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Danny Sullivan from Google spent the past couple days defending Google on why a syndication partner, like Yahoo News, outranks the original place Yahoo got that content from. In short, Yahoo is not using a canonical tag to tell Google the content is from a specific partner. So Google picks the best option it is aware of.
I wrote about this in detail at Search Engine Land under the title Google explains why syndicators may outrank original publishers. Again, the short answer, if you want to make sure Google ranks your content over your syndication partners, make them use a canonical.
Google has said this for a long time now and the cross site canonical tag is noting new. Google wrote "Publishers that allow others to republish content can help ensure that their original versions perform better in Google News by asking those republishing to block or make use of canonical. Google News also encourages those that republish material to consider proactively blocking such content or making use of the canonical, so that we can better identify the original content and credit it appropriately."
Now, in the complaint, that syndication partner did not have a canonical:
Recently I see a lot of instances where Google Top Stories ranking syndicated content from Yahoo above or instead of original content. This is disturbing especially for publishers. Yahoo has no canonicals back to original content but sometimes they link back. pic.twitter.com/IsE6EQofNZ
— John Shehata (@JShehata) September 16, 2019
Danny was quick to point that out:
If people deliberately chose to syndicate their content, it makes it difficult to identify the originating source. That's why we recommend the use of canonical or blocking. The publishers syndicating can require this. https://t.co/hblGLsD0ir pic.twitter.com/yjtx43II8j
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) September 18, 2019
It is hard for Google to figure syndicated content out because the content is published on multiple sites at the same time and because the concept of syndicating content makes that content not unique as a default.
If you syndicate, you set the terms of how you choose to syndicate. That can include asking that canonical be used to point back to you or that other sites not allow your content to appear in search. This is what our guidelines cover. It's the publisher's choice....
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) September 19, 2019
Original stories are rarely duplicated identically across authoritative news sites. Only syndication does that. When syndication does that, if publishers use our guidance, it helps us deal with that complication.
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) September 18, 2019
It is hard for Google to know who is the original source if you don't give Google any signals, such as the canonical:
It all the same basic issue. If you let others distribute your content, it makes it hard to know who should be considered canonical. That's why those who syndicate should use canonical tags and/or require blocking.
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) September 18, 2019
Well, from what I see, Reuters is using canonical on its own content while AP is not. If you don't declare your own content canonical while syndicating it to others and allowing them to declare it to be their canonical, that can be an issue.
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) September 19, 2019
Again, your partners have the right to use your content based on the terms you give them and they agree to. If your terms state they need a canonical tag to your site, then you are set. If you cannot do that, then you have to understand Google might rank them above you. This has been the case since day one really.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
