Creating RSS feed

Creating RSS Feeds for Your site


RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or it's sometimes referred to as Rich Site Summary. It's an XML-based content format for distributing news, headlines, content, etc.


Most popular sites news sites and blogs provide RSS feeds for you to subscribe to. All you need is a feed reader to view its contents.


Feed readers come in all shapes and sizes these days. The Firefox browser has one built right into the Bookmarks feature. I use Google Reader.


You can also create feeds for your own website so your audience can subscribe to them. If you update your content frequently and promote the feed effectively, it can help drive more steady traffic to your website.




What's the advantages of Creating RSS Feeds


More Traffic


For webmasters this is an excellent way to bring repeat traffic to your site. Think about it....every time a web surfer opens their RSS reader to get the headlines for all the sites they monitor, they'll also see your site's updates.


Instead of relying on them to bookmark your site and return at a later date, their RSS reader keeps your site fresh in their minds.


So when they open their reader to check the headlines for CNN, Yahoo or any other feeds they subscribe to, they'll also get the latest updates from you!




Avoid Email Spam Filters


Many webmasters are now dumping their newsletters and switching to this method of content distribution because you don't have to worry about dodging the spam filters.


I don't think that RSS will completely replace email newsletters, but I can see them definitely being used as an alternative more and more.


When you send an email newsletter more than 40-50% of the people won't even receive it due to spam filters or because of the fact it gets lost in all the junk mail your subscribers receive.


With RSS feeds, you don't have to worry about that because you're not sending an email, your simply sending out a news feed for all the readers to pick up.




Export Your RSS Feed


The cool thing about these feeds is that other people can use them as content on their site. So if you have a feed that is of particular interest to another webmaster, they can post your content on their site with a simple javascript code. This is another great traffic opportunity!



Use a Blog Instead


If you don't want to buy extra software to create your RSS feed, there is another way to create one for free.


You can create a free blog at Blogger.com and the RSS feed URL is automatically generated for you. This is the easiest way to go. So every time you post to your blog, the feed is updated instantly.




WordPress is another site that offers a free blog equipped with and RSS feeds.
Read about How to create your own blog Here.




Announcing Your Feeds on Your Blogsite




One of the easiest ways to announce your feed on your site is to use FeedBurner.com. They provide a redirect URL (address) for your feed that your audience subscribes to.


The benefit is that if you move your blog and your RSS feed URL changes, you don't have to worry about losing your subscribers because the redirect URL they provide stays the same.


FeedBurner provides several methods of announcing your RSS feeds. You can display a traditional RSS button, rotate your feeds in banner-style on your web pages, etc.


How to Get the Most out of RSS


If you really take the time to learn how to effectively use RSS feeds, it can really boost your site's traffic. Here's a book written by someone who really knows his stuff. There's some great advice here for promoting your feed once you've created it.Check it now.