How does Marfeel detect Syndicated Content

Implementation Guides Platform
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To power Syndicated Content Analytics, Marfeel relies on structured metadata and canonical signals embedded in your pages. This instrumentation enables accurate detection and classification of original vs. syndicated content across your network.

You can also refer to the User Guide for Syndicated Content Analytics for a broader overview of how the feature works in practice.

Required Metadata Setup

To ensure syndicated content is properly tracked, grouped, and attributed across Compass, make sure the following metadata is set on every page.

  1. mrf:canonical: Use this to make syndicated URLs show up as independent entries in Compass Content view, while still rolling up under their original content in the Original Content tab.
  2. hreflang="x-default": Required for internationalized content. This helps Marfeel detect the original version across all language or regional variants.

Optional but Powerful

isBasedOn (schema.org, JSON‑LD): If the actual original source differs from the page’s canonical, use this to explicitly declare the original. Especially useful when content has been significantly repurposed.

How Marfeel Resolves Conflicts

When mrf:canonical and the page’s canonical don’t match:

  1. isBasedOn takes full precedence.
  2. If missing, canonical is used for originality attribution.
  3. mrf:canonical only controls how the page appears in Compass, not whether it’s treated as original.

Network Setup Example

Suppose your network has a.com, b.com, and c.com. Site a.com publishes https://a.com/original-content. That page is syndicated at https://b.com/syndicated-content and https://c.com/another-great-syndicated-content. Set tags as follows:

Site mrf:canonical Canonical isBasedOn (JSON‑LD)
a.com https://a.com/original-content https://a.com/original-content https://a.com/original-content
b.com https://b.com/syndicated-content https://a.com/original-content https://a.com/original-content
c.com https://c.com/another-great-syndicated-content https://a.com/original-content https://a.com/original-content

How to read this:

  • mrf:canonical defines how the page appears in Content view.
  • If isBasedOn is present, it determines the original for attribution.
  • If isBasedOn is absent and mrf:canonical ≠ canonical, the canonical URL is treated as the original.
  • The canonical tag also preserves SEO consistency and traffic grouping.

Example JSON‑LD isBasedOn

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "NewsArticle",
  "headline": "Title of a News Article",
  "url": "https://b.com/syndicated-content",
  "isBasedOn": "https://a.com/original-content"
}
</script>

hreflang Setup Example

For localized versions of the same article, use hreflang to link alternates. Marfeel uses hreflang="x-default" to identify the original and group locale variants.

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-US" href="https://example.com/en/story" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es-ES" href="https://example.com/es/story" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/original/story" />
  • https://example.com/original/story is treated as the original version.
  • All hreflang variants reference the x‑default root.
  • Marfeel groups them into the same original story for unified reporting.

How Marfeel Uses This Data

  • Metadata is captured at the pageview level during editorial crawling.
  • Content is labeled original or syndicated automatically based on the precedence above.
  • Analytics dimensions for content origin are enriched for syndicated items (title, authors, tags can differ per version).

No additional tagging or manual input is required—as long as metadata is consistently applied.

Implementation Notes

  • Original pages should reference themselves using both canonical and mrf:canonical.
  • Syndicated pages should include isBasedOn pointing to the original URL. If omitted, and mrf:canonical differs from canonical, canonical will be taken as the original.
  • Use hreflang where applicable to signal locale variants.

Marfeel’s instrumentation is lightweight, real-time, and integrated with your existing analytics setup. For implementation audits or help with structured data, contact your Marfeel Account Manager.