What Is Web Syndication?

Web syndication is a marketing strategy for websites that grants a right or license to broadcast or distribute content from one site to another. The most common example of web syndication is a content licensing arrangement between two or more Internet companies in which one company provides content to be published and promoted on the other's website.

Understanding Web Syndication

Web syndication is generally a free arrangement that's equally and mutually beneficial to both parties. Syndication increases the exposure of the website that provides the content and it may provide considerably more traffic for very little to no cost. The practice can make the content syndicator's websites more attractive to users by providing more in-depth information.

This relationship is especially common between niche, low-traffic, content-producing websites and larger websites that have large, built-in audiences, but they may not have the capability to create specialized, in-depth content. When a show originally aired in the early days of television, it was produced by and shown on just one network. The original network licensed it out or syndicated it after the show's conclusion, allowing another network to air it for a fee. The one element that guides all syndication is the ability to access a larger audience for whatever content is being syndicated. 

Web Syndication and Link Building

Web syndication is a key tool in link building. The links embedded in a piece of syndicated content will drive traffic back to the originating website with search engine optimization (SEO). The additional web traffic that syndication can provide can help the content-providing website improve its search results and overall site ranking in an Internet search.

Web syndication may allow the company providing the content to earn additional page views and exposure to its content and its website. The benefits for the site hosting the provided material are fresh content to appeal to consumers and additional traffic. Web syndication is also sometimes referred to as "content syndication."

Web Syndication and Paid Traffic

A website might sometimes want to pay for syndication to get its material placed in a specific location on a high-traffic site. The bigger the distributor's site, the greater the fee usually is. Such distributors include Yahoo and Google, as well as social media platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

There are also content syndication networks that can help bloggers spread their content. These are often seen at the bottom of web pages as "related posts" or "similar articles from around the web" and they include providers such as Outbrain, Nativo, Zemanta, and Taboola.

It's usually noted on the platform when a content-producing site pays for traffic. It may be stated that the content is an "ad" or "sponsored" on social media and similarly on search page results. The post or content might be at the top of the page and noted as a "sponsored ad."

The cost of paying for traffic is significantly less than the traditional cost of advertising space on radio or television. It costs just a few dollars to advertise content on Facebook or Instagram, but this is different from true web syndication that relies on licensing agreements.

The Bottom Line

Web syndication is a content licensing agreement between Internet companies. One company provides content to be published and promoted on the other company's website, sometimes in exchange for a fee. The arrangement can provide benefits to both parties, and the cost can be much less than standard advertising on radio or television or in print media.