Syndication-source Tag | Original-source

GET IN TOUCH

The UK's leading WordPress agency with 250+ stunning websites live

Flexible and affordable packages for every business, brand & budget

WordPress sites laser-focused on impact conversions, revenue & results

Hands-on guidance, support & ideas from our team of UK WordPress experts

The UK's leading white label development partner with 250+ stunning web projects live

Seamless collaboration, technical excellence, cost efficiency & on-time delivery

Complete confidentiality – your clients remain yours and can operate as a completely silent partner

Relax with our 10+ years of industry experience, exceptional service and 80+ 5-star Google reviews

The UK's leading WordPress agency with 250+ stunning websites live

Flexible and cost-effective plans for all business needs and budgets

High-impact WooCommerce sites designed for maximum conversions and revenue

Expert advice, support, and innovative ideas from our dedicated UK WooCommerce team

The UK's leading Laravel agency with 250+ stunning websites live

Flexible and affordable solutions for every business requirement and budget

Cutting-edge Laravel sites built to enhance conversions and boost revenue

Comprehensive support, expert insights, and inventive ideas from our dedicated UK Laravel team

SEO

Drive growth with expert SEO services from Yellowball. Our proven strategies boost visibility, leads, and conversions. Get a quote today.

PPC

We are an award-winning PPC agency in London and an official Google Partner. Propel your business forward with our expert PPC strategies.

Branding & Graphic Design

We are an award-winning branding and logo design provider in London. Drive your business forward with our expert branding strategies.

It came and it went

The syndication-source meta tag was introduced alongside the original-source tag in November 2010. It was an initiative to help identify original sources of news (to be used by news publishers) and to be used within Google News. However, on 1st June 2012, Google announced in a Google News Help Forum thread that “the tag has been deprecated”. They experimented with the tag and decided in a little over 18 months that it just wasn’t working. They also mention that news publishers could now use the “existing guidance in this area for Google Web Search”, i.e use the canonical tag (attribute).

What was the syndication-source?

Syndication-source was a meta tag that was supposed to be used by the news publishing world to help the identification of original news. Websites that were using syndicated content can place the syndication source tag on the content, effectively admitting to Google that their content is not the original and where to find the original. Furthermore, Google also released the original-source tag which could be used by news publishers to stake their claim at producing the original content. The theory was that the open, truthful and honest community of news publication would use both of these tags to claim the original content and own up to the syndicated content.

The code for syndication source was to be placed in the <head>of an html document with the other meta data:

meta name=”syndication-source”
content=”http://www.originalcontent.com”

Whilst Google did not specifically announce the deprecation of the original-source tag, one can assume that because they were to be used in tandem that the original-source tag was not such a big hit either! The code for the original-source meta tag was:

meta name “original-source” content=”http://www.originalcontent.com”

What should you use instead of the <syndication-source> tag?

Whilst this only affected those with content being returned in the Google News section, Google’s deprecation announcement was fairly short and vague, stating that Google News will no follow the same rules as web search. We can then presume that if you are scraping content that using the canonical tag will suffice. See our guide on when to use and how to implement a canonical tag for more information. It would appear that Google decided that it was unnecessary for news publishers to be using different tags to normal websites – makes sense to get rid of one of them!

Google found that the syndication-source tag was not effective and decided to discontinue its use.

The syndication-source meta tag, introduced in November 2010 to help identify original sources of news, was deprecated by Google in June 2012. Despite the intention to create a system for news publishers to claim original content and identify syndicated content, Google found that the syndication-source tag was not effective and decided to discontinue its use. While the deprecation of the original-source tag was not explicitly mentioned, it can be inferred that it did not gain significant traction either. Google recommended using the canonical tag instead, indicating that news publishers should follow the same guidelines as regular websites. By streamlining the tags used for content identification, Google aimed to simplify the process for news publishers and ensure consistency across its search algorithms.

Need help with your onsite optimisation?

As SEO specialists we work with our clients to ensure that their SEO strategy is fulfilled across all major pillars.

White Hat SEO