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Top 10 RSS Do's and Don'ts
Top 10 RSS Do's and Don'ts
By Sharon Housley
RSS is not quite a household word, but technically astute
individuals are adopting the use of RSS feeds at an
alarming rate. If you are interested in jumping on the
bandwagon, but not quite sure of where to start, consider
following these simple RSS feed tips to maximize feed
compatibility and make your feed stand out from the
crowd.
RSS DO's
1. Titles and Descriptions.
Always include meaningful keywords in your RSS feed's
Channel title and description. Many readers will view
or search for topic specific RSS feeds using keywords
or keyword phrases. If you have descriptive keywords
in your RSS feed's title and description the feed is
more likely to be located and subscribed to by interested
parties.
2. GUID Format.
Always include a GUID with each feed item. The GUID
is a globally unique identifier. Each post should use
a different GUID. The GUID will in some cases assist
RSS news readers and aggregation software in determining
when new content has been added to the RSS feed or when
existing content in an RSS feed has been modified. If
you do not use GUID's, the software used to aggregate
the feeds may have difficulty detecting changes to feed
items or the software may not always recognize new content.
3. Publish Dates.
Always include a publish date on feed items. The publish
date should be used even if the content is timeless.
The Publish Date will help readers determine that status
of the content contained in the feed item.
4. Polish Your Feed.
Consider including images within your RSS feed. While
the added images will not necessarily improve ranking,
they will add a polished look to your RSS feed and help
brand your feed.
5. Feed Hosting.
Either host your own feed, or set it up to forward to
a third party from your website. This will allow you
retain complete control over the RSS feed. You will
not need to rely on the stability of another company.
If you control the forwarding and at any point you are
dissatisfied with the service provided by the third
party, you can redirect the feed to another location.
RSS DON'Ts
1. Plagiarize.
Do not plagiarize content in your RSS feed, there is
little more to be said. Written words are considered
protected in most countries. Posting someone else's
work and taking credit for their words is wrong and
will damage your reputation as a credible source.
2. Splog.
Do not create splogs by automating feed creation. Splogs
just clutter the search engines and directories and
make it difficult to locate RSS feeds with meaningful
content.
3. Violate Copyrights.
Do not violate copyrights by republishing an RSS feeds
contents. If you quote content from another RSS feed,
credit the source and provide and link to the original
source of the content. As a rule of thumb, editorial
content should exceed the length of the quoted material
in the post.
4. Violate TOS.
Do not republish RSS feeds without confirming that feed
syndication is allowed. The terms of use are not always
apparent, so it is important that you check the terms
of service on the publisher's feed subscription page
prior to syndicating the contents of another publisher's
RSS feed.
5. Provide Multiple Feed Formats.
Do not provide multiple feed formats for the same content.
As far as the subscriber is concerned, the version of
RSS that you are using is irrelevant. Multiple versions
of the same feed simply cause confusion. Almost all
RSS readers and news aggregators support all versions
of RSS, simply choose a version and provide a single
feed.
By adopting good feed practices, you can
reap the benefits of having an RSS feed. Following these
simple RSS do's and don'ts will get you started on the
path to RSS success.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds
and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for
NotePage http://www.notepage.net
a wireless text messaging software company.
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This article may be used freely in opt-in
publications and websites, provided that the resource
box is included and the links are active. A courtesy
copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would
be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
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at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm
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