How to Use RSS for Web Traffic

The ubiquitous RSS button helps readers to subscribe to Web content that they like. When they come across content that they like, they can look for the button (that is available at an increasing number of content sites and blogs) and just click on it. In modern browsers, a page will then appear with a Subscribe button.

Click the Subscribe button to subscribe to the feed, and you can get all content updates of that site or blog at My Yahoo or Google Reader or a dedicated RSS reader. You can subscribe to as many feeds as you want, and your RSS reader will keep track of all of them, and keep you posted about latest updates at each.

How Webmasters Can Use RSS

The typical way webmasters tried to maintain regular contact with their readers was through e-mail newsletters. E-mail has the disadvantage that the recipient might confuse your mail for spam and ignore it. Sometimes, spam filters can send your newsletter direct to the junk box where it will remain unread.

RSS does not suffer from this problem because subscribers know that they will receive only what they have asked for. There is no junk box in RSS readers. Thus by creating an RSS feed for your site, and giving clear and highly visible directions to readers on how to subscribe, you have the chance to distribute your Web content to its consumers whenever it is updated.

• Create an RSS feed and link it to an easily visible RSS button on you Web pages
• Phrase each feed headline and content description in a way that will induce readers click on them and read more (at your site)
• Distribute the feed as outlined in the last section of this article

How Do You Create an RSS Feed?

An RSS feed is created at your website in two steps:

• Create an RSS file and upload it as a page to your website
• Create a link to that page on other pages, typically in the form of an RSS button you see everywhere

An RSS file is an XML file that contains:

• An overall description of the feed (your website), and
• Individual descriptions for all the content pages that you offer to your subscribers

An RSS file looks like the following:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<rss version="2.0">

<channel>
<title>Start a Small Business</title>
<description>How do you go about developing your business idea?</description>
<link>http://www.smallbusiness-start.com/
index.html</link>

<item>
<title>Business in the USA</title>
<description>Reviews the economic scenario of US
- the largest economy in the world now (and also the world's largest market).</description>
<link>http://www.smallbusiness-start.com/business-usa.html</link>
</item>
...
...
...

</channel>
</rss>

Distributing Your RSS Feed

You submit your RSS feed to various feed directories that accept RSS feeds. Some of these directories accept only RSS feeds and not regular sites. You can also just ping them using a tool like http://pingomatic.com/ every time you add a new content page (and update your RSS feed file).

You can find a list of important feed directories at http://www.rss-specifications.com/rss-submission.htm

Visitors to feed directories look for feeds on topics that interest them. It is important that you optimize your feed so that it will be found when visitors search for your topic. You can find suggestions for optimizing your RSS feeds at http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/02/20/ses-london-getting-the-most-out-of-blogging-rss

Let us conclude by emphasizing that all the trouble above will produce worthwhile results only if you offer content of value to your visitors.

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