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The True Value of
Syndicated Links
Sarah Fleming
Kaizen
@sarahhflemingpr

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@sarahhflemingpr
We all know that running a digital
PR campaign is tough

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@sarahhflemingpr
‘Only follow links have REAL impact
on SEO’

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@sarahhflemingpr
Last year I ran an experiment prove
the SEO value of nofollow links

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@sarahhflemingpr
I created 2 websites with similar
domain names & products
(Nofollow site) (Follow site)

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@sarahhflemingpr
I built nofollow links to one, and
follow links to the other site
(Nofollow site) (Follow site)

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@sarahhflemingpr
TLDR; the nofollow site outranked the
follow site’s visibility score consistently

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@sarahhflemingpr
The experiment proved that there
are massive benefits to attaining
nofollow links, which got me
thinking…

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@sarahhflemingpr
How valuable are syndicated
links?

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@sarahhflemingpr
“Content syndication is a method of
republishing existing content on
other websites in order to reach a
broader audience.”
- Maddy Osman @ Pathfinder SEO

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@sarahhflemingpr
Some of these syndicated links
come from top tier publications

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@sarahhflemingpr
It’s often been debated whether
there is any link equity benefit from
syndicated links

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@sarahhflemingpr
Based on analysing
25,000 pieces of
coverage, only 8%
include syndicated
links

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@sarahhflemingpr
Three-quarters of us agree syndicated
links are worth reporting on

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@sarahhflemingpr
So, how important
are syndicated
links in relation to
keyword rankings?

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@sarahhflemingpr
Today...
The methodology of
the analysis
The results of the
analysis
How to gain value
from syndicated
links

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@sarahhflemingpr
The methodology of the
syndicated links experiment

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@sarahhflemingpr
I collected 27 campaigns across our
client portfolio - which in total
added up to more than 1,000+ links

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@sarahhflemingpr
10 campaigns had a high number of
syndicated links and the remainder
(17) had none

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@sarahhflemingpr
I then compared how authoritative
each campaign page was by
analysing…

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@sarahhflemingpr
1. Each campaign’s organic
keywords & rankings

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@sarahhflemingpr
2. The total search volume for
these keywords

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@sarahhflemingpr
3. Each campaign’s UR rating from
Ahrefs

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@sarahhflemingpr
*Drumroll*, here are the results...

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@sarahhflemingpr
Overall, campaigns with syndicated links
had more ranking keywords

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@sarahhflemingpr
And a better average keyword position

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@sarahhflemingpr
Case study 1:
Luxury retirement client

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@sarahhflemingpr
Campaigns with high syndication had
more ranking organic keywords

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@sarahhflemingpr
Despite campaign 3 having a higher
number of follow & no follow links
4 follow &
nofollow links
133 syndicated
links
12 follow &
nofollow links
133 syndicated
links
36 follow &
nofollow links
0 syndicated
links

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@sarahhflemingpr
Some of these example keywords
include…
‘best cities for
young people’
‘best cities to
live uk’
‘michelin
recipes’
‘michelin star
meals’
‘how to keep
your brain
healthy’

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@sarahhflemingpr
Case study 2: Car insurance client

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@sarahhflemingpr
Again, campaigns with high syndication
had more ranking organic keywords

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@sarahhflemingpr
Despite having a similar UR across both
campaigns
Campaign
UR = 17
Campaign
UR = 18

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@sarahhflemingpr
Case study 3: Finance client

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@sarahhflemingpr
Ranking keywords from syndicated
campaigns performed better too

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@sarahhflemingpr
Even though the campaigns with MORE
follow & nofollows did not rank better
2 follow &
nofollow links
79 syndicated
links
Average of 25 follow & nofollow links
0 syndicated links

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@sarahhflemingpr
The syndicated campaign also had a
better average keyword position

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@sarahhflemingpr
The results show that campaigns
with a high number of syndicated
links performed better in SERPs

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@sarahhflemingpr
In fact, syndicated links may
actually support a stronger showing
of organic keyword rankings

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@sarahhflemingpr
The lack of correlation between
Campaign Page UR and the number
of words a campaign page ranks for
is interesting…

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@sarahhflemingpr
Because it shows that traditional
reliance on page rankings may not
be as important as we’ve
considered it to be

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@sarahhflemingpr
Google is constantly moving
towards a more holistic approach to
SERPS and syndication is only likely
to become more important over
time, not less

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@sarahhflemingpr
So how can you prove the value of
syndicated links?

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@sarahhflemingpr
It’s clear that a natural backlink
profile includes all types of links

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@sarahhflemingpr
1. Make sure you’re reporting on the
readership and online reach of
each syndicated publication

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@sarahhflemingpr
2. Hone in on the the diversity of
links you’re building, rather than
focusing on specific kinds of links

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@sarahhflemingpr
3. Make sure you’re reporting on the
number of keywords your
campaign page is ranking for

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@sarahhflemingpr
4. Report SMARTLY when it comes to
syndicated links!

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@sarahhflemingpr
Thank you!
Tweet me @sarahhflemingpr
Find the slides at
slideshare.net/SarahFleming24