Reach a larger audience by offering really simple syndication (RSS) feeds for your regularly updated Web site content. An RSS feed is simply a page on your Web site where you post content you want to distribute. RSS aggregators such as Google Reader and MyYahoo check that page about once a day for updates and distribute updates to any of their accounts registered for your feed.
Reader Benefits
RSS feeds are growing in popularity as a way to consume Web content. They offer subscribers many advantages, such as:
- Subscribers receive updates from their favorite Web site without checking
- RSS content is available anywhere subscribers have Internet access
- No personal information, like an email address, is required to subscribe
Do I Need a Feed?
An RSS feed helps you reach a larger audience with your message because you’re delivering it straight to the readers rather than asking them to come to your Web site. Some RSS programs let you track your RSS subscribers and hits, making your marketing efforts measurable. And, you don’t have to worry about your content ending up in an email spam folder.
Still, RSS is not a good fit for every Web site. If you rarely update your site, you don’t need to have a feed. But if you regularly produce any of the following content, you should consider creating an RSS feed:
- Blog posts
- Newsletters
- Press releases
- New products
- Sales and promotions
- Changes on a wiki
- Podcasts and video casts
- Any other content that can be delivered in parts
When you’re ready to add an RSS feed to your Web site, take a look at our articles on how to create an RSS feed and build a subscriber base.