Like anything else, a little work can pay dividends.
Well-written RSS feeds are more useful to readers and result in
more website traffic for the publisher. Below are several tips
for making your RSS feed more effective.
1. Use interesting titlesLike a book is often judged by its cover, an RSS feed item is
judged by its title. Make sure your title is interesting, and
try to put the most important information early in the title,
since some newsreaders truncate title beyond a certian length.
Also, keep in mind that some newsreaders are set to only show
feed item titles. Don't assume that any feed item descriptions
will be shown.
2. Include keywordsSince some readers will discover your feed through the many RSS
search engines on the Internet, you will want to include as many
descriptive keywords in your feed item titles and descriptions.
That does NOT mean you should just add a string of keywords.
Rather, incorporate keywords naturally into your titles and
descriptions.
3. Don't include all your contentSome publishers put full content text directly in the feed item.
The problem with including full text in a feed is that a reader
has no incentive to click through to the publisher's website.
Instead, write your feed item descriptions as 'teasers' that
make a reader want to click over to the website to read more.
Make your feed item descriptions brief, and include descriptive
keywords. Remember some newsreaders are set to truncate long
descriptions, and some newsreaders won't show descriptions at
all. Keep your most important information at the start of your
description.
4. Keep your content freshUpdating your feed regularly is a good way to keep reader
interest. Feeds (like websites) that are not updated for months
on end tend to lose repeat visitors. How often you refresh your
content is up to the publisher. Keep in mind, however, that
readers can set their reader to show as few as three feed
headlines at a time. While it's not likely a problem, updating
too often could mean that some items may get overlooked.
5. Make sure your RSS feed is compliant!Finally, make sure your feed is readable. The best-written feed
in the world won't be read if the feed code is bad. If you are
hand-coding your RSS feed files, you can use a website like
http://feedvalidator.org can determine if your feed is valid and
suggest reasons why it isn't.
Content is king. Use these tips to keep your RSS feeds well-read
and your website well-trafficked!
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