RSS feeds – Add one to your site/blog
RSS feeds – I’m sure you‘ve notices the orange little buttons that
most websites have inviting you to subscribe. They are an
essential
component of any website.
The letters RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site
Summary. RSS feeds are simply text files referencing content,
submitted
to feed directories thereby allowing users to subscribe and view the
latest updates. Feeds can contain your website’s updates, the
latest
news, weather updates, anything.
A feed benefits both the website user/visitor and the owner. A
feed
benefits a user in a couple of ways:
1. The site’s users receive updates without ever
having to re-visit their favorite sites.
2. Users don’t have to worry about privacy
issues. You won’t be required to sign up for a newsletter and you
won’t
have to provide an email address.
A feed benefits the website’s owner in that it provides an efficient
way of distributing fresh new content to interested parties.
Users
don’t have to be enticed to re-visit your website for new information.
Now obviously if you subscribe to several feeds, you will also need
some way of managing them. Feed Readers help to solve this
problem. A
reader gathers all the updates from your favorite site and provides a
listing.
There are a number of readers to choose from. Some of the more
popular webs based readers include Google Reader, Bloglines, and My
Yahoo. A user that has a feed reader only has to click on a
little orange RSS
feed box to subscribe. Updates from a favorite site are delivered
hassle free.
One additional thing to note about feeds. We know that we‘re
able to distribute rich content to our site’s subscribers. What
we must
also remember is that a feed’s distribution is vast. Feeds extend
beyond the initial audience. Feeds allow your content to reach an
audience that you would not have normally reached. Why, because
prior
to feeds, this audience wouldn’t have known that you or your content
existed. Feeds bring new meaning to the word discovery.
What is a FeedBurner?
FeedBurner is a Google owned RSS management tool. It is used by
content publishers to analyze and manage feed traffic.
Advantages
Unlike RSS feeds on their own, a FeedBurner feed...
• Provides details with respect to your subscribers.
• Allows you to publicize your RSS feed information using headlines
animators and e-mail signups
• Allows you to promote your content by adding Facebook, or
Delicious links to the bottom of your RSS feeds.
Disadvantages
• In order to check your feed burner data you will be required to
log into another site. For some this is a hassle.
RSS feeds are a wonderful resource. The many uses for feeds are just beginning to reach full potential; not only for search engines and searching, but in how we optimize our sites. Make sure that you explore this option.
