This happens when a publisher (content creator) agrees to share their content with a partner (the syndicator) – or even multiple partners – to expand further the reach of that piece of content and the brand behind its creation.
However, it is helpful to ensure that each site on which your content is syndicated includes a link back to your original article. You can also ask those who use your syndicated material to use the noindex tag to prevent search engines from indexing their version of the content.”
When syndication happens without the creator’s consent, this piracy can result in duplicate rather than syndicated content.
In others, it can outrank the original content.
This happens when the syndicate site has additional valuable content surrounding the pirated content.
Publications and blogs can also choose to syndicate content.
But is it a ranking factor in search ranking algorithms?
The Claim: Syndicated Content Is A Ranking Factor
“Syndicate carefully: If you syndicate your content on other sites, make sure they include a link back to the original article on each syndicated article. Even with that, note that we’ll always show the (unblocked) version we think is most appropriate for users in each given search, which may or may not be the version you’d prefer.”
This video reiterates using automation and scraping to create syndicated content as spam.
If you syndicate content using Google’s suggested best practices, there should be no ranking impact.
I talked in May at an AOP event in London & revisited our guidance about syndication, so maybe these slides I used there will help. Our main help page change was to focus on your goal with syndicated content rather than the mechanism… https://t.co/YcEzsdBv82 pic.twitter.com/FFhA7doHTS
On the other hand, despite Google’s attempts to prioritize original content over syndicated content, there are many reasons that the algorithms might surface syndicated content in preference of the original.
These websites may only scrape content about a particular topic to syndicate.
Some websites use software to scrape content from other websites.
“If you syndicate your content on other sites, Google will always show the version we think is most appropriate for users in each given search, which may or may not be the version you’d prefer.
Google employees go as far as suggesting that you should ask websites that syndicate your content to block Google from indexing it due to the fact that syndicated content can and will outrank the original source.
In 2018, John Mueller, Google Search Advocate, talked about how syndicated content had the potential to outrank original content.
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) July 7, 2023
Syndicated Content Can Be A Negative Ranking Factor
In 2006, Google offered the following advice about syndicated content:
Let’s call this what it is: Content theft.
Individual content authors may choose to syndicate their content to reach larger audiences.
Syndicating content will not help the rankings of the original content in search results.
The syndicated content piece, when it appears on the third-party site, could end up being:
Identical (all content is the same except for the URL where it lives).
Condensed (e.g., perhaps only the first paragraph or some portion of the article appears).
Edited significantly (e.g., it has a different headline or has had parts edited, removed, or rearranged).
Content syndication happens in several ways.
Yet syndication is a widely accepted practice in journalism and content marketing alike.
If Google detects automated scraping and syndication, you could be flagged as spam.
For example, a CEO may publish a blog on their company website.
In some cases, syndicated content is viewed as spam.
Others may scrape anything popular in an attempt to attract search traffic.
The Evidence Against Syndicated Content As A Ranking Factor
The authors of the original content may also be able to file for copyright infringement.
In 2021, in an article published on Google Search Central for developers, Google discussed handling duplicate content.
Does syndicated content affect organic search rankings?
In regards to syndicated content, they suggest the following:
This enables them to tap into the audiences of each network and possibly link back to the main company website.
Google Search Central has specific quality guidelines for web admins. In the Advanced SEO section, they specify two scenarios related to syndicated content that constitute webspam:
Publishing auto-generated content created by scraping RSS feeds or search results.
Publishing scraped content using automated techniques that add no additional value to or modify the original content.
In 2012, Google Search Central released a video on webspam content violations.
In 2023, Google SearchLiaison discussed syndicated content related to Google News.
In either scenario, your content is unlikely to rank in search results.
If someone who syndicates your content refuses or forgets to noindex it, then it could outrank you.
They may then syndicate the same blog post to LinkedIn, Medium, or elsewhere.
