http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/take-advantage-of-your-promotional-rss-tools.html?ss=9702 http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/take-advantage-of-your-promotional-rss-tools.html?ss=9702 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:42:01 -0500
In essence, RSS is a 'mini database' that contains headlines and descriptions (a summary or a line or two of the full article) of your web content, including hyperlinks that enable users to link back to the full article of their choice.

RSS websites - that is, websites that contain RSS 'feeds' (articles or postings) - typically have colorful graphics to indicate to users that the specific web content is available through RSS feeds. These graphics are usually depicted by orange rectangles that are usually marked with 'RSS' or 'XML'.

With its increased popularity, RSS is now being adopted and used by more website owners or publishers. Today, numerous resources are now available that aid Internet surfers (and even beginners as well) on how to set up and use RSS.

Setting up RSS feeds and adding them to your website can be a simple process that does not involve a lot of time or any money. Listed below are some simple and basic steps that you might want to follow:

1. Have your web content and/or news in an RSS feed format, such as XML (appropriate and 'ready-made' feeds are also available from other sources).

2. Click the orange graphic - this is the RSS feed icon. Take note of the URL of the RSS feed; this will be displayed in the address bar (for Internet Explorer).

3. Input the feed URL on your RSS feed creation program.

4. Click on the "Generate Feed" button. This will generate the RSS code for your web content.

5. Enter the RSS code in the appropriate place on your own website.

Having created an RSS feed for your website, next comes the task of publishing your web content and news and having them displayed on other sites and headline viewers. This is made possible with the use of RSS readers or aggregators.

RSS readers or news aggregators are used to view particular web contents. RSS readers contain the collection of 'feeds' or RSS files from content providers, and they are generally classified into 3 types:

Desktop RSS readers - also known as standalone desktop application, they generally 'run' in the background and are similar to an e-mail client, collecting the feeds and refreshing items automatically as they are updated.

Web-based aggregators - these are online services that enable users to personalize web pages, refreshing them each time the page is accessed or each time a person logs in to the service.

Plug-in aggregators/readers - these make use of either web browsers or e-mail clients, which allow users to view RSS feeds while inside an existing program.

Having an RSS-enabled website provides Internet users (especially those who are website owners) with the following benefits:

Allows users to generate up-to-date news and postings, as information and content in the RSS readers or aggregators are automatically updated each time the RSS feed is 'refreshed'.

Allows users to have control over the information that they wish to view or receive, as they can remove a feed of their choosing any time they want to.

Aside from these benefits, RSS websites are also useful for people who conduct their business in the Internet, particularly in Internet or Online Marketing. RSS can be an effective marketing tool for your website, especially in the following fields:

E-mail marketing and publishing
Search engine marketing and optimization
Business blogging
Internet advertising
Digital public relations
Branding and e-commerce

In addition, RSS can 'power' your website, providing you with the following:

•Valuable, updated, and relevant resources for site visitors and potential clients - RSS is ideal for websites that contain (and syndicate) a lot of information that has to be changed or updated regularly.

Search engine optimization for the website.

Increased traffic for the website - your website can 'harvest' and display information from other sites, driving more traffic to your own website.

A wide selection of 'channels' for content distribution, such as PDA's, cellular phones, voice mails, and email ticklers.

A reliable way to have your web content delivered to Internet users and potential clients - RSS ensures that your site is viewed by the people who are interested in them, without having them blocked and 'cleaned' by ISPs or Spam filters.

These are just some of the advantages that RSS can give your website (and your business). The possibilities are endless, as more and more comes up almost everyday. Do not be left behind - take the advantage of the web site promotion style marketing and publishing power of the RSS. If you have a website that features free online shopping malls or almost anything you can imagine, this RSS thing we speak of is a great natural way for web site promotion to work when your not and it makes others happy as well.



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Terry Detty enjoys this Web Site Promotion along with Free Online Shopping Malls .

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/looking-here-for-an-rss-guide.html?ss=9702 http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/looking-here-for-an-rss-guide.html?ss=9702 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:58:55 -0500
RDF Site Summary (also known as RSS 0.9; the first version of RSS)

Rich Site Summary (also known as RSS 0.91; a prototype)

Really Simple Syndication (also known as RSS 2.0)

Today, RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication', and it has the following 7 existing formats or versions:

0.90
0.91
0.92
0.93
0.94
1.0
2.0

RSS tools refer to a group of file formats that are designed to share headlines and other web content (this may be a summary or simply 1 to 2 lines of the article), links to the full versions of the content (the full article or post), and even file attachments such as multimedia files. All of these data is delivered in the form of an XML file (XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language), which has the following common names:

RSS feed
Webfeed
RSS stream
RSS channel


They are typically shown on web pages as an orange rectangle that usually has the letters XML or RSS in it.

RSS feeds can be used to deliver any kind of information. Some of these 'feeds' include:

Blogs feed - each blog entry is summarized as a feed item. This makes blog posts easier to scan, enabling 'visitors' to zoom in on their items of interest.

Article feed - this alerts readers whenever there are new articles and web contents available.

Forum feed - this allows users to receive forum posts and latest discussion topics.

Schedule feed - this allows users (such as schools, clubs, and other organizations) to broadcast events and announce schedule changes or meeting agendas.

Discounts or Special feed - this is used to enable users (such as retail and online stores) to 'deliver' latest specials and discounted offers.

Ego or News Monitoring - this enables users to receive 'filtered' headlines or news that are based on a specific phrase or keyword.

Industry-specific feed - used by technical professionals in order to market, promote, or communicate with current (and prospective) customers and clients within their specific industries.

RSS feeds enable people to track numerous blogs and news sources at the same time. To produce an RSS feed, all you need is the content or the article that you want to publicize and a validated RSS text file. Once your text file is registered at various aggregators (or 'news readers'), any external site can then capture and display your RSS feed, automatically updating them whenever you update your RSS file.

RSS tools are useful for sites that add or modify their contents on a regular basis. They are especially used for 'web syndication' or activities that involve regular updates and/or publications, such as the following:

News websites - as used by major news organizations such as Reuters, CNN, and the BBC.
Marketing
Bug reports
Personal weblogs

There are many benefits to using RSS feeds. Aside from being a great supplemental communication method that streamlines the communication needs of various sectors, RSS tools and feeds can also have tremendous benefits in your business, particularly in the field of internet marketing and website promotion.

RSS tools and feeds provide Internet users with a free (or cheap) and easy advertising or online marketing opportunity for their businesses. Below are some of the RSS features that can help make your internet marketing strategies more effective.

1. Ease in content distribution services. With RSS, your business can be captured and displayed by virtually any external site, giving you an easy way to 'spread out' and advertise them.

2. Ease in regular content updates. With RSS, web contents concerning your business can now be automatically updated on a daily (and even hourly) basis. Internet users will be able to experience 'real time' updates as information in your own file (such as new products and other business-related releases) is changed and modified simultaneously with that of the RSS feeds that people are subscribed to.

3. Custom-made content services. With RSS, visitors can have personalized content services, allowing them total control of the flow and type of information that they receive. Depending on their interests and needs, visitors can subscribe to only those contents that they are looking for (such as real estate or job listings).

4. Increase in (and targeted) traffic. With RSS, traffic will be directed to your site as readers of your content summary (or 1 to 2 lines of your article) who find them interesting are 'forced' to click on a link back to your site.

These are just several of the many things that you can do with RSS. The possibilities are endless, and they are all aimed at providing you with an effective internet marketing strategy for your business. It is website promotion in one of its finest hours of online webness.


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Terry Detty enjoys this Web Site Promotion along with Free Online Shopping Malls .

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/allow-the-aggregator-to-website-promote-for-you.html?ss=9702 http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/allow-the-aggregator-to-website-promote-for-you.html?ss=9702 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:27:54 -0500
An aggregator works by scanning the worldwide web with latest postings based on the RSS code (containing the website's URL) provided or added by the user. When it finds a new posting, news, or update, it will publish the RSS feed on your home page containing the title of the posting, which also serves as a clickable link to the website source. This RSS feed may or may not contain the whole article, a summary, and photos, depending on what RSS aggregator you are using.

Aggregators come in two types: the downloadable program or desktop-type and the online or web-based type. The desktop aggregator usually charges a certain amount for its services; this would include regular updating in the form of upgrades or patches to the original version. This type of RSS reader allows more customization of RSS feeds as well as page format or design over its on-line counterparts. But of course, price can be a drawback.

On-line or web-based aggregators are free of charge. All you need to do is register an account with them then you can start enjoying their services. Depending on the "brand" of the aggregator, customization is more limited. Some even do not allow you to customize at all.

Product and service advertisers are realizing the potential of RSS aggregators in internet marketing. In fact, several submit RSS codes to several popular web-based aggregators to reach the growing technophile and internet-based market. My Yahoo has been instrumental in popularizing RSS technology to both users and website owners and advertisers.

At present, there are many aggregators to choose from and newer versions of the same aggregator are constantly developed by its programmers.

Below are some of these desktop and online aggregators:
Desktop Aggregators
1. AmphetaDesk
Advantages:
- free
- supports Linux, Mac, and Windows
- easy addition of RSS feeds

Disadvantages:
- not maximized use of screen display
- few options for customizing

2. FeedDemon
Advantages:
- user friendly
- free trial version
- contains prepared popular feeds
- allows filtering of RSS feeds
- configurable "watch list" to manage junk RSS feeds
- search channel feature that incorporates other RSS services e.g. Feedster
- allows feed storage for future use
- tabbed browsers for channel navigation
- built-in podcast receiver

Disadvantages:
- supports only Internet Explorer (embedded)
- paid software (`$29.95)


Online Aggregators
1. Bloglines
Advantages:
- all major browsers supported (e.g. Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, Firefox)
- user-friendly especially for beginners
- free, web-based aggregator
- easy registration
- no advertisements
- contains its own directory of RSS feeds of thousands of websites
- personal email account for subscribing to newsletter emails (optional)
- allows privacy adjustments for personal blogs
- allows saved searches
- mobile version available
- 10 languages supported
- Additional add-on tools for automated blogrolls and subscription buttons

2. NewsGator
Advantages:
- free (consumer-standard version)
- provides personalized news channel
- allows translation of RSS articles into email format
- synchronization of feeds in several devices possible
- browse and search feed capabilities save time on surfing
- allows keyword filtering
- blog headlines
- button-click automatic subscription to news feeds

Disadvantage:
- Outlook-based thus limited to Windows

3. My Yahoo
Advantages:
- Free web-based aggregator
- user-friendly
- customizable home page design
- button-click subscription to RSS feeds
- built-in directory and search tool for feeds
- wide variety of feeds e.g. news (science, technology, local), weather
- connects to all Yahoo features and services

Disadvantage
- banner advertisements


There are also lightweight RSS aggregator extensions which are actually plug-ins to existing internet browsers. An example of which is Sage aggregator.

Advantages:
- free of charge
- beginner-friendly
- reeds both RSS and Atom feeds
- allows feed discovery
- can be assimilated to Firefox bookmark (storage and live)
- allows OPML feed lists imports and exports
- customizable style sheets
- supports a wide range of locales e.g. Catalan, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Polish, Slovenian, etc.
- easy installation

Disadvantages:
- good for about 12 RSS feeds
- limited use to Mozilla-Firefox and Mozilla-Firefox supported browsers


RSS developers promise better features in future versions of their aggregators. Microsoft is planning to include a built-in aggregator in their next Windows version. These developments are definitely something to look forward to by all internet aficionados.

Its always important to remember that this RSS tool can be used to help yourself and others make your time more valuable and at the same time it helps your website via website promotion. Helping others find what they are looking for right away.


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Terry Detty enjoys this Web Site Promotion along with Free Online Shopping Malls .

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/communication-goes-hand-in-hand-wirth-rss.html?ss=9702 http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/communication-goes-hand-in-hand-wirth-rss.html?ss=9702 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:54:31 -0500
Information distribution has been made simply by RSS. Simply put, with RSS, you can place your headline to other website for more people to see it. In marketing, it is a known concept that the more people you reaches to, the more likely that your product will sell.

RSS is an XML-based application. XML is similar in a way to HTML, which we all know is the most common website creator application. From a directory, it would feed the headlines into website that has an RSS reader. Creating an RSS feed would definitely boost up your sales. How can you make an RSS feed? Just follow these simple steps:

Create a file for your feed.
Using a certain format, you'd have to create the XML version of your feed. It should include the title or the headline, the body's short description, and the link where it can be read. There are a lot of different RSS web channel editor you can use for this. Some programs just require you to write news and articles down on a notepad and when placed on the editor, it will show up with the necessary formatting ready for upload. It would be advisable to make at least ten articles for your feed.

Save and Upload the file.
After creating your file, save your work as an XML, RSS, or an RDF file. Then you are now ready to upload it. Upload the file using your FTP program and place it on your web server. This process now makes the file readable by RSS news aggregators.

Validate the file.
Make your RSS program error-free. RSS is programming, so errors could lie unseen. Again, there are different programs that can assist you for this process. You would just need to place the saved and uploaded RSS file for the program to test it against wrong and missed code and tags. It is essential for you to check your work of course. This way, you're sure that what you have is readable and usable.

Create a directory.
Now that you have created the file, saved it, and made sure it works, you are ready to let other see it. The main purpose of an RSS feed is to broadcast it to all RSS enabled sites. So go ahead and look for a directory where you can place your feed. Some may require fees for uploading a directory. Some offer it for free. Scout around and round up all the free sites you can have and place it there. If you have some marketing budget, you might want to subscribe to sites that charge a minimal amount. Don't forget to place an icon of your RSS feed on your website, too for those people who visits you directly.

Update regularly.
With RSS, you know that the feed changes automatically every time you change the main file. Don't let your RSS feed sit there for a month without modifying it. Maintain it. Add new articles. The more exciting your topic is, the more people will check your feeds and visit your website.

Creating an RSS feed for Internet marketing is made very simple now a days. Even people who are not computer savvy can create RSS feeds, based on the steps provided above. The applications that were created for RSS creation are the ones that make it easy for everyday computer users to make an RSS feed. All you need is familiarization with the process.

Start now creating RSS feeds. Give your competitor something fierce to duel with. Needless to say, RSS feeds give your website more traffic than usual web hosting. And web traffic means more people seeing your products that could be interested in buying them. Add strength to your marketing strategy. Make RSS feeds and be ready to sell.

Using this RSS way of doing things has always been at the very basic core of Website Promotion and everything good that it can help each other with including Free Shopping Mall websites as well. It's all about getting the word out to those who are looking for a healthy relationship with the right product and personality.



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Terry Detty enjoys this Web Site Promotion along with Free Shopping Malls .

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/rss-bot-review-can-it-benefit-your-business.html?ss=9702 http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/rss-bot-review-can-it-benefit-your-business.html?ss=9702 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:01:54 -0500
Submitting RSS feeds to various Feed Aggregators is one effective way of providing one-way back-links and quick indexing for business websites. This ideally results to a steady stream of traffic. Manually submitting RSS feeds can take long man hours to complete. It can be very time-consuming. It limits your capacity to build and establish new websites and blog sites for your business. By automating this task, you can save work hours and pay more attention to your growing business instead of dealing with these tedious tasks.

RSS Bot provides the answer to the need for automated RSS feed submission. It provides businesses the chance to enjoy the convenience of automated and up-to-date service updates. It supports about 30 online Feed Aggregators, which is bound to increase over time. In automatically downloading and updating itself, it delivers up-to-date services hassle-free.

To reliably do automatic submissions of RSS feeds, RSS Bot is designed to support multiple submission profiles. It features automatic pinging to 23 services and supports keyword, descriptions and CAPTCHA submissions. What's great about this product is that it is guaranteed to deliver free lifetime upgrades.

RSS Bot needs a professionally developed windows utility program on Windows XP or Vista, or even on the 64 Bit systems. It comes with a complete installer and an extensive help file to feature ease of use. Program time can last only a minute. Fast, efficient and easy-to-use. In any business, a product that carry all those qualities is a sure hit.

What sets RSS Bot apart from other automated services is its great value. Other alternatives usually cost around $100+. This $24.95 worth package offers business the chance to enjoy a once off payment to do tedious RSS submissions, lifetime upgrade and PR. With that, launching blogs and websites has been made easy.

Imagine the cost of outsourcing your business websites' RSS feed submission. Compare it to the meager price that RSS Bot asks to help you work your way to a successful online business. Practical and economical, RSS Bot presents a great alternative to costly and time-consuming job. It gives your business the opportunity to thrive within minimum operating cost but maximum of the advertising benefits that advanced computer technology can offer. Along with the change in the face of traditional businesses, the methods on which they operate are also bound to change.

The availability of RSS Bot opens up a whole new range of options of doing tedious business tasks efficiently and faster. In the competitive world of online businesses, one way of staying on top of the game is by constantly doing advertisements to make their updates and products known to the market. The advanced computer applications presented by RSS Bots presents a sensible solution to doing just that!



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Folusho Orokunle owns and operates the leading Internet Marketing Reviews site. Check out his recent posts on Website Backup and Article Marketing Automation


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/what-do-you-know-about-rss.html?ss=9702 http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/what-do-you-know-about-rss.html?ss=9702 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:09:29 -0500
RSS may mean three different things. The original RSS (RDF Site Summary RSS 0.9) was developed by Dan Libby for Netscape. After a couple of months, they produced a simpler and easier-to-use version called Rich Site Summary or RSS 0.91. But they later lost interest, leaving it without an owner. As more and more users were using RSS, Winer made an adapted version of RSS 0.91 for Userland, claiming it as his own. Later in 2005, Microsoft developed Really Simple Syndication in relation to its Simple Sharing Extensions.

What is RSS?

RSS is a XML file format for syndicating content and news in the web. It is usually used by websites that constantly need to update their content regularly such as news websites (CNN, BBC and Reuters) and weblogs. Since it essentially gives one's webpage more traffic, it is now more widely used in marketing, web publications and virus reports. Today, large and small websites alike are usually RSS-enabled.

For example, you're an avid fan of baseball and you want to share something recent about one of the players. Other than content, you can also attach multimedia files, like videos or pictures. By using RSS feeds, other Internet users subscribed to RSS-enabled sites can read your "headline" for free. They can also track for changes and updates using news aggregators, which will be discussed later on.

How does RSS work?

To be able to use RSS, you first have to download a software (content management system), by which XML format can be read. The title and, excerpt of the article, and a link to the full article are shown. Other than just text, you can also insert multimedia files in RSS feeds like pictures, videos, mp3s and others. Broadcatching, picturecasting, photocasting, and podcasting are some features you can incorporate into your feed, but will not be discussed in this article. Free online shopping malls are another way to stay connected with some of your favorites that you're wondering about when they become available.

For users to access a RSS feed, they need to use an aggregator or a feed reader. An aggregator searches for updates on RSS-enabled webpages then displays it. It can either be a standalone program or a web browser extension, depending on your operating system. Search engines for web content broadcasted over RSS feed are also available such as Plazoo and Feedster.

How can I make an RSS feed?

It is definitely easier to make an RSS feed if you know HTML. If not, you could sign up for a blog (there are hundreds out there), some of which automatically creates RSS. If you're using a personal webpage building system, you need to understand more about RSS. Making an RSS feed from scratch is relatively easy.

A RSS feed should always contain an "item", whichever version of RSS you might use. If you wrote about a recent event in your city or a book review, the contents of this article can form an item. An item is essentially composed of three things: a title, its description, and link (where they can find your webpage). In choosing a title and description, use something that will describe the web content best. Although it will be easier for you, it doesn't follow that the title tag of your webpage and the item title are the same.

An item will look like HTML tags. First, you need to put an opening channel tag that defines it as an XML file. Then, label the tag as an item by putting < item > after the channel tag. After this, you can now insert the three essentials of your item: < title >, < description >, and < link >. Just like HTML, we need to close the tag by writing < / channel > and < / rss > at the bottom.

An RSS feed that contains multiple tags looks like this:

< ? xml version="1.0" ? >
< rss version="2.0" >

< channel >

< item >
< title >Anne Rice's Belinda: A Book Review< / title >
< description > If you haven't read any Anne Rice books yet, you will be greeted with shocking romantic relationships forming between unlikely characters… < / description >
< link > http : / / allaboutbookreviews . com / belinda < / link >

< item >
< title >Harry Potter IV: Darker with More Deaths< / title >
< description > The recently released Harry Potter installation has proved dark for its younger readers…< / description >
< link > http : / / allaboutbookreviews . com / harrypotterandthehalfbloodprince < / link >

< / channel >

< / rss >

Now, if you're still having a hard time understanding these tags, look for HTML tags tutorial to further grasp the concept. Its great to understand how your Website Promotion ends up working for you in a more specific way.

Have fun!



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Terry Detty enjoys this Web Site Promotion along with Free Online Shopping Malls .

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/updates-via-rss-directories-is-sweet.html?ss=9702 http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/updates-via-rss-directories-is-sweet.html?ss=9702 Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:41:26 -0500
The meaning of RSS is actually not clear. RSS may or may not be an acronym, actually. RSS may stand for Really Simple Syndication. But others say its Rich Site Summary and sometimes Rich Syndication Standard. The noted creator of RSS directory would be Netscape. It was released sometime in March 1999. The included a UserLand application which is called scripting news. Netscape stopped developing it, but UserLand continued doing so. Another company, RSS-DEV Working Group also released their own version.

RSS directories are sites that collate all RSS links and place them in different categories for other applications to use. This is similar to web hosting, only instead of web pages, they contain RSS links. These links will pop out on the website and when you click it, you will be directed to the main source of the link. This has been known to help out greatly for the Web Site Promotion side of things.

RSS poses a lot of uses for those who'd like to use the Internet for marketing or commerce. Here are the things you can do with it:

Create links from their website to yours.
If you are selling or promoting something, web traffic is important. The more RSS directory you upload, the more chances you have people seeing those and checking your site out. And if they have customized their sites with your RSS feeds, then they would get updated listings from your site to theirs automatically.

Collating analysis.
If you have a brand and you'd like to know how your competitor is doing, you may use RSS to see what they have so far. Get a directory of their product or service so you'll know first hand what they have come out with. With the data gathered you now can plan on how you can counter them.

Tracking your own progress. If you can check out your competitor, of course you'd like to check out too how your business or product is going too. With an RSS directory of your own, you can know how many people are interested in what you are selling or offering.

Increases productivity.
Putting up RSS directories, let's say for newsletters, adds efficiency to your company. If you use RSS for sending out newsletters instead of mailing them to recipients, you'd eliminate the possibility of your letter being classified as spam by users, or being sent in a closed mail account.

Increases efficiency.
There are a lot of websites or news articles that could be beneficial to your brand or company. At times, you'd like to add them to your site. Without the use of RSS, you'd have to copy the entire thing down and note where you got it. If you use RSS, then the headline and part of the story shows up on your site. And this is an automatic process now. If you use RSS, you just include the directory and automatically, the headline appears without you doing much.

Posting RSS directories could cost you some. But the benefits override it. Some sites even offer free RSS directory posting. If you are just starting up, you may like to check those out. The more RSS directory you have up, the more the possibility that you are sending out information to the people interested in your goods. Reason behind is that people will only get the RSS feeds that they are interested in. If they get yours, they sure are the target market.

Disseminating information online has become easier with RSS. The technology provided a cost-effective way of transferring facts and figures out. Utilizing it would definitely add up to your marketing approach. With it, you have an avenue of reaching out to even more people so easily.

RSS uses XML to syndicate pages. Though that sounds a little technical, there a lot of websites that has user-friendly interface to guide in building your directory. Go ahead and put up your RSS directory up now. RSS has proven to be essential. It has ceased to be an option; it has become a necessity.



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Terry Detty enjoys this Web Site Promotion along with Free Shopping Malls .

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/rss-in-the-basic-form-to-read.html?ss=9702 http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/rss-in-the-basic-form-to-read.html?ss=9702 Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:48:42 -0500 You probably have seen this three-letter acronym in the course of your internet surfing. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary; syndicating means republishing an article that comes from another source such as a website.

An RSS is a means of publicizing updates about websites. It may or may not include a summary and photos of the latest posting. But those that provide summaries (thus Rich Site Summary) allow users to skim through the article so that they could decide later on if they want to access the website source. The RSS feed usually contains the title of the update originating from the website. It is also usually the link to the website source.

What are the benefits of RSS?
RSS gives benefits to both readers (users) and web publishers.
1. It gives you the latest updates.
Whether it is about the weather, new music, software upgrade, local news, or a new posting from a rarely-updates site learn about the latest as soon as it comes out.

2. It saves on surfing time.
Since an RSS feed provides a summary of the related article, it saves the user's time by helping s/he decide on which items to prioritize when reading or browsing the net.

3. It gives the power of subscription to the user.
Users are given a free-hand on which websites to subscribe in their RSS aggregators which they can change at any time they decide differently.

4. It lessens the clutter in your inbox.
Although your email address will be required to enjoy the services of online RSS aggregators, RSS does not use your email address to send the updates.

5. It is spam free.
Unlike email subscriptions, RSS does not make use of your email address to send updates thus your privacy is kept safe from spam mails.

6. Unsubscribing is hassle-free.
Unlike email subscriptions where the user is asked questions on why s/he is unsubscribing and then the user would be asked to confirm unsubscribing, all you have to do is to delete the RSS feed from your aggregator.

7. It can be used as an advertising or marketing tool.
Users who subscribe or syndicate product websites receive the latest news on products and services without the website sending spam mail. This is advantageous to both the web user and the website owner since advertising becomes targeted; those who are actually interested in their products are kept posted.

What are the drawbacks of RSS?
The disadvantages of RSS use are brought about by its being a new technology and some user-preference concerns.
1. Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed.

2. Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds.
For conciseness and ease of publication, RSS feeds do not display the photos from the original site in announcing the update except for some web-based aggregators

3. The identity of the source website can be confusing.
Since RSS feeds do not display the actual URL or name of the website, it can sometimes get confusing on what feed a user is actually reading.

4. Publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to their feed and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, they would not know the reasons why users unsubscribe which could be important in improving their advertising.

5. RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the server.
Most readers still prefer the whole update over a brief summary of the entry, thus they still access the site.

6. Since it is a new technology, many sites still do not support RSS.

How do I start using RSS?
There are two things needed: an RSS feed and an RSS aggregator or reader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS-supported website. There are also websites that provide a list of RSS feeds of different websites. An RSS aggregator is used to read the RSS feed from the source website. It scans and collects data on latest RSS feeds from the worldwide web.

An aggregator comes in two forms: a downloadable program also known as desktop aggregator and an online or web-based aggregator. Downloadable aggregators may require payment before they can be acquired, while internet-based aggregators are usually free of charge. All you need to do is to register an account then you are ready to use their services. Both versions allow you to customize or choose which RSS feeds to enter. Paid aggregators are usually chosen by more experienced users and they usually allow more freedom in customizing feeds.

1. Choose an RSS aggregator to use. For beginners, web-based aggregators are recommended since they are usually user-friendly

2. Scan the homepage of your target website for the RSS or XML button. It contains the RSS code you need to enter in the aggregator. Copy this code. Syndic8 provides a directory of websites that support RSS.


3. Paste the code (which contains the URL of the website) in your aggregator. There is a space provided for pasting the code.

After you have done these three easy steps, you can start reading the RSS feeds coming from the website. New postings appear as they are published real time at the source website.

RSS and Internet Marketing

The original idea of RSS came from Netscape, where their intention is to provide a means for users to customize their personal homepage to contain links to websites that interest them, similar to bookmarking websites.

The application of RSS to internet marketing was an unforeseen development to RSS technology developers. Since users are given the freedom to add RSS feeds to their aggregators, those who are interested in particular products and services available in the internet can now be notified real time. Marketing becomes more specific to interested people and not a hit-and-miss operation.

Those who intend to use RSS for marketing their products and services should consider linking up with email account providers, (e.g. Yahoo, MSN, Google mail); networking websites (e.g. Friendster, Multiply, My Space, Hi5); websites of newspapers and television network websites (e.g. New York Times, CNN) for medium to big-scale companies. Small-time industries can also look into networking websites as well as personal blog websites (e.g. Blogspot) and websites of clubs and organizations that would probably make use of their products or services e.g. a fishing supplies store can look for the website of their local fishing club for possible RSS marketing.


Clearly, RSS is an innovation in information management in the worldwide web as well as online marketing. We can expect better RSS technology in the not-so-distant future as its popularity increases among users and website owners alike.



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Terry Detty enjoys this Web Site Promotion along with Free Malls .

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/take-me-to-your-rss-aggregators-guide.html?ss=9702 http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/take-me-to-your-rss-aggregators-guide.html?ss=9702 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:34:36 -0500
Most users visit a lot of websites whose content continually change, such as news sites, community organization or professional association information pages, medical websites, product support pages, and blogs. As Internet surfing became an intrinsic part of business and leisure, it became important to get rid of the very tedious task of repeatedly returning to each website to see updated content. This is a great form of web site promotion to keep ones website available for others to see.

RSS easily distributes information from different websites to a wider number of Internet users. RSS aggregators are programs that use RSS to source these updates, and then organize those lists of headlines, content and notices for easy reading. It allows computers to automatically retrieve and read the content that users want, then track changes and personalize lists of headlines that interests them.

The specially made computer programs called "RSS aggregators" were created to automatically find and retrieve the RSS feeds of pre-selected internet sites on behalf of the user and organize the results accordingly. (RSS feeds and aggregators are also sometimes referred to as "RSS Channels" and "RSS Readers".)

The RSS aggregator is like a web browser for RSS content. HTML presents information directly to users, and RSS automatically lets computers communicate with one another. While users use browsers to surf the web then load and view each page of interest, RSS aggregators keeps track of changes to many websites. The titles or descriptions are links themselves and can be used to load the web page the user wants.

RSS starts with an original Web site that has content made available by the administrator. The website creates an RSS document and registers this content with an RSS publisher that will allow other websites to syndicate the documents. The Web site also produces an RSS feed, or channel, which is available together with all other resources or documents on the particular Web server. The website will register the feed as an RSS document, with a listed directory of appropriate RSS publishers.

An RSS feed is composed of website content listed from newest to oldest. Each item usually consists of a simple title describing the item along with a more complete description and a link to a web page with the actual content being described. In some instances, the short description or title line is the all the updated information that a user wants to read (for example, final games scores in sports, weblogs post, or stock updates). Therefore, it is not even necessary to have a web page associated with the content or update items listed -- sometimes all the needed information that users need would be in the titles and short summaries themselves.

The RSS content is located in a single file on a webpage in a manner not very different from typical web pages. The difference is that the information is written in the XML computer code for use by an RSS aggregator and not by a web user like a normal HTML page.

There are 2 main parts that are involved in RSS syndication, namely: the source end and the client end.

The client end of RSS publishing makes up part of the system that gathers and uses the RSS feed. For example, Mozilla FireFox browser is typically at the client end of the RSS transaction. A user's desktop RSS aggregator program also belongs to the client end.

Once the URL of an RSS feed is known, a user can give that address to an RSS aggregator program and have the aggregator monitor the RSS feed for changes. Numerous RSS aggregators are already preconfigured with a ready list of RSS feed URLs for popular news or information websites that a user can simply choose from.

There are many RSS aggregators that can be used by all Internet users. Some can be accessed through the Internet, some are already incorporated into email applications, and others run as a standalone program inside the personal computer.

RSS feeds have evolved into many uses. Some uses gaining popularity are:

•For online store or retail establishments: Notification of new product arrivals
•For organization or association newsletters: title listings and notification of new issues, including email newsletters
•Weather Updates and other alerts of changing geographic conditions
•Database management: Notification of new items added, or new registered members to a club or interest group.

The uses of feeds will continue to grow, because RSS aggregators make access to any information that individual users like more convenient and fun.



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Terry Detty enjoys this Web Site Promotion along with Free Malls .

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/7-aspects-of-seo-web-designing-that-you-really-cana%80%99t-overlook.html?ss=9702 http://www.articletrader.com/internet/rss/7-aspects-of-seo-web-designing-that-you-really-cana%80%99t-overlook.html?ss=9702 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:06:18 -0500
7 Necessary Elements

Never skimp on your webhosting. Now, some may wonder what a hosting service has to do with the design of a website. Actually, there are many things that tie the two together. For example, if the bandwidth on the site is low, how can it maintain a design that integrates multimedia displays? No, it is never a good idea to overlook the benefits of solid website hosting services.

Always be sure your website content and the URL are rich in keywords. If a website is not properly indexed and ranked in the search engines, the success of the site will be doubtful. That is why integrating the proper keywords into the design of the site will be of paramount importance.

Be sure to optimize every page on the website. Yes, the homepage is of critical importance but it is not enough to have a well optimized homepage. Every page on the site needs to be properly optimized. This is because every page will be indexed in the search engines and each and every one of these pages will be needed for successful SEO strategies.

Keep the concept of keyword optimization in mind when you craft the titles of the web pages. In short, you will want to use helpful keywords that the search engine robots will smile upon when you design the titles. Once again, it is important to never let a good SEO opportunity go to waste when you are crafting the individual page titles.

Adding and index and a site map to the design of the page is helpful. This way, the entirety of the website will be indexed by the search engine robots in a much friendlier and easier manner. Remember, the key is to make sure the totality of your website's design aids in its search engine optimization.

Always keep the content of your site updated and current. When you start to fall behind on keeping content current, it will lose standing in the eyes of the search engine robots. Really, how relevant can a website be if it is never updated? Yes, keeping content fresh and updated is critical to SEO success.

Do not overuse graphics. Illustrations, pictures, and media files are all helpful. However, they will not help a website very much in terms of SEO rankings. That is why it is often best to keep these items to a minimum when SEO design is your main concern. This does not mean your pages should be bare. It simply means the illustrations should not come at the sacrifice of content and keywords.



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Folusho Orokunle owns and operates the leading <"http://www.federalreviews.com"> Internet Marketing Reviews site. Check out his recent posts on Website Backup and Article Marketing Automation


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