The RSS in RSS feed stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is a simple way for a webmaster to automatically notify your visitors of new content on your website. It is also a simple way for your visitors to request notification of new content. Visitors subscribe to a website's RSS feed, and then each time you add a new post to a blog or a new episode of a podcast comes out, they automatically receive a notification. The notifications arrive in one of the many RSS aggregators or RSS readers that are available.

When you set up an RSS feed, include the following elements:

1. The title, or name for the channel, which might be the same as the title for your website, blog or podcast;

2. The link to your website itself (not the RSS feed's link);

3. A description that consists of one sentence which tells about the contents of the RSS feed;

4. And optional elements such as category, copyright, rating and other details to manage the RSS feed.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find RSS feed information to learn how RSS feeds work

Set up a blog and make the RSS feed link available to your visitors, so they will subscribe and become a return visitor. Produce a podcast on a regular basis, and your visitors can subscribe to it using RSS. Use RSS feed technology to post a news feed or ticker on your own website as a service to your readers.

I recommend: Learn more about RSS and how to set up and maintain your own RSS feed by reading RSS Tutorial. Get the detailed specification on RSS from the RSS Advisory Board. Get detailed instructions on building and using an RSS feed at XUL.

Get RSS feed advice to better optimize your blog for search engine placement

As with regular search engine optimization (SEO), there are ways to optimize your RSS feed. Straightforward tips and suggestions help your blog rank higher on search engines. Remember that good and interesting content is still the best way to drive long-term traffic to any website.

I recommend: Find out how to promote your blog with RSS feeds at PRESSfeed. Get RSS feed help in optimizing your RSS feed for search engines by requesting a free consultation from the LSF Network.

Find RSS feed content to subscribe to and monitor your placement on search engines

Though RSS content often shows up in regular search engine results, there are search engines that search specifically for blogs, podcasts or other RSS content. Look for RSS feeds in your field of interest to monitor other blogs. Check to see how your blog places compared to your competition.

I recommend: Choose between a basic keyword search or an advanced search including date range at BlogPulse. Search for blog posts using advanced search criteria including whether or not to search news feeds, searching only within feeds you already subscribe to and other options, at Bloglines.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When you set up an RSS feed for your blog or podcast, make sure your keywords are included in the Channel Title and Channel Description section. Also, consider adding an image in your RSS feed to give it an attractive look.