If you own a website you are likely looking for any advantage over your competition. RSS feeds may be the advantage you’re looking for. Here’s how to incorporate them into your website.
What Is an RSS Feed?
An RSS feed is simply a type of program that publishes any updates on your website. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It’s a type of feed format.
Benefit of RSS Feeds
The primary benefit of an RSS Feed is that your customers and prospects are instantly notified whenever you publish new content. You’ll stay front of mind with your customers. They receive the benefit of having your information delivered to their email inbox or reader.
You can deliver the following information to your subscribers, clients and prospects:
* Blogs posts
* Published articles and content
* Forum posts and activity
* Scheduled events
* News
* Special promotions, coupons and offers
A simple RSS feed can help you connect with your customers and prospects on regular basis. It helps you build a community and keep them informed and connected.
You can also use an RSS Feed to provide information about your industry from other websites. For example, if you’re a website that focuses on a financial investing niche, it might provide value to your visitors to see an RSS feed that’s focused on the latest financial news. The information is presented right on your website for all visitors to benefit from.
Adding an RSS Feed to Your Website
The process of adding RSS to your website varies depending on your website platform. For example, if your website is built on a WordPress template then you likely already have RSS features and functions. You simply have to activate them and modify the settings to fit your needs.
On the other hand, if you have a Joomla or other CMS based website then you may want to register with a feed management service like FeedBurner (FYI – Google now owns FeedBurner). Register, provide the necessary information, and create your code. You’ll simply cut and paste the code into your page’s html and you’re good to go.
Note that some website platforms like Joomla also have plug-ins that handle this task for you. They create a nice “RSS Feed” button and place it in an obvious and strategic location. You can generally choose the button’s appearance and the location of the subscribe option on your website.
Other website design software programs may not accept RSS technology so easily. Investigate your website platform and the possibilities. RSS technology provides a number of benefits to your readers and to your bottom line. Investigate the possibilities today.
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