Is it better to focus on trying to get followers on Medium from my site, or to get traffic back to my site, and what's the best method for whichever one is the best?
Hi Andy - it really depends on what you want to gain from Medium.
If you are using their Partner Program to earn income, then yes, having followers does help.
BUT, they need to be paid members, otherwise, the reading of your posts doesn't count for anything.
However, there are several ways of using Medium to get traffic to your site.
Medium has its own Import feature, so you can simply add the URL of any of your website posts.
It takes care of the canonical aspect, so Google won't see it as duplicate content.
Or you can rewrite a condensed version of the post, and link back to the original.
Or an entirely new post.
@diane Hi Diane, can I insert my website URL in a free account on my profile? Can't seem to find that,thanks!
Lizzy
@ohnoo_not_her Hi Lizzy - as far as I know, you can do that.
There isn't a specific field for it, just type it in your bio!
Medium has its own Import feature, so you can simply add the URL of any of your website posts.
It takes care of the canonical aspect, so Google won't see it as duplicate content.
Does this hurt any Medium/search rankings though? What I mean is if I'm trying to rank for Google (or on the Medium platform itself), does Medium and/or Google rank canonicalized (if that is a word) just as if it wasn't canonical? Is there any merit to creating original content on Medium (as opposed to keeping everything on my site and then just importing it over to Medium), if that makes sense?
@andy Well, there are a couple of things to be aware of!
First of all, if you use the Import feature, Medium will use the date it was originally posted on your website.
This means it doesn't look like fresh content on Medium, and might not attract the attention of the algorithm.
And the posts on your profile are in chronological order, so it may not be immediately obvious.
(Although you can pin posts to the top).
But, if you simply import your new posts as you publish them, this isn't a problem.
Next potential pitfall, is that because Medium has such high Domain Authority, you can rank in Google above your own website post!
I have definitely seen this happen.
Both the Medium post and the original website were on page 1 for the keyword, but the Medium post was ranked higher.
(Which shows that the canonical aspect doesn't affect ranking)
So, people might read the post on Medium, get the answer they need, and have no reason to click the link to essentially read it all over again on your website!
Not easy, is it?
@diane Sorry, I just want to make it clear. Few days since I started there, and as they pay only people from very few countries, I am focused on the traffic.
Do I understand you right that you can, for example, make an essay of the post on your website and paste it unchanged (if you take some copy/paste) on Medium? If I do that, it looks like a new post on Medium. Is this okay?
And. Can I use an affiliate link from Amazon or other similar sites? I guess not, just trying to hope 
@noteboom Hi - yes, you have two options for adding your website to Medium.
First, you can use the Import feature, but as mentioned above, it will use the original date of publication.
Second, as you suggested, you can copy/paste it, but do be aware that you will need to use the Advanced Settings on Medium to notify Google that the original is on your website.
It's not difficult, just an extra step to remember.
And yes, you can add Amazon affiliate links!
Just ensure it is clearly noted as an affiliate link.
And in your Amazon account, you will also need to add your Medium details to the settings, in your website list.
@noteboom Hi - yes, you have two options for adding your website to Medium.
First, you can use the Import feature, but as mentioned above, it will use the original date of publication.
Second, as you suggested, you can copy/paste it, but do be aware that you will need to use the Advanced Settings on Medium to notify Google that the original is on your website.
It's not difficult, just an extra step to remember.
And yes, you can add Amazon affiliate links!
Just ensure it is clearly noted as an affiliate link.
And in your Amazon account, you will also need to add your Medium details to the settings, in your website list.
Diane,
How do I add my Medium details to my Amazon account?
I have tried going into the "Edit your website, Mobile App, and Alexa Skill Set" in my associates account and pasting my Medium profile link there.
But, it doesn't accept it, it keeps saying the entered domain is not allowed for mobile App. What am I doing wrong??
I'm sure it's so simple, but I can't figure it out!
Jenny.
@jenny Not under the Mobile App section - just enter it on the Website list.
That is where you list all the places that you use Amazon affiliate links, whether they are your own websites or any social media platforms.
@diane Hey Diane,
So I am just about to give Medium a go, I was going to try importing one post but keep getting an "import Failed" message so am going to rewrite a post first to get started and come back to the import function later.
Is there a guide as to the ideal number of words for Medium articles vs LinkedIn?
I know I read this somewhere here but can't find it, I was thinking of condensing a post for Medium and then condensing it a bit more for LinkedIn
Cheers
Pete
@petedr93 Well, I guess it depends on your purpose for using Medium.
If you are going to add a link to the original post, to attract traffic, then it needs to be long enough to be interesting.
But not necessarily to reveal everything - leave people wanting to know more, so they click on the link!
There is no right or wrong, perhaps make it half the length of the original.
However, if you are using Medium to make money through their Partner Program, then the longer they continue to read your post, the more you get paid.
Having said that, my highest-earning post so far is just 147 words!
Great! Thank you so much! After the Google tragedy, there are so many new things to think about and test that I do not have much time to check all the details.
This was great news! Thanks again!
Second, as you suggested, you can copy/paste it, but do be aware that you will need to use the Advanced Settings on Medium to notify Google that the original is on your website.
It's not difficult, just an extra step to remember.
@diane Thanks for this Diane. I wasn't aware of this way to bypass the original date issue.
I have a question though. The description of the advanced setting says:
"If your article was originally published on another platform, and you want search engines to index that article instead of this Medium story, you can set the canonical link here."
The Medium article won't be indexed? 🤨
Wow, 147 words, Partha does that just saying hello 🤣 🤣
Thanks Diane, just experimenting a bit as been thinking about it for a while and thought i just needed to get active. Will sort the plan a bit more later once i have finished the Parasite SEO course
Thanks
Pete
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