Why reinvent the wheel is such a great saying. And it is so true. Why come up with something all over again when someone else has done it? Usually this applys to software systems and the like. But this can also apply to content. In our article Why making time to keep your site up to date is important." we outline why new, fresh content is so important. But due to time pressures sometimes developing new content for your website may not make the top of your priority list.
This is where the world of syndication comes in. Basically how it works is that you source content from an external provider, apply your own look and feel (branding) and pass it off on your website as your own content. Portal NineMSNdoes this quite effectively with a range of their content.
Examples of syndication can include
- Weather
- Restaurant Guides
- Music Guides
- Whats on
- National News
Obviously you need to pay your content provider a fee (this is usually monthly), however the benefits are significant.
An example of simple syndication would be a site promoting a local tourist market (such as the Gold Coast or even a locale like "Broadbeach"). Keeping an up to date restaurant guide (i.e location, average meal price, type of food on offer, licenced / byo) would require significant investment in time and money.
However if we syndicate the content from an external provider (such as syndication company HWW), we can have our own guide that is up to date and relevant for a nominal monthly fee. There are no offsite links / popups from your website, and as far as your online user is concerned you've sourced this content yourself. The content is delivered through XML, which for the non technical people is the most versatile method of delivery that allows maximum flexibility when it comes to layout and style.
Syndication isn't relevant for all sites (i.e displaying the weather on a website for a group of lawyers isn't appropriate), but for some sites that may be in the tourism / hospitality industry or if you running a "web portal" - syndication can deliver real benefits.
