We spend a lot of time snooping around WordPress, and one of the most disappointing moments is when we find an amazing post we’d love to share, but the re-blog button has been disabled.

To be fair, there are a number of reasons bloggers disable the re-blog button, and it is your right to decide how your content is used and shared. Even so, we find that often the re-blog button is disabled due to a misconception that the button will lead to plagiarism.

What the button actually does is place a preview of your article on someone else’s blog, with a direct link to the original ie your own. In doing so, it actually reduces the likelihood of plagiarism.

So, here are three reasons you really should consider enabling that re-blog button on your WordPress site.

1. Exposure

Like any other social media share button, the re-blog button helps to spread the news about your newly published article. As other bloggers share a preview of your article on their own blogs, your work is exposed to their readership base. If their readers like what they see, many will hop over to your website to see what else you’ve been up to.

So why not just share it on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook? Isn’t it the same? Not quite. On those social media platforms, people see a link, a picture, and maybe a meta-description, when the content is shared. But on WordPress, they see a preview of the first 150 words, which increases the chances of them finishing the post.

Additionally, as these readers are already on WordPress to read blog posts, rather than quickly scroll through 280 characters, the chances of them working their way through your article climbs even higher.

2. Back-link to your Website

Once your website begins to get popular, especially if you offer guest posting opportunities, you will begin to receive offers from marketing experts. Some will try to give you free content in exchange for a link back to their or their clients’ websites. Others will be much better business-people and offer to pay.

Why would marketing professionals be interested in posting links on your website? Because back-links provide their own websites with the means to climb the SEO ladder in Google’s search engines. Each link is like a vote of confidence, or a reference, which Google takes into consideration. Higher SEO then means more organic traffic.

You know what else provides you with back-links, without needing marketing professionals, or spending hundreds of dollars across websites? You guessed it: the re-blog button. Once someone re-blogs your post, they have just handed you a reference, or a vote of confidence, for Google to take into consideration when ranking your content in search results.

3. Better than Copy & Paste

The unfortunate fact about publishing on the internet is that people are going to recycle your content, whether you like it or not.

And, even when you give permission, having your content published on a site other than your own is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there is exposure and a free link, but on the other, there’s duplication. When Google looks for plagiarism, it doesn’t differentiate between the original author and the re-publisher; it knows only that the content is not original.

While Google won’t penalize you for this per se, the more unique the content on your website is, the higher you rank in search results. As a result, it’s much more beneficial to allow people to share your posts via the re-blog button. Now, you get the exposure, the free link, and no duplication.

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Writing is easy; running a website is not. The rules are constantly changing as to how to climb the ladder, increase traffic, and reach your target audience. After a while, it can begin to feel like rocket science, but it doesn’t have to. My personal blog brings in up to 64,000+ views in a month, and so can yours. If you need professional assistance with reaching that goal and higher, email us to get started.

About the Author

Alexis Chateau is the Founder and Managing Director at Alexis Chateau PR. She is an activist, writer, and explorer. Follow her stories of trial and triumph at www.alexischateau.com.