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How does Marfeel detect syndicated content?

Marfeel detects and classifies syndicated content by reading structured metadata and canonical signals embedded in your pages. This instrumentation enables accurate attribution of original vs. syndicated content across your entire publishing 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

Section titled “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

Section titled “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. This is especially useful when content has been significantly repurposed.

How Marfeel resolves conflicts

Section titled “How Marfeel resolves conflicts”

When mrf:canonical and the page’s canonical point to different URLs, Marfeel applies the following precedence:

  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

Section titled “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:

Sitemrf:canonicalCanonicalisBasedOn (JSON-LD)
a.comhttps://a.com/original-contenthttps://a.com/original-contenthttps://a.com/original-content
b.comhttps://b.com/syndicated-contenthttps://a.com/original-contenthttps://a.com/original-content
c.comhttps://c.com/another-great-syndicated-contenthttps://a.com/original-contenthttps://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

Section titled “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

Section titled “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

Section titled “How Marfeel uses this data”

Metadata is captured automatically at the pageview level during editorial crawling. Based on the precedence rules above, content is labeled original or syndicated without manual intervention. Analytics dimensions for content origin are then enriched for syndicated items, allowing title, authors, and tags to differ per version.

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

Implementation notes

Section titled “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.

What metadata does Marfeel use to detect syndicated content?

Marfeel uses three metadata signals: mrf:canonical to control how syndicated URLs appear in Compass Content view, hreflang with x-default to identify the original version across locale variants, and the schema.org isBasedOn property in JSON-LD to explicitly declare the original source when it differs from the page’s canonical URL.

How does Marfeel resolve conflicts between mrf:canonical, canonical, and isBasedOn?

isBasedOn takes full precedence when present. If isBasedOn is missing, the canonical URL is used for originality attribution. The mrf:canonical tag only controls how the page appears in Compass Content view, not whether the content is treated as original or syndicated.

Is manual tagging required for syndicated content detection?

No. Marfeel captures metadata automatically at the pageview level during editorial crawling and labels content as original or syndicated based on the metadata precedence rules. No additional tagging or manual input is required, as long as metadata is consistently applied across all pages.