RSS news feeds are a great form of communication in the viral marketing game, and when properly managed, these feeds can bring in significant internet traffic. The meaning of RSS is actually not very clear. RSS may stand for Really Simple Syndication while others believe its Rich Site Summary or Rich Syndication Standard. The creator of RSS directory is considered to be Netscape. It was released in March 1999 and is used to syndicate news or information and is usually associated with blogs because blogs use an RSS news feed to distribute their content. These RSS feeds are found in RSS directories where content is updated on a 24/7 basis.
The great thing about RSS directories is that they are categorized, making it easier to find information.
How can you take advantage of RSS news feeds?
You can use RSS news feeds as an online marketing and search engine optimization tool. Just as optimizing a web page will increase exposure, so will a properly optimized RSS news feed. Follow a few simple tips to help improve your RSS feed exposure.
If you publish your own content or articles you can submit to article directories which now also are starting to incorporate RSS as well. People are on the internet for Information and websites contain this information. Website owners need new and updated information on a daily basis to feed their readers needs.
The channel title is one of the most important aspects of your RSS news feed. It should be keyword rich and related to the general theme of the RSS feed. The channel title is important because it is a first glimpse at the RSS feed, and what will capture the attention of the casual internet surfer. Also many of the RSS directories and search engines use the information in the RSS feed’s channel title to index the feed so it is important that the information be relevant to the contents in the feed.
The channel description expands on the theme of the RSS news feed and gives an overview as to its content. The channel description should contain related keywords and phrases, but just like the channel title, it should be written to capture the attention of the reader.
The RSS feed item title is really nothing more than a headline and is similar to a web page title, this is your opportunity to grab the interest of your reader. The use of pertinent keywords and keyword phrases in the item title will help those searching for specific content.
RSS news feeds should be search engine optimized , using the same techniques as those used on a web site, Grammar and proper punctuation are important and will say a lot about the quality of your content.
Remove old items in an RSS feed and archive contents to make sure that feeds load quickly in RSS readers. If you are using a third party hosting, feeds that are too large will be truncated or not display at all.
Add an image to your RSS news feed to make it visually appealing in an RSS reader. Most RSS readers will display the image above the contents, and this is a great way to present a brand logo and establish recognition. Be sure to include the full URL to the image to avoid a broken link.
There is true power in the marketing ability of RSS news feeds and with just a little knowledge; you too can harness this great new marketing tool!
