Despite it being a fairly interesting topic, we might as well dig into the RSS matter first and then proceed further. RSS, incidentally, is defined in several ways, such as:
- Really Simple Syndication
- Rich Site Summary
- RDF Site Summary (where RDF stands for Resource Description Framework)
However, for all practical purposes, the first definition holds most water because it is indeed very simple. But what exactly it is, you must be wondering all the while. Well, it is one of the easiest ways of getting your written matter out to as many people as possible and that too, within the shortest possible time; at least a summary of it. This often encourages feed subscribers to visit the site where the total content is lodged, and as a result your traffic increases appreciably. RSS feeds, incidentally, are now offered by many sites, particularly those where new content comes up regularly. And they aren’t difficult to set up either. In case you find it difficult to handle, you can always depute the job to some of the development agencies who will finish the work for you at a negligible cost. What is more, your viewers won’t have any problem viewing your feed because Feed readers are available for free, too
Be that as it may, but the big question is: Can RSS feed really contribute to your Search Engine Optimization efforts in a reasonably big way? Here again, controversy reigns supreme. According to one group of experts, it is a simple waste of time and energy because the content they carry is a mere duplication of your website’s content. This group also argues that search engines are well aware of this and so seldom bother to take the ‘feeds’ into consideration at the time of calculating page ranks.
But there is another side to the story as well. And that relates to using your RSS feeds appropriately, which will bring you benefits galore. This involves creating custom-made synopsis that are differently written as compared to your site’s original content, yet retaining the sense as well as the keywords. Now you can see the benefit clearly. On one hand, nobody can blame you for content repetition while on the other, you have plenty of keywords on your site for which Google is not going to penalize you!
Great: indeed for the ingenuity you have exercised, but do you know that RSS feeds can help your SEO efforts in other ways as well? How? Syndication is a part of the acronym and that`s just what can happen if you have a high quality site with lots of useful content and updates. It`s just like a television show. Other channels will pick it up if there`s enough of a demand. In the same way, other webmasters will pick up your RSS feed if enough people are interested in it. What does that mean for you? Other than boosting the potential of you site to be seen, it also adds back-links which can be valuable when page ranking time comes around.
Bottom Lines In question/ answer form):
What advantages webmasters are likely to gain by using RSS feeds on their site?
RSS feeds will provide easy, near-automated way for updating their site’s content.
- It allows viewers the opportunity to decide what they want to read without forcing them to go anywhere, which they`re likely to appreciate.
- It allows both human readers and search engine spiders to find content based on keywords without compromising the quality for either one.
- It`s an excellent way to market any type of website, but especially blogs since these tend to be updated much more frequently and consequently have more subscribers.
- It`s a great method for keeping people informed during a collaborative effort.
- Having your feed taken up by other webmasters can increase the number and quality of back-links to your site.
Post Script
RSS feeds are the way to go today if you want to draw more visitors to your site, and these should be a part of contemporary SEO strategy. However, it is essential to remember that RSS feeds work best on sites where the content is updated regularly. Otherwise, it will not be as effective as expected.