A Practical Guide to Content Syndication and Canonicals
Republishing your content on other sites, or theirs on yours, and the signals used to show which version is the original.
Samir Haddad
The key figures
- Duplicate content
- Google usually chooses one version to show among duplicates
- Canonical signals
- a cross-domain rel="canonical" or noindex on syndicated copies
- Google guidance
- syndication partners may need to block indexing to avoid competing with the original
- Attribution
- a link back to the original article helps show the source
Why this is worth getting right
Syndicated copies can outrank the original, so publishers need clear canonical signals and agreements before content is shared.
Do this, not that
Do
- Agree canonical or noindex terms with syndication partners
- Publish on your own site first
- Require a link back to the original
- Monitor which version ranks
- Keep syndicated excerpts shorter than the full article where possible
Don’t
- Syndicating full articles with no canonical signals
- Republishing others' content without permission
- Letting partners' copies outrank you without reviewing terms
- Syndicating thin content at scale
When to bring in help
Our advice Bring in help when setting up syndication deals, or when syndicated copies outrank your originals.
Where this comes from
- Google Search Central — Consolidate duplicate URLs
- Google Search Central — Canonicalization
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
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