What is the Difference between Article Syndication & Press Release Distribution?

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Article or content syndication refers to the process of pushing articles, blogs, websites, or other type of content such as a video on third party websites – it could be a full article, a link, a single snippet or a thumbnail.

The essence of online syndication is to increase engagement with the published content by sending it to related digital domains (it is best when they are with a higher authority that your own domain). The ultimate expectation from this process is to boost traffic or achieve increased exposure for a brand, product or service.

What Are the Benefits of Article Syndication? What Motivates Businesses to Syndicate Their Online Content?

Why would a business do online syndication? Why would it provide content to a random number of websites that subscribed for the syndication? Why would the  subscribing websites be willing to eventually redistribute the content?

For the providing website, content syndication generates fresh traffic, which makes syndication a relatively cheap as well as relatively free and easy way of accomplishing online exposure and advertising business products and services, promoting events and brands.

Content syndication is the process of republishing your content on third-party sites. It is now one of the result-oriented approaches for accomplishing link building since SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has become an essential subject of discussion among online marketers and website owners. The links that are placed in the syndicated content ultimately point to search engines’ algorithms that the source link is an authority when it comes to the key term/word highlighted in the anchor text.

The subscribing websites, on the other hand, employ syndication as an effective tool for adding more depth as well as the immediacy of information to their own web pages so that those web pages can become more attractive to visitors and existing users.

When done correctly, syndication can be a very effective way to help develop your reputation and visibility online.

Here’s a highlight of the benefits that come with article syndication;

  •        Your content will gain maximum exposure
  •        You will drive new traffic to your website
  •        Readers will see you as an authority in your niche
  •        You will generate authority links back to your website
  •        It will boost your search ranking
  •        Your brand’s exposure will get better
  •        You will boost your followership

What is Google’s Position on Content Syndication?

A lot of people are skeptical about implementing content syndication, thinking it may impact their search engine ranking negatively. This set of online marketers and website owners think Google could penalize their blogs or website for duplicate content emanating from syndication.

When you do press release syndication and send the same press release to hundreds of different sites isn’t that creating a lot of duplicate content which Google doesn’t like?

I want to try content syndication but duplicate content is my biggest fear as a content marketer.

For duplicate content, will Google index only the first site that it recognizes has the content and then won’t it ignore everyone else?

Well, not exactly.

What these people do not know is that the third party publishers will show a link that takes readers directly to the original content. As a result, syndication does not attract penalty from Google or other search engines. It is important to reiterate that article syndication does not violate Google policy, as long as you do it the right way.

However, the issue of duplicate content may arise in many cases as you will find out later.

The Disadvantages of Article Syndication

Some major problems or disadvantages associated with article syndication include the following;

  • Obsolescence – over a period of time, your article will go out of date.
  • Unauthorized Alteration – you really don’t have control over the webmasters who distribute your content, resulting in unauthorized modification or alteration of your content.
  • Duplicate content issue – if not handled properly, the issue of duplicate content may arise with syndicated content.
  • Also, your article may be regarded as spam if the distributors feature them on newsletters that do not observe spam policies.
  • You can lose the right of earning from the content (if this is the essence of creating the content) when others start claiming ownership of the article.

 

Press Release Distribution & Its Valuable Benefits

Press release distribution is also a marketing approach adopted by individuals and companies to send items that are noteworthy or newsworthy to the public or members of the media. Press releases are a major form of branding, something that is exponentially vital in the online marketing world of the present day.

Press release distribution is accomplished through specific entities such as the media, magazine, newspaper or specific online sources. The motivation/benefit is also to boost online exposure and visibility, increase website rankings and build links to websites.

Contrary to what some people think, the press release is still alive and it is making giant strides when it comes to promoting local businesses more effectively. In fact, in this new era of digital media, the press release is being used innovatively to offer valuable publicity to local businesses and even big companies.

Usually, a marketing strategist will optimize the business press releases for a maximum effect, will customize a targeted distribution plan or will use a distribution service to distribute the press release to premium news sites – tier 1 newswires.

As a result of the press release distribution, businesses across all kinds of industries can get organic, unique media coverage: they can share their company story, educate and inform potential clients and customers about the most recent events related to their brand, get more influencer engagement and stronger relationships. Those are just some of the tangible pickups that you too can enjoy from the press release distribution.

 

Some of the notable benefits of press release distribution to local businesses include the following:

1. It’s a Great Way to Generate Valuable Publicity

You don’t need to have a celebrity kind of story in order to gain the type of publicity that your local business needs to flourish. You definitely have stories that can generate great publicity for your business on blogs, magazines, podcasts and relevant forums.

2. It’s Affordable

Press release distribution is reasonably affordable. You can get a great writer to write your business press release with the details you will provide – freelance writers charge little to write a great press release. The additional cost you will incur is contracting a press release distribution service and you don’t have to spend much to accomplish your marketing goals. Yet, you need to be persistent and distribute and publish press releases on regular basis to gain more visibility and traffic.

3. It’s a Great Way to Boost Your Business’s Visibility

Press release distribution is a great tool in the hands of local business owners when it comes to registering your brand in the minds of your target audience. When you initiate and successfully implement a press release distribution campaign, your target audience will come to know you and your brand or product, and why your offer stands out from the pack. You will attract the attention of both potential clients, investors, and journalists to your local business.

4. You will Become an Authority in Your Niche

One of the fastest ways to become an authority in your niche is to embark on press release writing and distribution. And, when your existing customers and potential customers see you as an authority in your niche or industry, they will ultimately stick to your brand and refer others to your business. The media will also willingly give you coverage without you pushing.

Indeed, press release distribution is highly beneficial to local businesses and companies, and will remain evergreen.

Coming back to the myth about duplicate content: will Google punish you for it?

No, it merely won’t give link juice to it. However, press release distribution is not duplicate content in the traditional sense in that duplicate content applies to editorial content on websites and blogs etc. This is a news release and is therefore classified as a syndicated article. All news agencies syndicate their news – that is how news is spread so Google assists in this process.

You don’t really get penalized for duplicate content unless you are doing something of low value or spamming. 

Google has put a huge weight on quality content both on your site and on other sites across the web.

Ultimately Google just picks the best version of the syndicated content to show in the results. It’s true, Google will take less weight from ‘signals’ like backlinks from duplicate content, but it still works. Exactly why it works is a mystery to many marketers, and also Google engineers: the Google algorithm is so complicated!

In short, both article syndication and press release distribution are used to promote a brand, product or service.

But in the end, what is important is the end result…

The bulk of your business success can come from getting your press releases published on popular niche websites and media outlets.

Ultimately what counts is when quality press releases on quality sites are linked with more successful businesses, sites, and higher traffic… Google views the releases positively… (especially the way we do them…) as they are driving traffic and real exposure, which Google picks up on and values.

Do you want your digital marketing to generate bigger results?

Discover AmpiFire and get your content published on more sites, in more ways, than old-fashioned Press Releases. Get seen on Google News, YouTube, SlideShare, Apple Podcasts and many more…

Click Here To Learn More

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Author

  • Thula is a seasoned content expert who loves simplifying complex ideas into digestible content. With her experience creating easy-to-understand content across various industries like healthcare, telecommunications, and cybersecurity, she is now honing her skills in the art of crafting compelling PR. In her spare time, Thula can be found indulging in her love for art and coffee.

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