What Is RSS And How Can I Use It For Online Marketing?

RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication or increasingly it can also stand for Rich Site Summary. It was first developed in 1999 and has evolved a lot since then. If you have a blog, you may have an RSS feed, which alerts interested people in the latest post or update to your blog. People who are interested in what you have to say or sell subscribe to your RSS feeds and get the latest posting as it is published on the web. Internet marketers have been a little slow to realize its potential but they are catching on fast.

An RSS feed can consist of text or an audio or video post at its most sophisticated, although whether or not video and audio posts are received depends on the aggregate reader subscribers have.

It helps with SEO and marketing because when you publish a post the RSS feed can be received by other publishers who can publish your content on their sites, which gives you an automatic backlink which in turn will help your site gain in credibility with search engines such as Google. This means a higher position for your site in the Search Engine Rankings pages (SERPS) which will lead to an increase in traffic to your site and so, theoretically to an increase in your sales. There are millions of online publishers out there, some of whom will certainly be interested in publishing your original content which automatically has backlinks to your website. This means that you can have thousands of backlinks without spending time trying to get them. Doesn't that sound good?

You can download a desktop aggregator which reads feeds from source websites and scans and collects data on the latest finds throughout the web. You and recipients of RSS feeds can choose which feeds to enter and you can customize the service. This is downloadable software which you have to pay for and the best of these aggregator programs will offer technical and installation assistance if you need it and give a complete automation for your submissions to RSS feeds as well as allowing you to use the software on all your domains. For those who are new to computer technology there are also web-based aggregators which are very user-friendly and all you have to do is register, free and start your account.

You may already get the latest weather reports or news through RSS but perhaps you hadn't realized just how powerful it can be as an Internet marketing tool. It works for publishers and recipients as there is no need to send subscribers or members of your site an email to alert them to updates. Interested people will subscribe to your feeds so there is no spam involved, and email boxes do not get clogged up if you update your site on an hourly basis.

The beauty of RSS really is in its simplicity in getting your message across to your target group, instead of resorting (possibly) to phishing or spam emails in an attempt to generate interest in your site or product or service.

There are many people out there who can help you in your quest to start using RSS to its full advantage for online marketing, and e-books too. It is a powerful tool in an online marketer's kit and one well worth investigating further.

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The Most Popular RSS Reader Apps

With an RSS reader app, iPhone users will be able to get real time news from their favorite blogs, news websites, or even their favorite retail stores that offer RSS feeds. What does this mean, well, it means you have the news at your fingertips as it happens, including the best sales in town. You will not have to run home after work to check your computer to learn what is going on since you will be able to easily find the information right on your iPhone.

We have compiled the most popular RSS reader apps for the iPhone so you learn a bit more in order to choose which one will fit your needs. With this list, you should be able to easily find the reader for your iPhone and stay current on everything you desire, as long as they offer an RSS feed.

RSS Reader is a reader that allows you to add your favorite feeds and even manage them. This means you will be able to read and find the feeds you want to check up on quickly. You will also be able to cache the feeds so you can read them while you are offline as well. The app supports various languages including Russian, Polish, Italian, Korean, Deutsh, Dutch, Danish, and French to name a few. The app is free.

NetNewsWire is another free app for the iPhone. This one allows you to switch feeds simply, sync with Google Reader and even read your feeds offline. The free version does have ads. If you hate ads then you can choose the paid option for only $4.99 and you will not have to hassle with any ads.

Reeder is a paid app for the iPhone. The cost is a mere $2.99. The features make it worth the cost with syncing ability with Google Reader, browse fees, manage feeds, browse folders, manage folders, and the ability to read the feeds offline.

Feeds is a paid app for the iPhone. The cost is $3.99 with features that include two syncing methods to Google Reader, share the feeds with friends, categorize feeds, tag the feeds, and read offline.

Doppler created for Mac can also be used for your iPhone. It syncs with Google Reader without any hassles, offers a decent layout and navigation so you can easily read feeds. The cost is 99 cents.

Now, you have the answer to the most popular RSS readers for your iPhone. Do not stay behind the times, get the app and stay current on the news quickly and easily.

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RSS Basics

RSS is one of the best ways to publish updates with some feeds not only publishing titles, but also summaries and even photos. Feeds that provide a short summary are often the most popular as readers can read the summary and decide if they want to read more. If so, the feed offers a link to the original post. This helps those that only want to read headlines as well as those that may be interested in a wide array of topics but do not wish to read the entire post on each subject.

Advantages of RSS

RSS provides advantages for webmasters and readers alike.

Current updates regarding local news, weather, new music, upgrades to software, or just a new post on a popular blog or any other subject matter the reader enjoys. RSS is the way for all webmasters to get the word out about sales on their website, companies offering new products or services, and of course news on many subjects.

Saves readers time. Instead of searching through all their favorite websites, news websites, and more to find the current news they can just read the headlines to determine which stories are worth reading more. This will help your readers prioritize the news and stories in the manner in which they wish to read.

Puts the power in the hand of the reader. Readers have the option of subscribing to the websites that offer subject they are interested in and will then receive updates in real time from those websites.

Helps with too much email. By subscribing to RSS feeds your email address is not provided to the website, therefore you will not be receiving extra emails. This means no spam email from the website, which is often the case when you sign up for a newsletter. Too many times, you receive more than just the newsletter, which makes many readers unsubscribe from the newsletter. This will not occur with RSS feeds, as the feed is not sent to email addresses.

If a reader decides they no longer what to subscribe to a feed, all they have to do is delete the feed and that is it. No questions asked at all. When you delete the feed from your aggregator there is nothing more to do.

For webmasters, RSS feeds can be used for advertising. The reason this can be done is that your subscribers want the latest news so you can add sales, new products, or even posts regarding your various products and your readers will be glad to receive this information via the feed.

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Brief Overview on RSS Aggregators

RSS readers are either computer software or website interfaces that aggregates information from multiple sources, hence the name aggregators. Based on type, there are search aggregators, which fetch information from search engines, news aggregators, that scan news sites, review aggregators, that retrieve information from review sites, and even poll aggregators, which keep us up to date with polling data resulting from upcoming elections

Aggregators collect and organize information from blogs, social network services, video sites, news companies and many other sources, hence they are convenient to stay both organized and informed about updates, just by clicking on an RSS or XML button or link, although many news readers accept copy and paste operations to add URLs, besides an integrated search function to scan for news from inside it.

RSS aggregator are available in two main formats; downloadable software that runs in either Windows, Mac, or Linux based computers as a stand-alone application or desktop tool, and web-based aggregators, which are free or paid online services. Selecting an RSS aggregator is a personal matter because each of us have different tastes and needs.

Software is however easier to customize and usually comes with more features to customize the information retrieve, unlike most of their online counterparts. But not all aggregators are free software either; some are trial or shareware versions, or they can only be obtained after paying a price. This way, price tag is not always a determining factor to select between desktop and online readers.

Example of desktop aggregators include FeedDemon, a user-friendly aggregator that includes an RSS collection already installed to start retrieving news from different websites. Other features include podcast receiver, tabbed interface, feed storage, integrated search and watch list to filter junk feeds. However this is software is only available as a trial version that only works embedded on Internet Explorer.

Some online aggregators include My Yahoo service, Bloglines and Newsgator, an Outlook-type online reader for Windows that provides custom news channels, and data synchronization between this service (free for standard use) and handheld devices.

Desktop and online news readers are alike offering blog headlines, automatic subscription, and search feed capabilities. Some may include a built-in RSS directory, keyword filtering, feeds storage and custom layout design and feeds display.

It is recommended try several aggregators to find the right one that meet your specific needs. Some people may simply want to retrieve news, while others enjoy collecting information and displaying it in a digest format.

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Understanding RSS

There are several different benefits found with RSS with the users, the content providers, and online marketers. Everyone benefits with this technology!

Users or readers do not have to check everyone of their favorite websites to find out if any new posts have been published. All they have to do is subscribe to the blogs, websites, and news sites. Once they have subscribed they can easily see all the favorites all in one place.

Once the subscriptions are all in one place, the reader can choose which headlines they want to learn more about and then just click the link to visit the website to read the rest of the article.

With an RSS feed, the only information displayed is the headline and a short summary. There is no fluff at all, so the reader can get to the point of the story. You will not find any type of spam and you never have to worry about providing your email address to learn the latest news.

The best part of all for readers is that you get to read only the news on topics you are interested in instead of skimming a new site looking for topics of interest. You will have all access to all the headlines and can decide which stories you wish to read and which ones you will skip for now.

Content providers can enjoy the benefits of RSS as they can add a feed to their website not only to provide their readers with up to date information but they can add other websites to the feed that offers the same topics. This will provide their readers with even more current information on their favorite topics. RSS feeds are also great for providing information on the newest products, sales, and events. This way your readers will be able to find the greatest deals on their favorite products as well right on your website.

Online marketers can add their products to the feed and website that offer information on similar products will grab the feed and add it to their website. This gives the marketer more outlets for selling their products as well as provides links to their website.

As you can see, RSS offers something for everyone from the ordinary surfer, the webmaster, and the marketer. This small bit of code added to a website will increase traffic that is interested in your topic.

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RSS Feed Subscriptions

Why so many people enjoy RSS feeds instead of visiting a website is that there is no spam, pop-ups, or frilly articles. All the news is supplied via a headline or blurb, allowing visitors to click on news that is of interest to them quickly.

The reason webmasters use RSS feeds is to market their products or services, keep subscribers up to date with the latest news, and ensure the news of sales are released in a timely manner. News websites use RSS feeds to ensure those that are interested in news receive real time updates on subject matters that are important to them. Blog owners and organizations use RSS feeds to let their subscribers know when a new post has been published and organizations keep fans up to date on events.

This is just a few reasons to subscribe to your favorite website that offer RSS feeds. You will need a reader, but that is not a problem at all. You can easily find website that allow you to organize all your subscriptions on one page, download a reader to your desktop, or use a browser that has a built in RSS reader.

To subscribe to your favorite RSS fees, you should look for the RSS icon on websites your frequent. In most cases, the icon will be found at the top of the front page usually a bright orange icon. As soon as you find the icon, just open up the feed and find the URL. You will need to copy and paste the URL into the reader or the website that allows you to read your feeds on their website. As soon as you do this, you will be subscribed to their feed.

As mentioned above, a few browsers make it even easier as all you have to do is find the RSS icon located on the left side of the URL. Just click the icon and you will receive the up to date information from that feed which will also subscribe you to the feed.

As you do your search for RSS feeds and readers, you will find both free and paid subscriptions. If you find a paid subscription you think you will enjoy, you should research to ensure you the same information is not found on a free feed. In most cases, paid subscriptions are unique and the information can only be found via that RSS feed.

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