Do you want to know how to drive more links and traffic back to your site… without writing new content?
You’d be able to get more value out of every piece of content you write, get more links, and get more eyeballs.
The cool thing is this can be done with content syndication.
Today, I’m breaking down how to use content syndication to give your content extra exposure and get quality backlinks.
What Is Content Syndication?
Content syndication is the process of getting your content re-published on other sites across the globe.
This content typically comes from your company’s blog.
When your content gets syndicated and re-published, you’re cited as the original author and this typically results in a link back to your website from a highly credible source(s).
Who Uses Content Syndication As A Strategy?
Content syndication has been used by Fortune 500 companies for quite some time now, but was unavailable to companies without connections in the publishing space.
To give you an example, we’ve written a post on NerdWallet’s $520 Million content strategy that includes a tactical syndication approach.
Essentially they would offer other sites the right to re-publish their content.
Check out this example of another site syndicating NerdWallet’s content:
When you get to the bottom of the page, you’ll find this:
With each use of this content, NerdWallet was gaining backlinks, social shares and exposure at a rapid rate…
Which is exactly what they wanted!
Constant re-publishing of their content helped NerdWallet gain that original authority that the site needed to really pop-off.
Now they’re building relationships with major media sites like Forbes, USAToday, and many others!
Here’s an example link if you want to check this out.
Notice anything there?
Nerdwallet’s content was syndicated by Metro.us. This site is getting nearly 400K organic traffic visits per month:
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Nerdwallet is receiving some seriously authoritative links with this strategy…
AND they aren’t the only ones doing this!
This is a pretty popular strategy with big publishers – but not often talked about.
Check this out:
GQ Syndicates on Yahoo:
ValuePenguin Syndicates on NASDAQ:
The Wirecutter Syndicates on Tested.com:
The Points Guy Syndicates on Yahoo Finance:
All of these big brands are re-publishing (syndicating) their existing content on other sites… all while gaining more exposure, and links back to their original content!
Imagine getting backlinks from sites within major news networks like Fox News, NBC or CBS…
Sites like these are receiving huge amounts of traffic each month:
Wouldn’t you like to have your content published here?
But there’s one main issue…
Getting your content re-published by sites like these is not an easy process.
Not only does your content need to be great, but you also need to be an expert at pitching.
Planning Out Your Strategy
Once you’ve decided to use content syndication in your strategy, you’ll need to map out a few things:
- What content am I going to syndicate?
- Which sites do I want my content to go to?
- How am I going to pitch this content?
One great thing about content syndication is that this strategy can be used for both new and existing content.
It’s perfectly normal for older/existing content to be syndicated.
The MOST important aspect is that your content is placed where your target audience will find it.
So you need to make sure that your content grasps their attention and draws them into your site!
Once you’ve decided where you’d like your content to go, you need to assess the following:
- Does this site accept syndicated content?
- What style of content are they publishing?
When you find a site that does syndicate content, you’ll want to read their content and see if there’s a common theme or style of how it’s written.
Seeing this is a great indicator that YOU also have this opportunity and now you need to match your content and perfect your pitch.
When pitching content to these sites, it’s essential to lay out your offer and easily display what’s in it for them. This can be in the form of referral traffic, additional audiences, social shares, etc.
Here’s an example of a sample pitch:
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The relationship with sites that syndicate content is similar to that of a Guest Post – which requires manual outreach to secure a backlink.
One thing to remember when pitching your content is that not every site is the perfect fit.
You are going to get declined or rejected… it’s just part of the game.
Even if your pitch is declined, keep the relationship going. You never know when an authority site in your industry will reach out to you for an exchange.
I like to compare pitching content to fishing. You can throw a bait out in the water for hours – nothing bites.
Then all of a sudden, one big fish comes around and BAM – you’re hooked up.
The more time spent out on the water, the more fish you’ll catch.
Don’t be discouraged by the amount of time pitching your content will take because one day it will pay off.
If you’re looking for more info on pitching to blog owners and building these relationships then check out our ultimate guide!
What About Duplicate Content?
One of the most common questions or concerns regarding content syndication is that duplicating your content will hurt your SEO.
Well, that myth has been busted and there are multiple ways around this, the most common being a rel=canonical tag.
A rel=canonical tag is a little snippet of code that’s included in the head tag of the page that’s being syndicated.
This little snippet of code tells Google where the original piece of content comes from so that any link juice and authority gets passed to the original content site rather than the site that’s syndicating it.
Here’s what a rel=canonical tag looks like (in the head section of the page):
With this tag implemented, your content can be syndicated hundreds, even thousands of times without ANY risk for duplicate content.
Summing It Up
As I’ve shown you today, getting your content re-published is an excellent way to gain exposure and get in front of the audience you’ve always wanted.
But getting in front of this audience is not easy…
You have to write great content, build relationships with website/blog owners and become a master at pitching.
You can reach out to a multitude of sites and might walk away with a link or two… or none.
You need a middle-man, someone that already has the authority and relationships established with these sites!
With HOTH Syndication, we guarantee that your content gets syndicated and re-published by over 300+ high authority news outlets across the U.S.
If you want to get more exposure and quality links, try HOTH Syndication today.