Why Every Site Needs RSS

Why Every Site Needs RSS





By Andrew J. Morris





RSS or 'Really Simple Syndication' is not just for Blogs and


News sites. Every website can benefit from this newly popular


technology. The term 'syndication' is what throws a lot of


people off the track. Syndication is like news articles, isn't


it?





Well it can be. But think of it like this. If you had a


bricks-and-mortar store and decided to carry a new product line,


how would you let people know? You could advertise of course,


but a better and free alternative is to send a news release to


the local paper. Their business section may carry your


announcement free of charge.





Now back to our cyber-store in virtual space. If you add a new


web page, or make substantial changes to existing pages, how do


you let your customers (both former and future) know? You can


email your former customers, but spam blocking software will


prevent half of them from getting your message. And keeping


track of mailing lists, unsubscribe requests and address changes


is nothing short of a nightmare.





Instead, post a news release using RSS. Interested customers


will have their newsreader programs watching for your


announcements, and will get the news as soon as you send it out.


The announcement will include a link to the new or changed page,


and your customer can click on it if they are interested. True,


fewer will click through than might read an email from you --


but those who do will arrive at your site in a much more


receptive frame of mind. And those email readers still need to


click through to your site to see your new page anyhow.





If you make frequent additions or changes to your site you


should have your own RSS feed. Check out these sites to learn


how to make your own feed:





Making An RSS Feed


http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/2175271





How To Get Your Web Site Content Syndicated


http://www.high-search-engine-ranking.com/How_To_Get_Your_Web_Sit


e_Content_Syndicated.htm





Or you might want to try these programs to format your


information, so you can post it to your website:





ListGarden RSS Feed Generator Program Windows, Mac OS X, or


Linux, open source


http://www.softwaregarden.com/products/listgarden/index.html





RSS Headliner Create RSS Feed file on-line to copy and post to


your site. http://www.webdevtips.com/webdevtips/codegen/rss.shtml





But what if you don't often make changes or additions to your


site? There is a new site that offers a solution to that


problem. Shared RSS provides feed by TOPIC rather than


publisher. So you simply post your message in the appropriate


topic category (there are thousands to choose from) and share


your feed with others publishing on the same topic. It is a free


service that you certainly should use if you do not publish your


own feed.





http://www.sharedrss.com/





Wouldn't that mean (I can hear someone object) that I would be


sharing a feed with my competition? Well yes, but that isn't a


bad thing. It's like all those antique stores that congregate in


the same part of town -- shoppers flock there and wander store


to store, to the benefit of all.





Don't kid yourself, customers already know about your


competition. For every customer of yours who visits their sites


because they found an RSS link on your site, you will receive


one, two or three visits from potential customers who found your


information on an RSS link they discovered on your competitors


site, or in a catalog of RSS feeds. The benefit far outweighs


the risk.





And RSS feeds are not just for business. If other sites submit


to the shared feed they will bring with them more people


interested in that topic, who may become your future customers.


No, RSS is not just for Blogs anymore! Start your own or submit


to a shared feed, either way you can only benefit.



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