Many websites and businesses fail to get noticed every single day. It’s a shame, because business owners and hobbyists can be some of the most passionate people in the world about their chosen field. They know tips and tricks, trade secrets, and would love to share their experiences but don’t know how to get noticed. There are MILLIONS of blogs, if not tens of millions, and everyone is vying for limited attention.
That’s where content syndication comes in.
What is it?
The term ‘Syndicate’ is a group of people that pursue a shared interest. Syndication is that group of similar-minded people sharing information.
What does syndication have to do with me or my business?
When we talk about syndication in SEO or online terms, we’re talking about websites that allow you to post the same things you have on you blog, or link your blog, and connect directly to an interested audience. You essentially piggyback on bigger internet sources to try and get interest for you and your website. This can be anything from linking a blog post about a small trick you learned to joining discussions about controversial topics in your field.
Gathering traffic from people interested in your business is the whole point of marketing. How do you create traffic? You have to create interesting or catchy content and deliver it to those people who will either view it, share it, or come to you for business. You might only notice those people who contact your business, but views and sharing are critical to increasing your presence online. Every view that your website gets can help put your business higher on Google’s ranking system. This leads more people to your business, and creates a snowballing effect that can be beneficial to gathering even more leads and conversions.
Leads and conversions are special terms when talking about SEO traffic. You want to lead people to your website and links. The goal is to convert users to doing what you want. (Whatever that task is: buying a product or service, subscribing to your business news, reading something, learning about a cause, etc.) Syndication helps with this because you’re reaching out to potential customers and users where they are instead of waiting for them to stumble across your website out of the millions of pages online. Basically, it’s like setting up a booth for your business at a convention- except without physically being there.
Where can your content be syndicated?
There are a number of sites that allow it. There are also hundreds and thousands of hobbyist sites that you can find for your specific business. We can’t possibly list them all, so below are a few of the larger, more well-established sites for reaching your target audience:
Facebook:
There are groups for every kind of business or hobby. Often, a local group can be found for a particular area with classified ads or people looking for help with various tasks. You can find one that fits your business/hobby and get integrated with the community. You can publsh articles and content directly to Facebook recently, so several large businesses have started to branch out towards new communities using social media.
LinkedIn:
Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn Pulse allows you to publish articles directly to, and for, other professionals. You may want to use LinkedIn instead or with Facebook depending on whether you want to connect with professionals or other clients.
Reddit: There are over eight hundred and fifty thousand subreddits on this sharing and social media platform. There are groups for everything you can think of, from sports and news to tiny groups of diehard movie fans. More than likely, someone has already started a group (Or several) for whatever topic you can think of. Each of these subreddits has a community of its own that you could post content to. They can help provide feedback, give you their own advice and experience, or spread the word about your product or business.
In the past few months, a now well-known Youtube phoenominon “The Hydraulic Press Channel” has been put on the front page several times. They started with a following of a few thousand subscribers. After hitting the front page of Reddit, they have over a million followers. Your business may not hit the front page, but you can certainly find a community that might welcome your content!
Medium:
If you want to run a journal of your business, Medium is just right for you. It’s a platform for writing a lot of articles at length and connecting with people interested in the same activities. It’s a great site for connecting with other enthusiasts and getting to know information from others in your field.
Quora: 
This is an interesting site that acts much like the old AskYahoo or AskJeeves sites. People can ask questions, and other users can submit answers. This is a great way to be seen as an expert if you can provide helpful, detailed answers. Of course, you can provide those answers on your blog as well! It’s a common practice for some businesses to give a simple solution to an issue and then link to their website with an admonition to read more. IE: “This is how to fix a window frame in basic. If you want tips on how to pick out materials or fix more complex windows, check out my blog here: _____”
StumbleUpon: 
StumbleUpon is an interesting site where you can submit your content to come up randomly for users searching certain categories. Users see one website at a time and can either browse it or ‘Stumble’ onto the next randomly generated page. You can’t give them your content to display, though you can submit links to your website. People who stumble on your site can either give it a thumbs up or thumbs down. It’s important to post to the relevant categories!
Scoop.It: 
To get the scoop, businesses and others will submit their links to this site just like StumbleUpon. It works in very similar ways, don’t be afraid to submit to both! The more you get your content linked online, the more likely it is that someone will see it and you’ll generate interest.
Youtube: 
You may aleady have a business Youtube channel or one of your own. Why is this listed? Simple! Connect with famous Youtubers in your field. They’re likely looking for content on a daily basis in order to keep putting out new content. Sending out a feeler to popular channel hosts might get you a mention. They can link to your blog or you could ask for a guest spot on one of their videos to get your face and name out into the community. Simply look up videos about your specialty and see who is the most popular!
Why is it important that content gets syndicated?
There are thousands of online communities for all kinds of people. There are experts that love to reach out to other people and connect. Others love the process of learning, tinkering, or simply getting to know what’s in their area. Branching out and networking is one of the most important and critical parts of growing any business. Knowing more names and meeting more people will rarely hurt your chances at being successful.
However, sometimes all the work on social media can seem daunting. Content is hard to create, and driving traffic to it can seem like a nightmare. The internet is full of similar people and posts! If you’re worried about your content not being good enough, or want help learning about social media, we’d be more than happy to help out. We offer a wide range of services that can help get you and your business noticed. All you need to do is reach out to us at info@calcoastwebdesign.com, call us at (949) 229-5932, or fill out a contact form today!
