RSS is a great invention and with the evolution of technology, most of the websites now have RSS as a means to deliver content to the visitors.
RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication. However, what it actually does is turn our beautifully formatted web pages into text so that search engine robots (spiders) can index and list our websites.
It’s important to know that not all websites have an RSS feed (that’s the terminology we techies like to use). Static websites, those sites that have the content hardcoded on each page, typically do not have RSS enabled. Dynamic sites like WordPress do this and usually the ‘feed’ is automatically enabled. Here are three great reasons why you should use RSS on your website:
Reason 1: Syndication
Can you imagine that instead of having to encourage people to your site to read your content, you can share your content with 100’s if not 1000’s of blog directories and sites and have many more people visit your site? With RSS this is totally possible. You can submit your RSS feed to RSS directories where other sites will collect your content to provide interesting information to their visitors – this is syndication.
iTunes is a great example of how this can work. If iTunes likes the radio show on your blog or the podcast you provide from your website, they will add you to their podcast directory. How many people run iTunes on their desktop? Can you see how this automatically increases your reach?
Reason 2: Backlinks
Backlinks are one of the elements of improving your site’s search engine ranking and can be very time consuming. When you add content to your site, let blog directories know (by submitting the feed for that content) that it’s there. These directories are often ‘well liked’ by search engines and are visited by spiders every few hours. Once your site is listed in these directories, the spiders will find it and list it to the right.
Think of it like word-of-mouth advertising: when you receive great service, you’ll tell others about it. Now, imagine that you are the ‘Go To Gal’ (or guy) for your niche. How many people can you recommend the new service to? This is quite similar to how blog directories work.
Reason 3: Ease of Access to Your Content
By providing an RSS feed on your site, your readers will be able to use an RSS reader and access your content directly from their desktop. Savvy internet users will have their RSS Reader set as their email and when you post new content on their site they will get a notice in their Reader about it. All they need to do is open their reader and start reading. No need to launch the web browser, visit the site, etc., just read the content.
Considering how busy people are these days, this is a great thing to offer them.
For more information on using RSS on your website, visit www.squidoo.com/rss-for-backlinks