RSS Feeds - What Does It Stand For?

This article could have been titled "What's So Great about RSS"? Depending on where you start your search, RSS is considered an acronym for "Rich Site Summary", or "Really Simple Syndication". The most widely used terminology is the latter of the two. In my opinion you could also add "Really Super Stuff" to the list. There is a lot of information about RSS on the Internet for it obviously is now a major component of how information is indexed, cross-referenced, and then presented in search engine results. It is so much a part of surfing the net, that it seems that these buttons almost go unnoticed at times, even though they are everywhere.

RSS is a really great tool for anyone wanting to publish content online and then having it syndicated for distribution across the web using data feeds. It is a way to be alerted to content updates for website and blog subscriptions, and also is a retrieval tool on the surfing side. These feeds can be from a website or blog of any size. The best way to think of it is just as another way to package and provide content. This is sort of like the difference between an e-book, a video, and a podcast. They are all possible ways to provide and distribute the same content. In regard to RSS, it is always internet-based technology, and a simple and concise way to slice and dice information. RSS feeds can be mixed or combined content from multiple sources. You also will find some incredible tools online for creating special feeds, and feeds that you can customize to suit your personal style or business needs. One such tool of note is Yahoo Pipes at http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes.

RSS feeds will be recognized by most people as a way to gather news. To read an RSS feed you will need to have a feed reader, or a feed aggregator. This is software that allows you to collect and display feeds. When you click an RSS subscription button or link, it will instruct you to choose the type of feed reader you want to use. RSS feed readers come in many different forms. Some that you will recognize are web-based like Google Reader, Bloglines, and My Yahoo. You can usually subscribe to feeds via email, too. When you subscribe to feeds, the feed reader will display syndicated content as it is updated by the individual web publishers.

In a little more detail, RSS can be considered the default format for displaying frequently updated content as it changes. These RSS documents are called 'feeds", "web feeds", or "channels". You also will see this as "RSS feed" and "RSS Channel". These automated feeds can be summarized text (partial feeds), or full text (full feeds) and the document information includes other meta description details like the author, time, date, and other publication details. This type of information may be edited or deleted. The current default markup language is a standardized XML file format that is published once, and then feeds can be viewed using different programs that are web-based, desktop-based, or wireless-based via a mobile device like a PDA, smartphone, or tablet computer. You will need a connection to the Internet to read RSS feeds.

The beginning of this technology has been around since the end of the 20th century, but did not become widespread until 2005-2006 with the adoption of certain standards. RSS feeds make content distribution and content gathering effortless and efficient. To research this article, I went back to read up on RSS, and most of the information here can be found in greater detail at http://www.whatisrss.com, or by doing a search on Wikipedia.

It looks like RSS is here to stay, so learn how to use and take advantage of this great and mostly free online tool.

The Benefits of Using RSS Feeds   What Is RSS? Or What Does That Orange Radar Thingy Do?   Choosing an RSS Reader   Tracking News Through RSS Feeds   Making Your Own RSS Feeds   How to Get Updates Via RSS   

RSS News Subscription

Although RSS news are usually available in many websites, there are also publishing tools that deliver updates through an aggregator. Therefore if you want to subscribe to a news feed, consider first what are the options you can use to get the fresh content.

There are industry-specific feeds covering the news occurring only in a segment of the global market. In example, RSS feeds on the tourism industry that broadcast what is new about travels, lodging, tourist attractions, etc. These feeds target both the professionals in a specific area, and the current and prospective clients seeking for the latest news and trends.

There are also two main types of feeds, Atom and RSS feeds. Difference is the formatting of each one, being RSS the easiest to read and republish news, articles and blog entries. Broadcasting occurs in real time, hence search engines are continuously crawling the content of websites delivering feeds, and those that republish them.

From a marketing approach, this activity contributes to get listed faster and, if the marketing strategy is good, the website that republish news from any given source may rank higher, driving traffic faster than any tactic implemented for this purpose.

However, many RSS news services provide only schedule feeds, which are updates that only are published on a specific time interval, while others provides news monitoring, which is a service that is already republishing feeds from another sources, but after filtering using keywords to match certain criteria.

If you are going to republish RSS feeds, keep this information in mind so you do not waste your time with updates from clubs, schools or organizations that only announce events very rarely, or round that information with other rich resources otherwise.

On the other hand, if you retrieve feeds from news monitoring services, you may be losing important information from the source website, but omitted after the filtering. Learn to determine the difference between websites that generate their own RSS feeds and those that republish the content already generated elsewhere.

An RSS tool can help you to identify the news source from websites that produce information on a regular basis, particularly media websites such as CNN, Reuters, BBC, ABC News, and similar companies, which are often used to enrich personal blogs, or sketch a marketing plan where quality content is essential.

In today's world, developing a website streamline is necessary to avoid being ignored by the surfer. Therefore, it is time to consider the benefits that subscribe to RSS news may bring to yours.

The Benefits of Using RSS Feeds   What Is RSS? Or What Does That Orange Radar Thingy Do?   Choosing an RSS Reader   Tracking News Through RSS Feeds   Making Your Own RSS Feeds   

RSS Feeds for Online Stores

To have a successful store online, no matter what you sell, you must have traffic. Not only do you need traffic, but also you need visitors that are more apt to purchase the items you have for sell. This means that if you are selling pet products, you need visitors that own pets. Anyone can put up an online store; however, not everyone can make it a success.

Once you have your store online, you more than likely have promoted the store and getting a few visitors. However, you are still not seeing sales. Next, you start a newsletter and still do not see much activity. One of the best ideas to get more sales is to start a blog and an RSS feed. Now, with the blog you can write posts regarding sales, new products, or even reviews of your products. The good news is that when you publish a post your RSS feed will send this post out to readers that are interested in your products.

Of course, you must now promote your RSS feed and blog. You can start with your newsletter subscribers, submit your blog just like you did your website and submit your feed to RSS directories. If you frequent others blogs, forums, or other website that allow you to post, you can post a link to your new blog or your RSS feed. Use your social networking pages to promote your RSS feed as well.

Now, that you have your RSS feed up and going, you will start seeing more traffic that are actually interested in your products. This adds up to more sales. How will this occur? Your RSS feed will publish headlines and blurbs of your new post on your blog which will bring more visitors that are interested in your topic. Be sure to title the post so your readers will become interested immediately instead of having to click the link to read more. This will of course, get them to click even faster since they want to learn more.

When you have new products to introduce, a sale, or discounts to present, be sure to use words that will draw attention and the buyers will come. Remember to update often so those that are interested in your products can learn more about your products and keep your store on their minds via the subscription to your RSS feed. An RSS feed can and will put your store in front of those that want the products you have to offer without much effort on your part after you have it set up and promoted.

The Benefits of Using RSS Feeds   What Is RSS? Or What Does That Orange Radar Thingy Do?   Choosing an RSS Reader   Tracking News Through RSS Feeds   Making Your Own RSS Feeds   How to Get Updates Via RSS   

Solve Your Problem by Increasing RSS Feeds

Most people get confused why there is less response to their website when they are delivering the right product for the right people. There are two phenomena to consider for figuring out a solution to this problem.

First you have to understand the concept of customer acquisition, although it might appear as the most difficult at the point of initiation but you need to understand that it is only the beginning, there are more difficult things to come such as retention of your prospects and customers to turn them into loyal customers, so your website or blog can continue providing you with adequate stream of income and healthy profit, and eventually saving you from the loss.

When you run a website or a blog, you can't expect all your customers to check it on a daily basis unless they are provided with regular updates of their chosen interest. In simple words the best way of reminding your customers that you are providing the product that addresses their problems and is the right solution for them is through the RSS feeds. If you are reading this article you are already familiar with what RSS-real simple syndication is. Hence we are just going to provide you with a brief overview of the problems that can be solved with RSS & the RSS feed.

Don't confuse RSS with a simple subscription to a website. When you subscribe to a certain website conventionally, you receive simple email updates that are usually misinterpreted by your mail server and thus sometimes are thrown into your bulk or spam folder. Subscription to RSS feeds on the other hand, will entitle you to receive the relevant updates in an organized way i.e. in a way where your desired emails are not considered spam.

The word RSS feed refers to a bulleted list of notifications that are of your interest and are generated by the website. If you want to save your time you can just refer to this bulleted list i.e. RSS feed and go through the latest updates of the website. There are different computer programs available that help you receive the RSS feed directly. Such computer programs are known as aggregators or in other words, RSS aggregators.

These are programs that automate the process of checking and bringing the latest updates based on your selection. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the RSS feeds will be filtered and organized according to your interests and priorities.

You need to utilize the RSS feature in the optimum way to make sure that your customers and visitors are being updated constantly with the latest news, and product offers. If they don't know what you are providing, then it's a given that they won't be your loyal customers which in other words means that they are going to shift to your competitors and you don't want that. You want to earn money and to earn money you need to consider these little things because in the end it's all the little things like these that make a big difference.

The Benefits of Using RSS Feeds   What Is RSS? Or What Does That Orange Radar Thingy Do?   Choosing an RSS Reader   Tracking News Through RSS Feeds   

What Are RSS Feeds and Why Should I Care?

Chances are that you have seen the three-letter "RSS" acronym while browsing the Internet. But exactly is it? RSS stands for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication (syndication is the republishing of an article from another source, in this instance usually a website).

RSS is a method of distributing updates about website content. It may include a summary and photos of the site's latest posting. Feeds that provide summaries (hence "Rich Site Summary") allow readers to scan the article to decide if they want to access the original source. RSS feeds normally include the title of the update and link to the originating website.

RSS is beneficial to both readers and publishers. They provide readers with the latest updates, whether it's national or local news, weather, music, games or a favorite blogger. Updates are received as soon as they are published. Readers have a choice as to which websites to subscribe and can change their selections at any time.

RSS also provides readers with a time management tool. Since RSS feeds deliver a summary of the related article, it saves time by allowing readers to decide if they want to follow-up and access the source website. Another benefit is RSS feeds decrease the amount of clutter in a reader's inbox. While email addresses are required to access online RSS aggregators, RSS does not use email to deliver updates. As a result, feeds are spam free.

Unlike email-based subscriptions, unsubscribing to an RSS feed is quick and hassle-free. Terminating an email subscription normally requires subscribers to go the website and answer questions about why they are unsubscribing before confirming their decision. With RSS, all the reader has to do is delete the feed from their aggregator.

The disadvantages of RSS are relatively minor and often the result of user or supplier preference. For example, some users simply prefer receiving email instead of RSS feeds. One reason is that graphics and photos don't always accompany feeds (except for some web-based aggregators). Additionally, since the technology is still fairly new, a reader's preferred websites may not support RSS.

A disadvantage to publishers is they cannot determine how many readers are subscribed to their feed, their frequency of visits or reason for unsubscribing.

RSS and Internet Marketing

The concept of RSS originated with Netscape for the purpose of providing users with a way to customize their personal homepage with links to websites that interest them, now similar to bookmarking a website. Use of the application for internet marketing was an unexpected development.

Since users are given the freedom to add RSS feeds to their aggregators, consumers who are interested in particular products or services can now receive instant communication from suppliers. The result is targeted marketing at its easiest that benefits consumers and businesses. Readers who subscribe to product or service websites can receive the latest news and updates without the spam that often accompanies email subscriptions. Providers benefit from targeted marketing since subscribers are normally consumers who are interested in their products or services.

So how do you start using RSS? You need two things to begin receiving feeds: the RSS feed itself, and an RSS aggregator or reader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS-supported website (an Internet search will produce a list of RSS feeds from different websites). An RSS aggregator is used to read the feed from the source website. It scans, collects and delivers the latest data.

An aggregator comes in two forms: a downloadable program and an online or web-based aggregator. Downloadable aggregators may require a purchase payment, while internet-based aggregators are normally free. All you need to do is register an account to use the services. Both versions allow you to customize or choose which RSS feeds to enter.

Getting Started

If RSS is new to you, choosing a web-based aggregator may be the best choice due to ease of use. When visiting a preferred website, search the homepage for an RSS or XML button. It contains the RSS code that you will need to enter in your aggregator. This is usually as simple as copying and pasting the code containing the URL of the website into your aggregator.

One you have entered the RSS code, you are ready to start receiving feeds from the originating website. New postings will appear as they are published in real time. RSS is innovative information management, as well as a proven Internet marketing tool. You can expect continued advancement in RSS technology as its popularity increases among readers and suppliers.

The Benefits of Using RSS Feeds   What Is RSS? Or What Does That Orange Radar Thingy Do?   Choosing an RSS Reader   Tracking News Through RSS Feeds   Making Your Own RSS Feeds   

How to Increase Your RSS Feed Subscribers to Grow Your Internet and Online Business

The success of a website can be measured in various ways. You can look into its traffic statistics. You can look into how many comments its content receives. Or you can ask the owner how much money he/she makes per month on the website. These are all good measuring sticks but one of the best ways to determine the success of a website is by looking into how many users are subscribing to its RSS feed. Browse around the web and look into the RSS subscriber stats of the most well-known blogs and websites. The numbers are pretty amazing. Reaching those numbers for your own business website or blog will of course be very difficult but it is not impossible.

Here are a few tips on how you can increase your RSS subscribers:

1) Focus on unique and great content. Always keep in mind that content is king even if some people say otherwise. You may have all the marketing tips and tricks in the world but if your content is lousy, nobody will subscribe to your feed. Why would they? So always keep your attention focused on quality content.

2) Make it a point to post new content regularly. If you can set up a posting schedule then by all means do it. You have to let your readers know that new content will be regularly provided to them. One of the main reasons why people unsubscribe to a certain feed is because they are not getting any fresh content. So don't make them unsubscribe by giving them what they want and need.

3) Make it as easy as possible for people to subscribe to your RSS feed. Make the RSS button stand out. Position it prominently on your website. People online like to click on large and shiny things so take advantage of this trait by making your RSS button bigger and shinier.

4) Offer a full RSS feed. Studies have shown that partial RSS feeds do nothing but irritate subscribers.

5) Give your readers the option to subscribe via email. Not all internet users are comfortable with RSS readers so give them an email subscription as an option.

If you make use of all of the above strategies in building your RSS subscribers, your subscription numbers will surely grow. It's going to be slow at first but once it develops momentum, growth can be rapid. The secret to good growth is consistency with your strategies. So keep using the above tips until you get results.

The Benefits of Using RSS Feeds   What Is RSS? Or What Does That Orange Radar Thingy Do?   Choosing an RSS Reader   Tracking News Through RSS Feeds