How to best take advantage of content being used on another site?
-
We've never syndicated content or done "article marketing".
Another site contacted us and requested to use the content on several of our webpages. The other site is a fairly prestigious nonprofit in our industry. We don't mind them using our content, but we want to get the most benefit out of it.
There are two ways the occur to me:
-
Have them create pages with the exact same text as on our pages, but put in the header of those pages
-
Just have them create pages with the text from our pages with embedded links back to our other pages. Each page they create will say "Content courtesy of XXX"
Does anyone have opinions on which way is best, or another approach?
-
-
I like the "license" idea. Thanks.
-
I would agree with the points EGOL has made - there are a few other things to take into account too.
Is it older static content they are wanting to use? or, is it an article repository that you constantly add more articles to?
If it is static content - then as per EGOL and consider licensing it to them.
If it is on site article content then you could consider creating an rss output of it, and have them rework it to include a cross domain canon as you suggest yourself, if the content you write has links embedded into it that link to other relevant pages on your site, that will help too as far as "riding their traffic" is concerned.
If you do go down this route - I would suggest a delay of 6 hours or so on updating your rss feed to them - then at least you stand a good chance of google seeing your content on your site before they outrank you for it. (It will still happen occasionally though, but correct the following day)
-
First... congratulations! You must have some really nice content to get the attention and an invitation from such an important site.
Now for what I really think about this....
Be very careful.
This is a respected and powerful site, yes?
If you give them your content and they publish it then you have just invited a powerful competitor into all of your short tail and long tail SERPs.
You are going to lose some traffic.
How will it hit your bottom line to drop a couple position in the SERPs?
What if your content started being filtered from the SERPs because it is duplicate?
How will it hit your psyche to see them getting links for the content that you authored?
Is that worth getting a link on the butt of the article?
I am not saying that I would NEVER give articles away... just saying that I would not do it for a couple of links way down on the bottom of their pages.
If a site with absolutely enormous traffic (far far higher than mine) offered me a chance to write a syndicated column with very prominent pathways to my site, I might do it and write on topics that are tangent to my vital interests but never congruent.
I haven't received that kind of offer yet and I am not lookin'.
Bottom line... if they are askin' they must really like your content (especially if it is free)... so why not just invite them to link to the great content on your site and you will do the same for them? Great sites link to one another all of the time.
(Lots of people are going to disagree with me. That's OK.)
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Duplicate content on the same site
We have a client who wants us to use the same piece of copy twice on their website. Once to promote a workshop and once to promote a conference talk. We feel this would be bad practice from a user perspective, but we were wondering how search engines would regard this? Thanks Ian
Content Development | | Substance-create0 -
The etiquette of reproducing someone else's content
Hello - Here is a scenario, representative of something that I just saw play out. Site A is a new blog about travel (as an example topic) Site B is an older, established blog about travel Site C is a new blog launched and owned by Site B that focuses on a particular travel niche (luxury travel, for example) Here is what happens next Site A writes an original piece of content Site C then republishes Site A's content, paraphrasing all of the text, but giving Site A credit with a link Site B (the established site) publishes a blurb about the article, directing readers with a link to "read more" on Site C. It credits Site A as the original author, but does not link to it. If you were able to follow that, here is what I would like to know. Did Site C do anything wrong by republishing a paraphrased version of Site A's content, even though it gave credit with a link? Did Site B do anything wrong by linking to Site C (which is for all intents and purposes the same website), but not linking to Site A (the original source)? My sense is that the established blog (Site B) is trying to get it's new publication (Site C) to outrank the original author (Site A) using its own content. In general though, I am curious to get some thoughts on this situation because it raises a few ethical questions that I am not sure about, namely: Is there anything wrong with publishing "spun" content, if it is done well and links back to the source? Is there anything wrong with linking to a republished version of an article on a sister website, rather than linking to the original article. Thanks
Content Development | | timsegraves1 -
Would my ranking be affected if i had a snipet of an article showing on another site
Hi, i am thinking of using rss feed to show a snippet of an article on two sites for people then to be able to visit the main site, but i want to know if this would damage my seo and rankings. Any help and advice on this would be great
Content Development | | ClaireH-1848860 -
Content: Best Blogs Article
Hello, For an Ecommerce site, I think a good way to get known is to write a "Best X Blogs" article, where X is a topic in your industry, and then letting the people you link to know about the article. I got the idea from a Mozinar. My question is, how close does the X from above have to be in your niche? For example, if your product is running shoes can you write a "best athlete blogs" article? I'm worried about them reading the article, then leaving. In some smaller niches the topics closest to the product don't have much in the way of blogs out there. So how close to your niche does the Best X Blogs topic have to be?
Content Development | | BobGW0 -
Does this count as Copied Content ?
Hi, we are publishing news on our website blog. In the news we use excerpts from other websites but do mention the source like "according to XYZ news source" etc. Does it count as copied content as sometime copyscape shows alsmot 30% duplicated content due to inclusion of references from different sources in our news stories ? Regards, shahzad
Content Development | | shaz_lhr0 -
How can I rank using translated content?
My friend has a website with similar content to mine, in a different language however. He has allowed me to translate his content if I link to it every post (can be nofollow). Does Google penalize me for clearly translated content? How can I make sure it ranks well? BTW, if I convince him that I don't link to him, is it better SEO-wise? Best,
Content Development | | kikocherman
Cherman0 -
What is the Best Way to Become a Guest Blogger?
What have you found to be the best way to convince quality blog sites with authority to let you become a guest blogger for their site? I know that providing samples of quality writing is key. But other than that, what is the best way "in"? I have a handful of quality writers at my disposal and also write myself, but I'm trying to find effective ways of convincing established blogs to let me write for them. Please send me your best, most creative suggestions! What has worked for you? Thank you, Afshin Apples of Gold
Content Development | | applesofgold0 -
Building Content on E-Commerce Store
Hey guys, In 2011 it seems more and more important to build great content on your website to help SERP rankings. With an E-Commerce store what is the best way to add content? Would using the blog and adding related blog articles related to the product work and internally linking the anchor text to the specific product page? Obviously it would be more beneficial to rank the specific product page so wouldn't this method take away from those efforts? Or do we bank on being able to channel the visitor from the blog to the product page? Thanks Jason
Content Development | | mediapoint0