RSS Feeds

Jun.19, 2008 in lead generation

What Are RSS Feeds?

RSS Feeds

RSS also known as rich site summary or real simply syndication, arrivedon the scene a number of years ago, but was only recently embraced by webmastersas a means to effectively syndicate content. RSS Feeds provide webmasters andcontent providers an avenue to provide concise summaries to prospective readers.Thousands of commercial web sites and blogs now publish content summaries in anRSS feed. Each item in the feed typically contains a headline; article summaryand link back to the online article.

Benefit to the Webmaster

As the web has become more crowded webmasters have been striving toprovide fresh and up to date content for their website visitors. Many webmastershave discovered they can easily utilize the information in RSS feeds to providefresh web content.

RSS feeds are composed in XML, which is a very simple markup language.Similar to HTML, XML uses tags to identify fields. Webmasters can easily parsethe RSS feed and dynamically create web pages that contain headlines andsummaries. The feeds will continuously update, supplying a steady stream ofautomatically generated fresh content.

RSS allows webmasters to:

1.) Provide fresh and relevant content on their website, whichencourages users to return.

2.) Constantly changing content means that search engine spiders will visitmore frequently.

3.) Automate content delivery.

The benefits of RSS feeds are not limited to webmasters, surfers toobenefit from the technology as well.

Benefit to Web Surfers

The beauty of RSS is that readers can quickly scan headlines (titles) andread articles of interest. Because the information is condensed and provided ina single location users can generally review more information in a shorter timeframe. Additional information is only a click away. Best of all readers choosethe feeds they wish to see, there is no spam with RSS. If you are not completelythrilled with the content appearing in a feed simply remove it from thenewsreader. The technology is a pull technology rather than push technology,meaning the content is not forced on the consumers, who pull the content theywant to see.

RSS allows for users to:

1.) Easily locate information.

2.) Read condensced information or ’soundbytes’ with clearly marked anddated topic material.

3.) Classify and categorize information in an easy to navigatemanner.

4.) Maximize their time without having to deal with spam.

RSS feeds can be viewed in a news aggregator or reader, which constantlyupdates and shows unread feeds. I found the functionality of the newsreaders tobe similar to a simple email client. Consumers generally enter the URL of anyRSS feeds that interest them. Topics with a common theme can be segregated intorelated groups.

I highly recommend FeedDemon http://www.feeddemon.com by BradSoft as anewsreader. FeedDemon is extremely easy to use and allows for quick scanning andindexing of topics. FeedDemon allows users to quickly scan, sort and scrollthrough headline and article summaries, while viewing the actual content in asplit screen web browser.

Finding Topic Specific Relevant Feeds

In order to find feeds that provide niche information users can searchFeedster. Feedster is a rapidly growing news search engine that indexes information containedwithin RSS feeds. Searches for topic specific feeds can be conducted and feedscan be retrieved for syndication.

Benefit to Content Developer

While the benefits to users and webmasters are clear the distributionopportunities made available to content developers should not be overlooked.Information contained in the RSS feed can be easily syndicated, increasingcontent distribution and reach.

RSS allows for content developers to:
1.) Increase exposure in nichemarkets.

2.) Communicate with user bases and reach potential customers via analternate communication method.

3.) Disseminate relevant information.

4.) Define themselves as an industry expert.

5.) Automate content delivery.

RSS has effectively standardized the format for content delivery and haseffectively defined the accepted standard for content distribution andsyndication. RSS will likely rival email as a means of content distribution inanother few years. The shear simplicity makes the technology veryappealing.

The distribution potential, while albeit difficult to measure, is stillattractive to all parties making the likelihood that RSS popularity will onlycontinue to grow.

RSS Feeds to Try

Feeds exist for almost any topic consider trying these feeds out byentering the url in your feed reader: You are welcome to view the rssfeeds below. Add these to your websites for constantly changing cleancontent concerning seo services.