Content, once published online, rarely remains rooted in the same spot. It goes through an entire lifecycle of being published, shared, updated, and, in many cases, being republished via content syndication platforms.
For both publishers and content creators, syndicating content can be a daunting prospect. It isn’t just about republishing; it’s a strategic amplifier for digital publishers that helps distribute your content to gain wider visibility, attract new readers, and build authority in your niche.
However, the path is not without its hurdles. Duplicate content risks penalties from Google and it might also get difficult to maintain brand control. Despite the risks, syndicated content is still a strategy worth pursuing, given the potential audience traffic and lead generation upside, as long as publishers minimize the risk.
For those just beginning to explore this space, check out our detailed guide on content syndication SEO to understand more about the process and its benefits and pitfalls.
In this article, we introduce you to content syndication platforms designed specifically for publishers. We’ll explore how these tools can help you overcome the challenges and unlock opportunities for audience growth, increased traffic, and improved search engine performance.
What is a Content Syndication Platform?
A content syndication platform is a tool that enables the distribution of content across multiple platforms. It is a crucial component of a content syndication strategy, allowing publishers to amplify their reach by distributing their content to various third-party platforms. These platforms typically specialize in content syndication marketing and offer a range of features such as scheduling, tracking, and reporting.
Content syndication platforms typically support different types of content such as articles, videos, infographics, and other visual content.
Some of the most popular content syndication platforms include Flipboard, SimpleFeed, Medium, and Stacker. By using a content syndication platform, publishers can increase their exposure while maintaining control over their brand messaging and content quality.
Why is Content Syndication Important?
Content syndication is an increasingly important growth tool for publishers, given that it can both boost content engagement as well as SEO performance through backlink generation.
Indeed, the content syndication market’s value is projected to grow from $4.5 billion in 2020 to $5.3 billion in 2027.
Content syndication networks provide a way for existing content, especially evergreen content, to be reused in another space, saving time, money, and effort. As this content is distributed to new places, it provides a chance to gain more traffic as audiences follow the content trail from the third-party site to the original publishers.
Another major benefit of content syndication is that small publishers can piggyback on the authority and reach of larger publishers who choose to republish their content. However, sometimes the reverse can also come true. If the content ends up on a site less reputable than the original, then the content may come to be viewed as less trustworthy.
What to Look for in a Content Syndication Platform
There are several factors you should consider when choosing a platform. Let’s cover 12 of the most important ones.
1. Platform Reach and Audience
Since content syndication aims to reach more people, this is the most important factor you should consider. According to Semrush, many people use content syndication to attract more traffic to their content.
Source
But look beyond the size of a platform’s audience and see its audience demographics and whether it matches your target audience.
Also, consider whether a platform can help you reach people in specific geographies. Lastly, choose platforms you can access via desktop, mobile, and other devices.
2. Content Distribution and Visibility
Another important thing to consider is how big a platform’s distribution network is. Assess the breadth and quality of partner sites where the content will appear.
Look for options to control where and how your content is displayed (e.g., native ads, widgets, or standalone articles).
Make sure you choose a platform that features your content prominently instead of burying it within larger feeds.
3. Targeting Capabilities
Look for platforms that can help you segment your audience based on demographics, behavior, interests, or psychographics. The more advanced targeting options a content network offers, the more qualified leads you will attract.
Good content syndication networks also offer personalization capabilities like dynamic content recommendations based on user behavior or preferences.
If you can find a platform that allows you to set up custom campaigns, then prioritize it over other options.
4. Content Performance Analytics
If you don’t want to struggle with measuring your content’s performance, look for platforms that provide in-depth performance analytics. Look for metrics like impressions, clicks, engagement rate, dwell time, and conversions.
Platforms that offer real-time analytics are even better. You may prefer platforms that support multi-touch attribution or other advanced attribution models.
5. Integration and Compatibility
The content syndication network you choose should integrate with your content management system to create a smooth workflow.
Additionally, check for compatibility with third-party tools like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, or custom dashboards.
If a platform offers APIs for programmatic syndication or data extraction, then that’s even better.
6. Revenue Potential
When choosing a content syndication platform, you should look for the monetization options it provides. This includes revenue share models, sponsored content opportunities, or other monetization avenues.
If a platform provides ROI tracking, then that’s an added advantage.
Since your revenue potential will be affected by the platform’s costs, choose one with transparent pricing. Prefer ones with clear pricing plans and no hidden fees or commission splits.
7. Platform Usability
Even the best platform is a waste if you don’t know how to utilize it to its full potential. That’s why ease of use is a key consideration when choosing among the best content syndication platforms.
The platforms that are easiest to use are the ones that can automate content syndication based on predefined rules. Give priority to platforms that offer great onboarding and self-help learning resources, along with great customer support options.
8. Compliance and Brand Safety
Sometimes, using the wrong syndication platform can do more harm than good, especially if it has no content moderation features.
Therefore, ensure that you select one that takes proactive measures to prevent click fraud, bot traffic, or invalid engagements. Many platforms also ensure that your content will only be published on safe websites.
To determine the safety of a platform, look for claims that it complies with the GDPR, CCPA, and other relevant local data privacy laws.
9. Cost-Effectiveness
Syndication platforms offer various pricing models, including cost-per-click, cost-per-mile, and fixed pricing. Compare the costs of each and choose a platform that offers the best value for your specific needs.
Also, assess how much flexibility a platform offers in terms of plan changes and pausing campaigns, if needed.
10. User Engagement and Conversion
When you syndicate your content on different channels, you should always track how much engagement your content gets. That’s why tracking engagement metrics like average CTR and time on site is important.
It will tell you if a platform is delivering on its claims or if you need to switch or change your strategy.
Look for platforms that claim to deliver high-quality leads and offer retargeting options to target users who engaged with your syndicated content.
11. Reporting and Optimization Tools
Adding to the previous point, while analytics is important, so is reporting. Look for an option that allows you to create customized reports with metrics that matter most to your business.
Better yet, choose a platform that provides recommendations and A/B testing for improving content performance.
12. Reputation and Reviews
Before you invest in any platform, read what its existing users say about it. Go to trustworthy review sites and read customer reviews, and assess the platform’s reputation.
Another aspect worth considering is the frequency of updates and new feature releases. A high frequency shows that the platform is continually getting better over time.
List of Content Syndication Platforms for Publishers
Our ratings for the content syndication platforms are as follows for different checkpoints:
| Tool/Platform |
Platform Reach and Audience |
Content Distribution and Visibility |
Targeting Capabilities |
Content Performance Analytics |
Integration and Compatibility |
Revenue Potential |
Platform Usability |
Compliance and Brand Safety |
Cost Effectiveness |
User Engagement and Conversion |
Reporting and Optimization Tools |
Reputation and Reviews |
Weighted Score |
| Outbrain |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
4.1 |
| Taboola |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
4.1 |
| Dianomi |
3 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
4.0 |
| LinkedIn Publishing |
5 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
3.7 |
| Substack |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
3.7 |
| Flatplan |
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
3.7 |
| Avid Collective |
3 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
3.6 |
| Google News |
5 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
3.6 |
| Medium |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
3.5 |
| Reddit |
5 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3.5 |
| Stacker |
3 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
3.4 |
| Quora |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3.2 |
| SimpleFeed |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
3.2 |
| Flipboard |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
3.1 |
| Quuu Promote |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2.6 |
Final Thoughts
Content syndication offers publishers a way to breathe new life into old content. Not only do they boost visibility for publishers’ content, they also help to generate valuable backlinks that improve SERP rankings.
While we’ve covered several different content syndication platforms, there are a few more ways to syndicate content that are worth mentioning. Video syndication is a unique way to reuse old content. Transforming existing content into video and uploading to sites such as YouTube is emerging as a promising editorial strategy.
For digital video publishers, audio content syndication might be an interesting way to republish content. For more insights into making content reach its full growth, check out our guides on content promotion strategy and content atomization.
FAQs
What do you mean by content syndication?
Content syndication refers to strategically distributing your content across multiple platforms as a digital publisher to amplify reach and gain greater visibility.
How do you do content syndication?
It’s as simple as sharing your content on multiple channels to reach more readers. This lets you extend your reach without extra effort on content creation.
Is content syndication legal?
As long as you have the rights to the content, syndication is legal. Most professional networks handle the agreements, so you don’t run into copyright issues while reaching a bigger audience.
Are paid content syndication networks better than free solutions?
Honestly, paid networks can save you a lot of headaches. You get your content in front of the right audience, on sites that actually matter, and you can see what’s working with real data.
Free options can get your content out there, too, but it’s often a bit of a guessing game. If you want predictable results without spending all your time chasing placements, paid usually makes sense.
Which is better: Taboola or Outbrain?
There is no clear winner as Outbrain’s area of expertise lies in content discovery, whereas Taboola primarily concentrates on native advertising. It ultimately comes down to individual needs and preferences, so we recommend comparing their features, pricing, and customer support before making a decision.
