http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/marketing-power-of-rss-content-syndication.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/marketing-power-of-rss-content-syndication.html Sat, 14 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0600
The value of RSS content syndication lies in the links contained within the content. This is because the big search engines like Google and Yahoo! pay a whole lot more attention to incoming links to a website than they did in the past. We’ll get to content a little later, because it still counts, but it is so important to understand why syndicating content to RSS feeds across the web may make you more money and cost you LESS!

RSS feeds are appearing on websites across the internet in order to keep people up to date with the latest news or information on a particular topic quickly. And we all know that users expect quality content, but even more so they expect that content to appear immediately! And, they want to see the content. They do not want to look for the content. They do not want to link to the content. They want the content to jump off of the screen and into their brains in 10 seconds or less!

Perhaps this is why Really Simple Syndication, or RSS, came about in the first place. It’s great news for web site owners too, however. Taking advantage of the huge variety and sheer number of RSS feeds that accept submissions from other websites provides a very cheap and simple way to develop more web site traffic and higher income.

Did I mention cheap? A minimal amount of time invested will allow you to not only provide a way for your loyal visitors to stay aware of your newest updates, but also to expand the awareness of the world about your services or products. I did mention cheap, right? Well, RSS content and article syndication allows you to spend some time preparing content in the standard XML RSS format and then to make it available to many free RSS feeds across the world.

If you have ever spent a large amount of money on an online marketing program – you already know the drawbacks of traditional internet marketing. Mass emails are no longer effective due to the increasing power of spam filters. Directory listing services are finding that their clients are removing their links due to retribution by the major search engine algorithms. And, Pay Per Click… well it’s just really expensive if you intend to see real results.

With RSS syndication, you are never going to face any of these issues. If you can write an html file for your website, you can syndicate your own RSS content. The basic process is quite simple to master, and as you become more familiar your skills will expand quickly as well.

What’s even better news for web site owners? The major search engines are not only approving of RSS syndication, they are providing RSS feeds open for submission in a huge array of topic areas like sports, entertainment, world news, travel, health and technology. There is a topic for every web site owner willing to put in a little effort! And people use their sites already, so what a better place to syndicate your content?

When you place content in an RSS feed, a link appears to your web site. This is noticed by the major search engines, and helps to increase your link popularity among the search engines. Link popularity will potentially move your site up in the search engine results pages (SERPS). Combine these two facts, and you will see that no matter how you look at it, RSS syndication will get you more traffic.

It doesn’t really matter whether your additional visitors found you through an RSS feed, or if your visibility and increased link popularity allowed them to find you through a major search engine! Think about that, and you are sure to see the true benefit of RSS content.

There’s that word again… “Content.” RSS content is different from what you might normally expect in an SEO campaign. The reason that most web sites containing RSS feeds put them there in the first place is to provide extra information for their visitors.

Think about it, if you publish a web site geared towards IT professionals you might be providing content that is of a fairly specific nature. You may be giving information, tutorials or even advertising for a certain software package. Although this information is important to a large majority of the visitors who click on your link, some visitors may be more interested in a different area of the IT field.

Providing an RSS feed that displays the latest in the world of IT news may be a great answer. If the information found in your RSS feed is quality and relative to your visitors’ interests, they will bookmark your site. Then they will COME BACK!

But what does that mean to you as the RSS syndicated content provider? It means that you will need to produce quality content – because it’s your content that keeps the users coming back to the original site. As long as your content is quality, and you remain a part of that RSS feed, you will see increased new and return visitors.

And generating traffic is the largest goal of an SEO campaign, so why wouldn’t you want to syndicate quality content for RSS feeds? This simple and inexpensive method of marketing your website is gaining popularity, and becoming visible now as a content provider will only mean greater returns in the future.


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Michelle McClory is an online marketing expert with 5 years of experience who is proud to be a member of the eByro team. If you would like to explore more Internet Marketing techniques visit eByro - the Vertical Portal for Internet Entrepreneurs

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/rss-provides-multiple-opportunities-to-share-your-information.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/rss-provides-multiple-opportunities-to-share-your-information.html Sat, 14 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0600
It seems like it shouldn’t matter to the search engines – the way you choose to market your website. But, it does when your link popularity begins to fall due to too many links on irrelevant web directories, etc. With RSS content syndication, you will not face that problem. And the better your content, the better the chances of increasing your standing with the search engines (not to mention your site visitors).

RSS feeds are no longer just appearing on the large news sites in order to show the latest headlines. They are appearing on internet-enabled cell phones, PDA and other mobile devices. The reason this is possible is the simple XML format used to produce the RSS feed. By using RSS syndication to spread the word about your site, you are now using one of the best advertising methods for reaching the “non-traditional” web browsers installed on these mobile devices.

Anyone familiar with web directory will understand the approach recommended for RSS syndication that I will term “many doors.” The many doors approach means that you are providing several different headlines for the SAME article! If you have done directory submissions, or worked with a directory submission service this is what you provided for anchor text and site descriptions.

So, you can see that while some level of time investment will be required… you will no longer need to generate huge numbers of SEO content in order to “trick” the search engines. As a matter of fact, you will probably want to concentrate your efforts on providing a few high-quality relevant articles that will gain and keep the attention of your site visitors.

You will need to generate content an update your website frequently if you want your RSS content syndication technique to be an effective form of marketing. Why?

The answer is simple, but often overlooked by those publishing RSS content for syndication. When site visitors become accustomed to looking at an RSS feed for teasers about new information they can use, and they notice that there have not been any new additions for a while they stop looking. If you decide that RSS content syndication is a good marketing tool for your site, understand that you are committing a small amount of time in order to draw and keep your web site traffic.

How often will I need to update? That is a question frequently asked by those new to the world of RSS marketing. It really depends on a few things. If you are publishing content about developments in the stock market, your readers may expect hourly updates. However, if you are publishing content on the week’s hottest new movies you could probably publish once a week and keep your readers happy. Of course, if you are syndicating RSS content about new books written on the topic of antique shoe stretches you may only need to publish content annually. This also points out another thought to consider.

If your content is so specific that it applies only to a limited group of people, then either RSS content syndication is not the right marketing technique for your web site or you need to expand your content offerings. If you find your website traffic lacking, why not try expanding your content to include a broader audience?

When you publish content on your website that you want your visitors to see, but you also want to make that same content available to others interested in the same subject area, RSS feed services provide a great and inexpensive way to expand your readership!

There are actually new search engines (Example, Feedster) that are in place with the purpose of allowing people to search for syndicated content that can be placed on their RSS feeds in order to provide a service to their web site visitors. Because there is such a service, there must be a need for this type of content! Therefore, listing your syndicated content with sites like Feedster will enable other web site owners seeking your information to find it.

Here is a short overview of what you need to do in order to get your content out there for RSS syndication:

First, you will need to compile a list of the content articles provided on your website with their headlines, URL and description. From this list, you will need to create a simple XML file (RSS format).

Second, you submit the XML file to services that make RSS syndicated content available for other users.

Third, you wait for approval of your RSS feed from each of the services.

Fourth, after you are accepted by a site you need to find out how often they will update their system with your latest XML RSS feed. You then need to ensure that you are updating your information at the appropriate time!

Finally, you need to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor! This is when you will begin to see increased traffic and sales to your site.

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Michelle McClory is an online marketing expert with 5 years of experience who is proud to be a member of the eByro team. If you would like to explore more Internet Marketing techniques visit eByro - the Vertical Portal for Internet Entrepreneurs

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/seo/basic-techniques-to-generate-traffic-from-search-engines.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/seo/basic-techniques-to-generate-traffic-from-search-engines.html Tue, 10 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0600
The first place most e-business start-ups go when they need a quick traffic fix is the search engines. And rightfully so! After all, a top ranking position in one of the major search engines is an effective way to increase the traffic to your web site without spending your hard-earned advertising dollars!

Statistics have repeatedly shown that anywhere from 20% to 80% of your visitors will find your web site via a search engine. However, you should also know that statistics show that most web surfers never search beyond the top 30 results they receive. With that in mind, it is clear that a top position a top position should be the goal of any savvy site owner.

But top spots are no longer achieved by crossing your fingers and blindly submitting your web site to 900+ search engines and directories using a free submission service. Competition for top spots is getting fierce, so it is important that you learn the “right” techniques if you want to ensure that your web site is well ranked... and it is very important that you do so while this great advertising medium is still FREE!

As I said before; for high traffic generation to your website, it is very important that your web site ranks in top spots in search engines. You may ask “What are the search engine looking for when they rank my web site?” Well, although each search engine uses different set of algorithms to rank web sites, but generally speaking, however, here are some of the main factors currently being considered by the search engines.

1. Link Popularity
Alta Vista, Excite, Lycos, and the web pages search promotion of Yahoo! use a ranking system that involves measuring and ranking the number of links that are directed towards a particular web site. This is an extremely powerful traffic generation tools because:

Reason # 1
Building a well thought-out linking strategy is a powerful way to attract large volumes of high targeted traffic! By putting your web site on every major web “intersection” where your target market meets, you will ensure that your web site receives a steady flow of qualified potential customers.

Reason # 2
Links are equivalent to recommendations! They established credibility even before the visitor reaches your web site, dramatically increasing the likelihood that they will buy.

Think about it... David arrives at his favorite web site and notices that they have posted a link to your web site. He knows and trusts his favorite web site and therefore assumes that, because they have a linked to you, your business must be credible too. He clicks through the link to your web site and is immediately open to offers you present him with. Why? Because your credibility was established before he even arrived at your homepage!

Reason # 3
Since many search engines now factor link popularity into their ranking decisions, your linking strategies are all that much more important! If you want to be ranked as high as possible in search engines, you now need a factor in your link popularity – and, as you already know, earnings a top spot in the major search engines is key to increasing your web site traffic.

Obviously, developing a linking strategy that generates a high volume of targeted traffic to your web site is not an overnight process. It will take you anywhere from two weeks to six months to secure quality links you need. However, I promise you that it is worth the effort! Once you have done the initial footwork, the links that are established will remain on these web sites for years to come. Your perseverance will pay big dividends in the form of a continuous flow of targeted traffic generation.

2. Your Domain Name
A domain name plays a vital role in traffic generation to any web site. Domain names rich in keywords will rank higher in search engines because search engines love URL’s that are saturated with keywords! Brainstorm keywords and key phrases for your web site and then use them to create a catchy URL... or load the domain name with your best keywords to get ranked higher in the search engines.

3. Key Word Density
Keywords definitely refer to the number of times your keyword appears throughout your site. Your keyword density is a factor that is heavily weighted by search engines, so it’s very important to make strategic use of your keywords.

So, these are the golden facts and tactics through which you can drive high traffic to your web site. I should also mention that you do not expect to enter a couple of your top keywords into the search engines and instantly start making money through your web site--- that is very rare. But yes, you can really make high traffic through search engines without crossing the line into “keyword stuffing” and with a little time.

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Wayne Robinson is a senior marketing consultant with 7 years of experience and presently writing for eByro. If you want to take benefit of his experience and learn more marketing tactics visit eByro; the Vertical Portal for Internet Entrepreneurs at: http://www.ebyro.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>