Aggregation and SEO: Best practices

This guide explains how to manage aggregation effectively and safeguard your market share in search results

Sep 23, 2024

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Hello, and welcome back. Shelby here, back after winning The Globe and Mail’s annual softball tournament with Jessie! Do we both no longer work at The Globe? Yep. Do we both love friendship, softball and winning? Yes, yes and yes. What we don’t love: Line drives to the shin. I’ll keep you updated on the colouring of the bruise.

This week: Aggregation SEO. After journalists produce amazing stories, news and scoops, the next step is getting that piece into the top spot on search results. This guide explains how to manage aggregation effectively and safeguard your market share in search results.

Google Discover panel: Join Jessie, Shelby, Claudio Cabrera and Matthew Bain for an hour-long conversation on Google Discover on Sept. 25 at 11 a.m. ET!

Let’s get it.

In this issue:

What is aggregation
How to prevent aggregation
What to do when aggregated a publication

THE 101

What is aggregation?

Aggregation occurs when one site publishes an article that becomes a trending topic, prompting other sites to write off of that information. This could be rehashing a scoop, breaking out a specific aspect of an article or publishing a related angle separately that refers back to the original reporting (ideally with a backlink). But depending on Google's search landscape — and what component of the story catches the most attention — this can lead to the other publications outranking your original reporting in Top Stories.

Aggregation happens most in news, politics and sports (where individuals could say or do something that becomes trending news).

Articles that are at risk of aggregation are:

Investigations that have multiple nuggets of new information;
Takeaways or breakdowns with different topics within one article (5 things we learned from X);
Features or interviews with prominent people who say notable or controversial things;
Scoops or breaking news.

Content aggregation can diminish your search market share, reduce your visibility and, ultimately, lessen your traffic. When your newsroom has worked on a major investigation, it can be frustrating — and even demoralizing — when another outlet rehashes it and ranks higher. The goal is to protect your publication by aggregating yourself, and driving people to the original source.

For example: The Athletic publishes a weekly NFL story by Mike Sando that covers six key topics from that week’s games. The article is on the longer side but is packed with insights and exclusive information.

In the first week of the 2024 NFL season, The Athletic aggregated themselves by publishing a piece on the New York Giants’ week 1 performance that was also a part of the Pick Six column. The aggregated piece targets Giants-specific keywords and audience. It can rank for Giants-related keywords and doesn’t get lost in the broader piece, but still links back to Sando’s longer report.

These types of pieces are vital, especially for niche publications building up their topic authority and E.E.A.T signals. People search in a variety of ways. This aggregation is successful because it breaks out a talking point of Sando’s in-depth NFL reporting and makes it accessible for the audience interested in that specific topic. It’s a format that can be applied across the newsroom, too.

Aggregation SEO expands your visibility on topics you’re already covering.

THE HOW TO

Content aggregation best practices

Google will rank the content it feels best serves the user’s search intent. As audience editors, we optimize stories for the key phrases readers are likely to use and protect our search share.

While you can’t prevent other publications from aggregating your content, you can aggregate yourself to help protect your outlet’s share of voice on the storyline.

Ask yourself these questions to determine when to aggregate a story:

Are there multiple ways people could search and find this information?
Is there something in this story that would be a trending item on its own?
Does this feature have multiple angles, and one of those could work on its own?
Is there new or vital information outside of the main angle that people could be interested in?

If the answer to any of the above is yes, consider publishing a story — potentially a breakout that includes additional questions people are asking, especially if it becomes a trending topic.

On-page SEO considerations for aggregated pieces:

Headline: Differentiate from the original article as much as possible. Focus on the main entities/keywords. Avoid using the same keywords.
URL: Differentiate from the original article, using keywords relevant to this article only.
Internal linking: Link to the original article and any other additional aggregated breakouts, as well as evergreen content. Link the original and the aggregated article in other articles, too. Link from the homepage.
Subheads: Use subheads to break up the article. An easily digestible piece that directs readers to more reporting is vital.
Image: Use a different image than the original article.

Linking is the most important tactic for aggregation. The more the aggregated article is linked to from other articles, the better Google will understand its semantic connection to your coverage. Ensure both the main piece and the aggregated content have a place on the homepage and are promoted on social media.

What to do when aggregating another publisher

There are likely times where the tables are turned and a competitor publishes an article your newsroom feels it needs to provide for your readers.

Every newsroom will have differing standards and best practices when it comes to aggregating other publishers. Familiarize yourself with those rules first.

Then, consider what information is vital to your publication’s success from the article in question. Add additional questions or information people are asking — or original reporting your newsroom may also be chasing — so your content is adding value and is not just a rewrite of the original piece.

For the on-page SEO considerations, conduct a competitive analysis of the space. You’re likely not the only publication that is aggregating this article. Analyze what other publications are using in their headlines, and determine what the main-focus keyword should be for your story.

Always provide a backlink to the original publication. While the goal is to gain traffic from aggregating the other site, it’s just common courtesy to link the original source. Journalism!

Other considerations

If other publications aggregate your content, but don’t provide a backlink, politely email the site in question with the request.
If the syndication is a 1:1 copy, ensure a canonical URL is in place. This won’t always stop the syndicated content from ranking, but it is the best method to show Google yours is the master version of an article.
- Another option is having a `noindex` robots tag on the copy, but this eliminates your opportunity to rank in search and will just be an on-platform play.

The bottom line: Aggregation is going to happen in SEO, especially when an outlet publishes a scoop or incredible feature. It can be flattering to see others cover your work, but frustrating if their rehash outranks your original reporting. Make use of aggregation SEO tips to protect your visibility.

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