RSS Let's try and keep this simple, because really, despite the jargon, it is! RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication which involves the provision of information feeds which people can subscribe to.

What are the Benefits of RSS to Web Site Visitors?

The following quote from Secrets of RSS by Steven Holzner (Peachpit Press 2006) outlines the benefits to people who subscribe to RSS feeds:

RSS lets you select the source of your information. The idea is that instead of being inundated by e-mail or millions of matches in Google searches, you can select the RSS feeds you want to read, filter them, and get only the information you want. You find an RSS feed, subscribe to it, and read the feed using an RSS reader installed on your computer.

What are the Benefits of RSS to Webmasters?

If you have a web site with frequent additional or updated content, RSS allows you to publish this content in an accessible format that can be subscribed to by your web site visitors or linked to as syndicated content by other webmasters, giving your message a wider and sustained audience.

People interested in what you have to say, don't have to search through your web site for the latest content – they can simply look at your RSS feed.

If visitor retention is a priority for you, then you may well want to consider RSS…

How are RSS Feeds Produced?

RSS feeds can be produced in a variety of ways. For example:

• If your web site is a database-driven, content-managed web site, powered by software such as WordPress, as is this web site, RSS feeds may automatically be generated from the content you publish to the site. You can access the RSS feed of the latest blog postings for this site by clicking on the RSS icon at the bottom left of this page.
• If you have a 'static' HTML web site, you can still generate an RSS feed, manually, using low cost software that is easy to use. You can select the web site content that you want to publish as part of your RSS feed.

Podcasting

Podcasting is simply an RSS feed that includes audio and/or video files and that can be publicly subscribed to.

This may seem daunting but good quality audio, in particular, is not that difficult to produce and it may be appropriate for your web site and increase the impact of your message.

Webmasters…

Why not syndicate your web content, give your subscribers the latest information automatically and boost your Internet visibility!

If you want to add RSS/Podcasting to your web site, let us know!