RSS Feeds
What is RSS?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a specification that uses XML to organise and format web-based content in a standard way.
Website owners can create an RSS feed for the entire site or sections of it, while users download a reader or aggregator to subscribe to that feed. The information is presented in the form of headlines meaning that it is easy to scan through. Clicking on a relevant link directs the user back to the website for the full story.
There are many readers or aggregators to choose from - software or browser based. We recommend FeedDemon; this is a software based product which comes with a free trial. Software readers are faster, enable you to work offline if desired and give you more control over the layout. One of the best free readers is RSS Reader.
A great example of RSS at work can be found at the BBC. The content doesn't have to be news driven per se; e-commerce sites could create feeds for their special offers or new arrivals, recruitment companies could post new jobs on their feed, while estate agents could create a feed for their new properties taken on in the last week (or day).
You can subscribe to all of our News articles, and our Newsletter by clicking on the RSS Feed button, and copying and pasting the url in the address bar into your reader.
Some browsers, including Firefox, Opera and Safari, have built in functionality which automatically picks up RSS feeds for you. With the latest version of Internet Explorer due to emulate its more sophisticated peers, it is safe to assume that the usage of RSS feeds is about to soar.
Advantages of RSS
- For users, being able to view the latest content from their favourite websites in one place is a massive time saver. As RSS is not email, there is no risk of spam, and thus the user knows the information is coming from a trusted source.
- For website owners, RSS represents a form of pull rather than push marketing. If users don't have to give out their email addresses to subscribe for a newsletter or be kept informed of the latest offers in your store, they might be more inclined to subscribe to the feed. As such, RSS is also a key repeat traffic generator for a website, as the reader directs the user back to the website for the full story.
- Due to the fact the content delivered by RSS feeds is by definition new, more and more users are searching for feeds or blogs (see below). In this way RSS represents another way to drive traffic to websites.
- If your competitor is using an RSS feed, it also represents an effective way to keep an eye on what they are doing in the marketplace.
Blogs and RSS
Blogs have been around for a while now, and have in the main been employed for personal use. They are generally built on a platform that allows for automatic (RSS) syndication. Thus, if you find a blog you like, you can subscribe to it, and receive each update automatically via your RSS reader.
Blogs are important from a business perspective in that correctly constructed, they can not only drive more traffic to a website directly but also help its position in search engines. Blogs are meant to be updated on a regular basis - and search engines love fresh content. Just as you can optimise a website for "on the page" factors centred around keywords, you can create a keyword rich blog that is consistent with your website to which it links back to.
Contact us if you would like to discuss the implementation of RSS feeds for your site.
