RSS Basics, Uses and Internet Marketing

Exactly what is RSS?

You probably have seen RSS several times in the course of your internet surfing. What is RSS? RSS is a XML file format for syndicating content and news on the web. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary; syndicating means republishing an article that comes from another source such as a website.

Simply stated, RSS is a means of publicizing updates about any website. It may or may not include a summary and/or photos of the latest posting. Other than plain text content, you can also add multimedia files, like videos or pictures. Those that do provide summaries (thus Rich Site Summary) allow any user to skim through the article so that they could decide later on if they want to access the website source. The RSS feed usually contains both the title of the actual update as well as the link to the website source.

How exactly does RSS work?

To use RSS, you will first have to download the RSS software (content management system), so that the XML format can be read. The title and, excerpt of the article, and a link to the full article are shown.

For users to access a particular RSS feed, they need to use an aggregator or a feed reader of some type. An aggregator searches for updates on RSS-enabled webpages then displays it. It can either be a standalone application or a web browser type extension, depending on your operating system.

What exactly are the benefits of RSS?

1. It gives you the latest updates as soon as it comes out.

2. It gives the power of subscription to the user.

3. It saves on surfing time by helping the surfer to decide on which items to prioritize when reading or browsing the net.

4. It can be used as a powerful advertising or marketing tool.

5. It will cut down on the clutter in your email inbox.

6. It is spam free and since RSS does not make use of your email address to send updates your privacy is kept safe from spam mails.

7. Unsubscribing from an RSS feed is hassle-free.

What exactly are the drawbacks of RSS?

1. Since it is a new technology, many sites still do not support RSS.

2. Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds.

3. Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed.

4. Publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to their feed and the frequency of their visits.

5. RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the server.

6. The identity of the source website can be confusing.

How exactly do I start using RSS?

Basically, there are two things you need: an RSS feed as well as an RSS aggregator or reader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS-supported website. There are also websites that provide a list of RSS feeds of different websites. An RSS aggregator is used to read the RSS feed from the source website. It goes out, scans and collects data on all the latest RSS feeds from the worldwide web.

An aggregator comes in two types: a downloadable or online / web-based aggregators. Some aggregators may require payment, while some aggregators are free of charge. Both versions allow you to customize or choose which RSS feeds to enter. Paid aggregators are usually chosen by more experienced users and they usually allow more freedom in customizing feeds.

1. Choose an RSS aggregator to use. For beginners, web-based aggregators are usually recommended since they are usually very user-friendly

2. Look for the RSS or XML button on the website you are interested in. It contains the RSS code you need to enter in the aggregator. Copy this code. Syndic8 does provide a directory of several websites that support RSS.

3. Paste the code (which contains the URL of the website) in your aggregator. There is a space provided for pasting the code.

After you have completed these three simple steps, you can then start reading the RSS feeds coming from any website. New postings appear as they are published real time at the source website.

RSS and Internet Marketing

The original idea of RSS came from Netscape, where their intention was to provide a means for users to customize their personal homepage to contain links to websites that interested them. This is very similar in fact, to actually bookmarking websites.

RSS used in internet marketing was an unforeseen development to RSS technology developers. Today RSS is fast replacing email marketing and newsletters. Since users are given the freedom to add RSS feeds to their aggregators, those who are interested in particular products and services available in the internet can now be notified real time. Marketing becomes much more specific to interested people and is no longer a hit-and-miss operation.

Anyone who intends to use RSS for marketing their own products or services should consider linking up with various email account providers, (e.g. Yahoo, MSN, Google mail); networking websites (e.g. Friendster, Multiply, My Space, Hi5); websites of various newspapers and television network websites (e.g. New York Times, CNN) for medium to big-scale companies.

Other ideas, also look into networking websites as well as personal blog websites (e.g. Blogspot), club websites and organizations that would probably make use of their products or services e.g. a fishing supplies store can look for the website of their local fishing club for possible RSS marketing.

Clearly, RSS is an innovation in information management in the worldwide web as well as in online marketing. We can expect better RSS technology in the not-so-distant future as its popularity increases among users and website owners alike. RSS feeds can give your website more traffic than through usual web hosting. More web traffic to your site means more people seeing your products. Add strength to your marketing strategy. Make RSS feeds to your site and be prepared to sell.

Generate RSS Feed: 4 Ways to Generate an RSS Feed

An RSS campaign can be helpful to your Internet business. Through this article you are provided with an overview of four ways to generate RSS feeds. By following these tips, you'll be well on your way to enhancing your overall business enterprise operations.

The first way to generate an RSS feed, is making certain that you have all of the resources necessary to launch an rss feed campaign. For example, you have to make sure that you have appropriate software applications - and that you understand and use the software applications.

The second way to generate rss feed is to consider engaging professionals to help you in the development of an RSS program. There are now some very talented and innovative individuals who can assist you in developing a generate rss feed program. If you are unfamiliar with RSS, you would be well served in engaging the services of a professional. While you will have to spend some money for this assistance, most people who have done so in the past and considered it a worthy investment.

The third step towards implementing RSS feeds is developing strategic partnerships with other individuals who might have similar interests to your own. Sometimes joined RSS strategies and efforts work the best.

Finally, when it comes to generate RSS feed, you will want to continually review what you've done in that regard. You need to understand that the Internet is a fluid and active place. It is also very diverse. RSS by its very definition means to be up to date with what is going on in regard to related matters on the Internet and world wide web.

By following these tips and suggestions, you will be well on your way to generate RSS feed and well on your way to enhancing the overall profitability of your business enterprise.

My Review Of Feed Blaster.

Feed blaster is software that automaticly post your ad to hundreds of RSS feeds. The cost is $50 and it is a pretty good deal.

I have been using it for about six months now. Though it hasn't resulted in the flood of traffic that the website claims it does give my site a noticable traffic boost.

The size of the boost depends on the keyword phrase, but almost every phrase I have tried results in some increased traffic. It is not permanent however and I have to use the feed blaster three or four days a week.

A brief aside. For my dating sites, the more vulger and pornographic my keyword phrase the more hits I get from feed blaster. I won't even try to guess why.

The more simple minded my marketing phrase the more hits I get. For instance "money, money, moeny" and "easy money online" result in more hits than "Earn income online" does.

Play around with differnt phrases. Don't be afraid to have some fun.

The program is very easy to use. Simply type in your ad and save it. Them click "OK". The screen defaults to the first ad on your list so be sure to check that the correct ad is high lighted before clicking "OK".

Then type in your keyword phrase and click "Find Feeds". You can post to a max of 500 feeds. The default is 100. I don't know why. I always post to the max of 500 feeds. Why would anyone want to choose fewer than the max?

Last you click "Submit Your Ad" and " then "Start". Thats it. Let the program post your ad. It doesn't slow down your system or interfere with anything. In fact I'm posting as I type this article. Most of the time I let it run and go watch TV, but that's just me. I get a kick out of the fact that I'm watching a movie and advertising my website at the same time.

Drawbacks. You can only post one ad at a time. There is no way, that I have found, to select multiple ads.

There is no pause. If you stop the posting you have to start over from number 1.

There is no way to know if your ad was accepted. Except the traffic you recieve of course.

As I said the program defaults to the first ad on your list, so you can't tell which ad was the last submitted. I never remember to write down which one I'm submitting and probably double and triple post more than I realize.

All in all Feed Blaster is a good investment. It won't skyrocket you to instant online marketing success, but what product will?

What Marketers Are Saying About "RSS To Blogs"

I have been reading a lot about the RSS To Blog program. This is a program that automatically updates your blog to make sure your website has a stream of new posts and information even if you don't lift a finger. The reason this is so important and useful is that search engines are very smart now days. The most popular search engines don't just look for meta tags anymore, they look for keywords within a body of real text, not just random words. You cannot simply list keywords and hope for high rankings on a search engine. Your site needs real content and real articles that use the desired keywords in a realistic way. One thing I have also found is that search engines do not give good search results to inactive blogs and websites because other blogs keep growing and out muscle the ones that remain the same. If you want your blog to keep getting good search rankings, it needs to be updated as to rank higher and higher on searches. Many people, like you and I, don't have enough free time to keep updating their blog, and that is why many companies have released programs to out-smart today's very smart search engines.

RSS To Blog automatically posts to your blog to help you maintain fresh content and high search engine rankings. To do this the program has to be smart, because search engines have ways of looking for manufactured content. The cool thing about the program is that it posts to your blog from many sources including articles, news stories, RSS feeds, and you can decide which content is relevant and which content is not. Your blog will grow automatically, but the content on it will remain of a very high quality, so people will actually want to visit it often. This keeps the content varied and realistic. My favorite part about this program is that it helps keep search engines from figuring out that you are using a blogging program by making the post times random instead of the same exact time every day. This creates a flowing and natural appearance to your blog.

The reason I like RSS To Blog so much is because it makes me money without having to lift a finger. By maintaining good search engine results, my blog gets a lot of hits, and I can turn those hits into revenue by using programs such as Google Adsense. Adsense ads can be placed in your blog and you get money based on how many hits those ads get. There are a lot of websites and blogs out there competing for search engine results, hits, and ad revenue, and I don't think it is possible to have enough time to do all of the work and all of the writing myself. An automated blogging program not only makes me money through ad revenue, such as with Google Adsense, but also saves me time so I can put more hours into other jobs.