Blog Syndication in the World of Panda?

[BenFinklea]

We're looking at the SEO value of syndicating our client's blog to a variety of industry blogs, such as social media today, business 2 community, etc. We also use NetworkedBlogs. Articles like this: http://wsm4b.com/small-business-seo/how-content-syndication-can-be-devastating-small-business-seo-and-website-traffic that speak of dangers of syndication and duplicate content in the world of Panda, makes us a little hesitant.

Is this a worthwhile strategy for a. link building or b. just to generate traffics through the blogs, and are there any blogs we should avoid?

[EGOL]

We're looking at the SEO value of syndicating our client's blog....

In my opinion, there was never any SEO value to doing this.

Before Panda it put all of that content out there onto other websites that would immediately be in competition with you for rankings, traffic, links, likes, etc.  Besides that, why should anybody come to your site when you have distributed your content all over the web like stale popcorn?  Just because it was published on your site first does not guarantee you preference in the SERPs.  Preference goes to authority, trust and power, which you might not have compared to the new sites that are now displaying your content.   This is feeding your competitors and creating new ones.

Now, after Panda you have a real risk with duplicate content.  And, now, after Penguin you have risk from the all of the links that you are going to load into that content.

Dangerous.

Have you considered producing content that is so kickass that everyone everywhere will want to visit your website to see it?  And, keeping it only on your website?

[TakeshiYoung]

Do these sites generate any traffic for you? The SEO value is going to be minimal since the content is all duplicate, and could land you in trouble if Google has difficulty identifying the original source of the content, and ranking their content above yours in the SERPs.

[RepLoc_Tim]

Amen!

[simon_realbuzz]

Blog syndication is definitely an area where you should tread very carefully and the SEO benefit is likely to be minimal and possibly negative. If you use syndication purely as a means of increasing brand awareness for your client and a means to gain some referral traffic then it can be useful in that sense - but is it more useful than just writing a quality blog and retaining it your client's own site and then earning links, shares etc because the content is so good?

Quality and unique content is what should rank and by syndicating the content it certainly becomes of less value in Google's and readers eyes, especially if they keep finding the content in many other areas. I would advise your client to keep the content for themselves unless the volume of referral traffic they receive is that great, in which case they should perhaps consider providing the content to other sites but not necessarily retaining it on their own blog. Alternatively, they could provide abridged versions of their own content to other sites and retain a lengthy authoritative version on their own blog. That said, if the content is that good then there's no reason it can't do more good for you client if they just retain it purely for themselves and market it effectively.