building partnerships, one at a time. The paid solution means using tools that allow you to get your content recommended in major publications more quickly.
Here's everything you need to know about both free and paid content syndications methods.
Free Content Syndication
There are four main ways in which you can syndicate your content for free:
Republish your latest or best-performing content on bigger websites, with more readers and higher authority than yours. When you syndicate to a bigger publication, you amplify your reach. However, since readers can consume the entire piece of content directly on the third-party website, there's little incentive for them to check out the original source. So only a small percentage of the readers will visit your website. That said, if your main goal is to increase your brand awareness, then syndicating on major publications is the way to go. Syndicate old content on websites that have roughly the same audience and authority as yours. If you want to focus more on a niche audience, then you should consider syndicating content to smaller, more focused publications. Ideally, look for publications with similar authority and readership as your blog. They might also allow more contextual links so you can reference back to your blog from the article. It's a great way to let their readers discover more content on your blog and generate new leads. Guest post on a bigger publication and syndicate later on your website, Medium, or LinkedIn. Sometimes it's worth publishing on a big site first, as they might only be interested in fresh, original content. You get the benefit of getting your thought leadership in front of a big audience that otherwise wouldn't have reached your content. After a while, depending on the publication, you're free to republish that piece to your audience and social channels. Basically, you get more bang for your content buck. Get picked up by websites that naturally syndicate content. If you take the title of a recent article from a big publication and type it into Google, you'll see it's been picked up by many small publications. These usually publish an excerpt from the original piece and link back to the source.
Here's an example:
To make your blog more visible, try first creating a page where you explain how people can syndicate your content. This "steal our content … please" page from UniverseToday.com is a good example of how to go about it.
Then, make sure you optimize your website for syndication.
Scott Mathson told me, "Syndication often relies on feeds and sitemaps, so take the time to focus on optimizing your website's posts feeds, sitemaps, and other XML files to ensure it is valid and in line with guidelines for various publishing platforms. Once optimized, setup the connections for automating syndication, whether through setting up connections to sitemaps and feeds or through developing API connections to various syndication sites. Setting up this automation for cross-posting your content to sites like Flipboard saves time in the long run."
Lastly, give other publication a reason to syndicate your content either entirely or partially. For example, include charts, infographics, or diagrams that can easily be picked up and syndicated.
"Presenting key statistics, tips and takeaways from your content in a visual format, like an infographic or slidedeck, can make your content more attention-grabbing. Even if sites don't want to syndicate an entire article, they may still be open to sharing your visual content, since it can complement their existing piece and help boost the engagement on their page," said Sara McGuire, Content Lead at Venngage, where they used visual content to grow their site traffic by 400%.
In this next section, you'll learn how to find publications where your competitors' syndicate content, which ones to choose, and which to avoid.
How to Find Content Syndication Partners
There are numerous tools you can use, including BuzzSumo, Ahrefs, SEMRush -- just to name a few. You can check any website's latest backlinks for content syndication opportunities.
Most likely, the easiest place to start is a Google search. Look for articles that mention:
"originally published in"
"republished with permission"
"originally appeared on"
To narrow your search to publications in your niche, add inurl:[domain] to your search. Here's a real-life example of inbound blogs that syndicate content:
When selecting publications, look for the ones that have:
similar or better authority than your blog a readership that's similar to your buyer persona canonical links to original articles
There are also publications you need to stay away from. Publishing there might ultimately harm your brand and SEO performance. Make sure you avoid publications with:
low authority spammy outbound links no clear editorial guidelines
To help you get started, I've put together a list of websites where you can syndicate content right away.
Paid Content Syndication
Paid content syndication is, well, when you pay to be published.
The most common form of paid syndication has been around for a while. Big brands often collaborate directly with big publishers and get their content in front of a big audience. This tactic, however, wasn't available for smaller brands with a more limited budget.
Fortunately, there are now tools like Outbrain and Taboola which make it possible for even smaller brands to appear as recommended content on sites like CNN, BBC, or The Guardian.
You've probably seen these ads before:
The way these platforms work is pretty much like any PPC campaign. You can set a capped budget, a cost-per-click, and a target audience. Then the platform serves readers with your ad as a recommended article, featuring an image, a short title, and a link back to your website.
It's probably worth mentioning here that these links don't carry any SEO authority. They are seen as "sponsored content" by search engines, and sometimes by readers, too.
Every time a reader clicks on one of these ads, you are charged a cost that varies depending on the target audience and other campaign settings.
That said, paid syndication is a much more straightforward option to get your content featured in major publications. It's probably also the only way to get your content on sites like CNN. However, paid doesn't give you the same SEO and even brand awareness benefits as free syndication.
Ultimately, content syndication is a fantastic opportunity to reach a new audience and potentially convert those readers into leads. Additionally, if you syndicate other publication's content on your own site, you're able to serve your readers fresh, valuable content without requiring them to leave your site to find it elsewhere.
Read more: blog.hubspot.com
So you’’re in the early phases of introducing a small company. You’ve got an excellent services or product and acquired financing to get the business off the ground, however what about marketing? Do individuals understand your company will be opening quickly?
Getting seen is among the most significant difficulties dealing with brand-new small company owners. There are various methods to market your organisation, such as utilizing web advertisements, social networks pages, material marketing, in-person networking and more.
Some approaches might be more efficient than others, depending upon your market. 2 locations all services require to stand out in are internet-based marketing and in-person networking.
We’’ ve assembled a list of small company marketing ideas, methods and concepts that will assist get your company observed in the past, throughout and after opening.
.13 Small Business Marketing Tips, Strategies and concepts.
Below is a breakdown of various ideas, techniques and techniques on small company marketing. When you must think about executing them throughout pre-launch or in the early days of your company, these concepts and suggestions are ranked based on.
.1. Produce a Marketing Budget.
For small companies running on a small spending plan, it can be appealing to conserve loan by not setting aside funds for marketing. If your marketing technique is to rely on word of mouth to promote your company, you’’ re in for an impolite awakening.
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Josh Rubin, CEO of Post Modern Marketing, informs small company owners they need to develop a marketing budget plan, and the worth of that spending plan can’’ t be a quantity that will break the business if it doesn’’ t produce instant outcomes.
In the early days, you’’ re going to be hanging out identifying your business’’ s identity and determining what messaging gets in touch with brand-new clients. Be gotten ready for a great deal of experimentation. ““ So set a spending plan that you ’ re happy to lose,” ” Rubin states.
. 2. Secure Your Company Name.
You have a concept of what to call your small company and believe it will get in touch with your target market, however is that name readily available online?
““ I see a great deal of entrepreneur that think about the name of their business however then wear ’ t consider scheduling a URL with [that name],” ” states Sherry Bonelli, owner of Early Bird Digital Marketing. She is likewise a small company coach with Score, a volunteer group supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration that links entrepreneur with coaches from comparable fields.
Having a site address that matches your business name is very important, as individuals are doing more service online. It may be tough for prospective consumers to discover your site if they put on’’ t match.
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Once you have a company name in mind, go to a domain registrar, such as GoDaddy or Google Domains , or Smart Choice Domains to see if the web address is readily available. Rates begin at $12 each year to schedule a domain utilizing Google Domains.
.3. Develop a Logo and Brand.
If you wish to be taken seriously as a company, you’’ re going to require to look the part. It may be appealing to develop a generic logo design and utilize a site design template or stock images when introducing, however that isn’’ t always excellent in the long run.
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“ I believe lots of small company owners stint this action, which’’ s a huge error due to the fact that if you wear’’ t appear like a genuine business, customers and consumers are not going to trust you,” ” Bonelli states. Freelance sites such as Fiverr , Upwork and 99designs link entrepreneur with graphic designers who can produce a customized logo design, color combination, service cards and general style for your service. This can cost anywhere in between $300 and $500.
.4. Develop a User-Friendly Website.
Once you have your logo design all set, it’’ s time to construct your site.
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The method individuals browse online has actually developed lots of modifications to site style. Having a website that looks great on tablets and mobile phones is more essential than ever.
Website home builders like WordPress.com , Squarespace and Wix , included mobile-friendly functions. They provide numerous design templates, modification choices and assistance for a month-to-month cost. Believe like a prospective customer when developing your website and make certain it has all the functions and details you’’d wish to see.
. 5. Make Your Website SEO Friendly.
Now that you’’ ve developed your site, you must make it as simple as possible for individuals to discover it when browsing the web. Seo, more typically called SEO, is the procedure of getting web traffic from online search engine outcomes. SEO plays a vital function in assisting little and regional companies get found online.
Several aspects figure out a site’’ s online search engine ranking. These consist of publishing well-written blog site pages that develop your subject reliability regularly and utilizing right keywords related to your organisation. For more information about finest SEO practices, have a look at totally free resources on websites such as Moz , Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal .
If you’’ re preparation on opening a physical place such as a workplace, shop or dining establishment, wear’’ t forget to produce an organisation profile on Google My Business , a totally free organisation listing service, that supplies your vital information, such as a street address, telephone number, hours of operation and organisation description.
One of the main advantages of Google My Business is that it drives the ““ Map Pack ” on Google search results page, which might increase your exposure, in-store check outs or calls This service is just offered for regional organisations with a physical address, not internet-only business.
.6. Develop Social Media Pages 
Now it’’ s time to produce social networks pages on platforms your audience utilizes. You can depend on utilizing the significant platforms —-- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn —-- to promote company news and engage with your client base.
At all phases of your business’’ s life, you ought to likewise watch on what your rivals are making with their social networks platforms. ““ If a rival is utilizing Pinterest and it looks like they’’ re acquiring a great deal of engagement, then Pinterest may be a location you wish to go,” ” states Kim Randall, owner of KiMedia Strategies, a small company marketing company.
.7. Discover Free or Low-Cost Business Services.
Money is going to be tight in the early days of beginning your small company, so it assists to utilize affordable or complimentary services to assist your marketing. Below is a list of programs that can assist you conserve cash running your organisation.
Buffer is a social networks tool that enables users to arrange posts beforehand or publish the exact same material to various platforms at the same time. It has actually complimentary and paid variations, beginning at $15 each month. Google Alerts are complimentary and will assist you stay up to date with what individuals are stating online about your service or stay up to date with particular keywords. KeywordTool.io is a complimentary service that permits entrepreneur to do keyword research study for their site and advertisements. Apps such as Grammarly and the Hemingway Editor can be beneficial when composing blog sites or material on your site. These will assist you compose more succinctly and capture grammatical mistakes. Grammarly has a totally free variation and a premium variation that consists of functions such as a plagiarism detector, vocabulary improvement and genre-specific writing-style tips. When paid yearly), the premium variations costs $29.95 per month (or a reduced rate of $139.95. 8. Purchase Online Ads.
Once your organisation has actually opened, it’’ s time to begin marketing. Google Ads , which appear when you browse on Google, is an apparent location to begin due to the fact that of the online search engine ’ s appeal. According to’Google, organisations normally make approximately$ 2 in earnings for every single $1 they invest in Google Ads.
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Bonelli states the issue with Google Ads for brand-new small-business owners is that it can be costly. To make it reliable, she states to include your advertisement the details that users look for when they browse on Google.
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For example, if somebody is looking for “ wedding event dress changes, ” the websites your advertisement sends out users to should highlight that your company concentrates on wedding event dress modifications.
. 9. Establish Email Marketing.
People who register to your e-mail marketing programtend to be the most engaged members of your audience. These members usually learn more short articles after opening the e-mail and are most likely to purchase your services or items. That ’ s why it ’ s essential to offer material and details your audience appreciates in every e-mail blast you send out.
. If you ’ re mailing out to a random [#ppppp> “ e-mail membership] list you didn ’ t construct, that ’ s where you ’ re not going to work. If you send by mail out details that individuals are interested in, that ’ s where it ’ s truly reliable, ” Bonelli states.
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Include a button on your’site that permits individuals to register for your e-mail projects. A complimentary variation of MailChimp can assist develop your e-mail list-- it permits you to send out up to 12,000 e-mails a month to approximately 2,000 customers. The paid variation enables you to send out an unrestricted variety of e-mails to an endless variety of customers. The expense of the subscription increases based upon the variety of customers.
. 10. Craft an Elevator Pitch.
Before you begin going to and fulfilling prospective clients networking occasions, do you have your elevatorpitch all set? An elevator pitch is a speech lasing 30 to 45 seconds that informs the listener who you are, what you do and how your service will be much better than the competitors. With some practice, it might cause a prospective client. Discover more on how to establish a terrific elevator pitch .
. 11. End up being a ‘ Thought Leader ” in Your Field 
When your company is off the ground, consider developing yourself as an idea leader. A “ believed leader ” is a marketing term for an acknowledged authority in a field who is demanded as a specialist.
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Every entrepreneur is an idea leader without understanding it yet; there is a factor you began your organisation, so let individuals understand what you understand. If you ’ re a professional photographer, compose blog sites providing ideas and techniques on how to take much better iPhone pictures or recommend “ 3 things to look for in a wedding event professional photographer. ”
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Randall utilized this method in the early days of social networks marketing. “ When I provided my ideas, pointers”and whatever else away and ended up being a believed leader within the social networks area, I got a lot more customers, ” she states.
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Early on when individuals are not yet visiting your website, think about ending up being a visitor factor on another developed site in your field so you can promote your understanding on the topic and point individuals in the instructions of your site to read more.
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Another method to end up being an acknowledged professional is by satisfying your target market. Meetup.com is a fantastic method to discover regional groups who have an interest in subjects associated with your service. If you run a knitting or sewing shop, you may look to see whether any knitting or sewing occasions are occurring in your location and deal to offer a complimentary presentation.
. 12. Get Involved With Your Chamber of Commerce.
Not all marketing is done online. Gettingincluded with your regional Chamber of Commerce will allow you to fulfill fellow entrepreneur throughout in-person networking occasions and other chamber functions. Gradually, you ’ ll broaden your expert network and have the ability to use their resources’.
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Rubin states his Chamber assisted his business get included on a regional news section. They ’ ll do the very same when you have a huge occasion or job when you begin to support other companies.
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“ All it takes is your time’and your energy, ” he states.
. 13.Discover a Business Mentor and Continue Learning.
As a brand-new small company owner or business owner, it ’ s never ever a bad thing to look for assistance from individuals who have actually remained in your shoes. There are both nationwide and regional nonprofits dedicated to assisting company owner.
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Score uses their mentoring service complimentary of charge. Rubin, a Score volunteer, states if you wish to know more about marketing, Score can link you with retired marketing executives or other educated individuals who can assist you grow your service.
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“ I ’ ll yell their applauds from every roof due to the fact that everybody constantly believes that you need to spend for this sort of company assistance, and’it ’ s out there free of charge, ” he states.
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As you figure and advance out what marketing product gets in touch with your audience,” put on ’ t stopfinding out brand-new things. Since methods that work now will marketing and alter trends come and go, little organisation marketing is a subject that is challenging to master.
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Luckily, there are a great deal of complimentary article, courses and resources out there to teach company owner about SEO, social networks marketing, web marketing and more.
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You can register for a enormous open online course ( MOOCs), stay up to date with the SEO websites noted above or follow marketing specialists you appreciate on LinkedIn or other social networks.
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“ There ’ s a lot info out there now that if company owner invest an hour a night simply browsing the web and mentor’themselves how to do small company marketing, they ’ ll succeed at it, ” Bonelli states.
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Matt Reinstetle is a personnel author at The Penny Hoarder.
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’This was initially released on The Penny Hoarder , which assists countless&readers worldwide conserve and make loan by sharing special task chances, individual stories, giveaways and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing personal media business in the U.S. in 2017.
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Read more: thepennyhoarder.com