rss feeds for promoting your website

Johnathan · 01-22-2009, 04:02 PM

HI,

Ok, this may sound like a silly question (I am still 'relatively' new to the 'blogging' world)...

- What exactly is an RSS feed, and how does it "help" you

I see a lot of people having something like "311 Readers" (with feedburner) on their website... do they get an e-mail every time a post is made? or something else?

And, do you think that there is a significant advantage to having 'readers'? (I.e., someone could say signup to 10 different feeds, does that mean they would be getting 10 separate e-mails every time someone makes a posting?)

Thanks

Tim Dixon · 01-22-2009, 06:13 PM

Hi Johnathan.

To answer some of your questions:

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and it's just a way of publishing a collection of your latest posts in a special format that people can subscribe to in various ways.

This is a great way to get your content 'out there' as people can subscribe to your RSS feed and keep up to date with any new posts you have made without actually visiting your website. However, if you provide just a snippet of the new post in your RSS feed and the post is interesting or compelling, then the subscriber will probably click through from the RSS feed to read more on your site.

You can also submit your RSS feed to several directories, from which you may get traffic as well as a backlink every time you post new content.

FeedBurner (now owned by Google - make of that what you will) - is a service that allows you to 'burn' your RSS feed through their system and you can then track subscribers and other metrics. FeedBurner also gives the subscriber other ways to read your feed.

The usual way for people to read items in an RSS feed is through an RSS reader such as Google Reader. Lots of those around and you can search for lots more information on Google.

You will also find that your RSS feed may get picked up by news aggregator sites, thereby spreading your links even further.

As well as subscribe to the FeedBurner feed through a Reader, subscribers can also subscribe via email and a few other services.

For those subscribed by email, FeedBurner sends out just one email a day to your subscribers informing them of any new blogs posts or news from your site. No new posts, no email.

The number you see in the counter on peoples websites is the number of people who have subscribed to that RSS feed thorough FeedBurner. Some will be regular RSS Reader subscriptions, some will be via email.

Hope that helps, I'm sure there are plenty of other people who can give you an even better understanding of RSS feeds.

Tim

SurviveUnemployment · 01-22-2009, 06:32 PM

RSS is the most powerful way to promote your sites. It helps with SEO. It spreads your content far and wide. It makes it easy for your regular visitors to access you.

If you're not using it, you might as well be posting clunky static html pages with table layouts... in 1995.

innocent07 · 01-22-2009, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SurviveUnemployment

RSS is the most powerful way to promote your sites. It helps with SEO. It spreads your content far and wide. It makes it easy for your regular visitors to access you.

If you're not using it, you might as well be posting clunky static html pages with table layouts... in 1995.

Whats the best way to use RSS to promoting your website?

any powerful basic steps/strategies you can outline ?

Mad Dawg · 01-22-2009, 06:52 PM

Yea, RSS is something that I admittedly am very unfamiliar with.

Having multiple blogs (video and text) attached to my site, I sure would like to RSS them and have them start SEOing for me.

Anyone have any solid strategies for doing RSS right?

GangsterProfit · 01-23-2009, 09:41 AM

Here's a nice list of RSS directories you can submit to. There are a lot of duds in there, but also a lot of good ones. TopRank Best List of RSS Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog and Feed | Online Marketing Blog

I'd also be interested to hear if anyone has advanced RSS strategies.

SurviveUnemployment · 01-30-2009, 02:20 PM

Sorry it took a while to get back on this. I started to write a response here and decided instead to do a blog post about using rss to promote your website. The only thing I didn't say over there that I will say over here is that you can also monetize the feed by throwing ads in there. Good luck.

01-22-2009, 04:02 PM	#1
Johnathan Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 822 Thanks: 257 Thanked 74 Times in 64 Posts	rss feeds for promoting your website HI, Ok, this may sound like a silly question (I am still 'relatively' new to the 'blogging' world)... - What exactly is an RSS feed, and how does it "help" you I see a lot of people having something like "311 Readers" (with feedburner) on their website... do they get an e-mail every time a post is made? or something else? And, do you think that there is a significant advantage to having 'readers'? (I.e., someone could say signup to 10 different feeds, does that mean they would be getting 10 separate e-mails every time someone makes a posting?) Thanks

01-22-2009, 06:13 PM	#2
Tim Dixon Just me War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: UK Posts: 979 Thanks: 35 Thanked 156 Times in 57 Posts Social Networking	Re: rss feeds for promoting your website Hi Johnathan. To answer some of your questions: RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and it's just a way of publishing a collection of your latest posts in a special format that people can subscribe to in various ways. This is a great way to get your content 'out there' as people can subscribe to your RSS feed and keep up to date with any new posts you have made without actually visiting your website. However, if you provide just a snippet of the new post in your RSS feed and the post is interesting or compelling, then the subscriber will probably click through from the RSS feed to read more on your site. You can also submit your RSS feed to several directories, from which you may get traffic as well as a backlink every time you post new content. FeedBurner (now owned by Google - make of that what you will) - is a service that allows you to 'burn' your RSS feed through their system and you can then track subscribers and other metrics. FeedBurner also gives the subscriber other ways to read your feed. The usual way for people to read items in an RSS feed is through an RSS reader such as Google Reader. Lots of those around and you can search for lots more information on Google. You will also find that your RSS feed may get picked up by news aggregator sites, thereby spreading your links even further. As well as subscribe to the FeedBurner feed through a Reader, subscribers can also subscribe via email and a few other services. For those subscribed by email, FeedBurner sends out just one email a day to your subscribers informing them of any new blogs posts or news from your site. No new posts, no email. The number you see in the counter on peoples websites is the number of people who have subscribed to that RSS feed thorough FeedBurner. Some will be regular RSS Reader subscriptions, some will be via email. Hope that helps, I'm sure there are plenty of other people who can give you an even better understanding of RSS feeds. Tim
	Warrior Forum Google Reader Threads Part 1 \| Part 2 \| Part 3 (sort of)

01-22-2009, 06:32 PM	#3
SurviveUnemployment Glad I Got Canned Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NY Posts: 681 Thanks: 330 Thanked 61 Times in 57 Posts Social Networking	Re: rss feeds for promoting your website RSS is the most powerful way to promote your sites. It helps with SEO. It spreads your content far and wide. It makes it easy for your regular visitors to access you. If you're not using it, you might as well be posting clunky static html pages with table layouts... in 1995.
	The best link-building strategy you never heard of... Article Spinning Is Not a Crime!

01-22-2009, 06:52 PM	#5
Mad Dawg HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: San Diego, USA Posts: 216 Thanks: 22 Thanked 18 Times in 16 Posts	Re: rss feeds for promoting your website Yea, RSS is something that I admittedly am very unfamiliar with. Having multiple blogs (video and text) attached to my site, I sure would like to RSS them and have them start SEOing for me. Anyone have any solid strategies for doing RSS right?

01-23-2009, 09:41 AM	#6
GangsterProfit Gangsterrrrrrrr War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 171 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 50 Thanked 27 Times in 26 Posts Social Networking	Re: rss feeds for promoting your website Here's a nice list of RSS directories you can submit to. There are a lot of duds in there, but also a lot of good ones. TopRank Best List of RSS Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog and Feed \| Online Marketing Blog I'd also be interested to hear if anyone has advanced RSS strategies.
	How would you like 1,000 diverse backlinks a day to your site, keyword management, weekly rank checking, insane keyword research tools, and a 100% automated software solution that's basically an SEO consulting business in a box? Well! Check out our brand new.. Link Emperor WSO Thread Would you like TONS of no-nonsense advice from two successful full-time internet marketers? Check out our FREE Internet Marketing Web Radio Show: GangsterProfit.com

01-30-2009, 02:20 PM	#7
SurviveUnemployment Glad I Got Canned Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NY Posts: 681 Thanks: 330 Thanked 61 Times in 57 Posts Social Networking	Re: rss feeds for promoting your website Sorry it took a while to get back on this. I started to write a response here and decided instead to do a blog post about using rss to promote your website. The only thing I didn't say over there that I will say over here is that you can also monetize the feed by throwing ads in there. Good luck.
	The best link-building strategy you never heard of... Article Spinning Is Not a Crime!