Posting Articles in Multiple Places and Canonical Tags
People ask me all the time: Can I repost something I wrote for another outlet—like Forbes—on my own blog?
The answer is yes. And it can be a great move. But you’ve got to do it right.
Let’s talk about why reposting can work in your favor, why it can sometimes trip you up, how to avoid the common pitfalls, and what is a canonical tag.
Why Reposting Makes Sense
First off, if you got published in a high-profile outlet like Forbes, Medium, New York Times, or an industry publication like Manufacturing Today—congrats. That’s a big deal. It gives you credibility. It tells the world your ideas are worth paying attention to.
Reposting that article on your blog helps your existing audience see it. Not everyone catches your guest pieces when they go live. Bringing that content home to your blog makes sure your people don’t miss it.
Also, you’re not reinventing the wheel. If you wrote something smart, you don’t need to keep it locked away on someone else’s site. Reposting gives it a second life, especially when paired with your own site, email list, or social following.
And let’s be real—content is hard to produce consistently. If you’ve already created value, reuse it. Just do it the right way.
What Can Go Wrong
Okay, so let’s talk about the stuff that can go sideways.
Google doesn’t love seeing the same article published in multiple places. That’s not to say you’ll get penalized—but if you’re not clear about where the content originally appeared, it can mess with how search engines handle it.
They might not know which version to rank. Or they might split the credit across two pages, which waters down the visibility of both. Worst case, they ignore the second version entirely. That’s no good if you’re hoping to drive traffic to your site.
Now, depending on how the content is being used, the impact can vary.
Most of the clients I work with—especially at Square Squared—are writing original content for high-profile outlets. Maybe you wrote something for a company you worked for or as an independent author for Forbes. That's awesome. Reposting that article to your blog isn’t just allowed—it’s smart. It shows off your credibility and helps your audience see what you’ve been up to. You're reinforcing your own voice and thought leadership. You want that content in your ecosystem.
But if you’re a platform or publication that occasionally republishes outside articles—like a financial newsletter, or even something like The Financial Executives Journal—you’ll want to be more careful. If some of your content is repurposed from other sources, proper attribution and canonical tagging becomes non-negotiable. Otherwise, search engines can start treating you like a content aggregator. That’s not where you want to land.
Where Else Can You Publish?
Once you've written something worth sharing, there are a bunch of ways to distribute it. Each has its own pros and cons.
Your Blog: Always start here. Your blog is home base. You control the message, the layout, the traffic, and the long-term SEO value. Everything else is secondary.
LinkedIn Articles: Great for reaching your network. Just know that LinkedIn doesn’t support canonical tags. If you're reposting something, include a simple line like: "This article originally appeared on my blog at [link]." That keeps it clear for readers, even if it doesn’t help SEO.
Email Newsletter: You’ve already got a warm audience. Share the article there, either in full or with a teaser and link back to your blog. Drives traffic, keeps people engaged.
External Publications: This is the big leagues. Forbes, Bloomberg, industry sites like Manufacturing Today—they have reach, and that reach builds your credibility. The tradeoff is that they often want to be the original source, which means you’ll be reposting later with a canonical tag pointing to them.
Other Platforms: Medium, Substack, niche networks—they all have their place, but I always advise using them as an extension of your brand, not the center of it.
Where Should the Canonical Tag Go?
Before we talk strategy, let’s clear up what a canonical tag actually is.
A canonical tag is a small bit of code you add to a web page. It tells search engines, "Hey, this version of the content is the original. If you see this content somewhere else, treat this one as the main one."
It looks something like this:
<link rel="canonical" href="https://your-original-url.com/article-title/" />You don’t see it on the page—it lives in the background, in the HTML. But search engines see it, and they use it to decide which version of a page to prioritize in search results.
So, if you’re publishing the same article in more than one place, the canonical tag helps search engines avoid treating them as duplicate content. It tells them which version should get the SEO credit.
If you're using WordPress, plugins like Yoast SEO and others will have a place to enter this tag in the article setup area. Look at your specific software documentation to see how to implement it on your platform. Most modern CMS tools make it pretty easy.
Now, here’s how to decide who gets the tag.
Give the canonical tag to the external site (like Forbes or Bloomberg) when:
- They published it first.
- You're reposting it just so your audience sees it.
- You're more interested in showing off the win than capturing SEO traffic.
In this case, your blog is acting more like an amplifier. You're celebrating the fact that you were published by a major outlet and making it easy for your audience to read the piece—but you're not trying to compete with Forbes in the search rankings.
Keep the canonical tag for your site when:
- You published the article on your blog first.
- You're syndicating it out later to extend its reach.
- You're trying to build SEO value and keep people coming to your site.
In this case, you want your blog to be the "home base" of the content. You’re looking to drive long-term value, rank in search, and grow your visibility under your own domain.
Bottom line? If you're chasing prestige, give the tag to the big outlet. If you're building your long-term web presence, keep the credit for yourself.
Wrap Up
Reposting is a smart move when done with intention. Just be clear about who gets the credit, and what you want the article to accomplish.
If you’re ever unsure, ask someone who lives and breathes this stuff. A good marketing or SEO pro can help you avoid mistakes that might quietly hold you back.
And hey—if you need a hand, that’s what Square Squared is here for.