What is an RSS Feed?
Really Simple Syndication (RSS): In simple words, RSS refers to a notification system which is keeps subscribers updated with the latest updates on their favorite websites which could be blogs, music sites, etc. When a user subscribes to an RSS feed, they will receive updates from their favorite sites. To find out if the site is RSS-enabled look for the (usually) orange button that allows visitors to subscribe.
Many people don’t know how to use the RSS button that they see on a website or what it’s for. For the Internet-savvy, it is turning out to be the best way to simplify their searches. Generally, RSS feeds contain summaries of the web pages and allow the subscribers to pick and read the article of their choice. A powerful aggregator which helps you organize and choose the news items just like an email is all that you need to get the most out of RSS feeds.
Upon subscription, you will receive updates automatically. Subscribers can also choose to display the feeds on their web pages so visitors can view the updates as well. As a result, your website will generate more traffic. RSS feeds are turning out to be an essential tool in web marketing today. Your client is constantly reminded of your website’s existence and most importantly the updates will encourage them to visit your site regularly.
Making RSS Feeds work for you
- Create your RSS feed. Write an appropriate title and description and ensure that the link leads to the website with the actual content.
- Validate your RSS feed. Once you’ve created your RSS feed, validate it. Read more about the RSS format standard and ensure that your RSS feed conforms to the format.
- Create a web page for displaying your RSS feeds. After your RSS feed is validated, add it to your web site. Creating a separate web page for displaying RSS feeds is a common web practice.
- Promote your feed Display your RSS feeds on a webpage. Once you have created and validated your RSS feed, create a separate web page for displaying it.
- Promote your feed Use directories to list your RSS feeds. Once the RSS feeds are up on your website, you need to ensure that your potential viewers are aware of it. Below are a few RSS directories which will help provide visibility to your live RSS feeds:
FeedBoy
FeedBomb
Feedfury
Feedburner
RSS Feeds Directory
Free Feeds Directory
RSS Feeds Submission
- Allow access to RSS reader. Add a link to which enables your viewers to ‘download RSS reader’.
- Be regular with updates. It is important to update your RSS feeds. It is as important as updating your website content. If you aren’t updating your feeds, your viewers don’t have any reason to continue to subscribe to them.
In this era of online marketing, Search Engine Optimization is at the forefront of every online marketing strategy. However, when we talk about Search Engine Optimization, we can hardly miss the subject of optimizing via social websites and social Medias. This is because of the fact that in past few years we have seen an exponential growth in the popularity of social websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest
In this article, we will be showing you how to harness the full power of social websites to supercharge your SEO efforts.
Helps in Link Building
Social websites help immensely with your link building strategy, which is of primary importance in your off page optimization strategy. Social websites help increase the amount of back links to your site. Top search engines like Google and Yahoo give more weight to your online popularity factor, which is primarily determined by the number of links pointing to your site, when it comes to determining your site’s rankings in SERP’s (Search Engine Results Page).
Many social websites provide features that help link your page to the reader or visitor’s page. For example, if your site’s articles are on the Digg network and if someone else also on Digg reads the article and finds it interesting and relevant, they simply click “Digg it” button, and your page is automatically added to their own webpage. Furthermore, these sites also allow you to tell others in the network about your website and no doubt this definitely increases the odds that they will bookmark your site and put your link on their own. However it needs time and effort to build your reputation in these social sites by providing relevant content that provides value to the readers.
Minimal Effort - Big Results
Many online marketers consider Social Media Optimization or optimization by social websites to be guerrilla marketing, because they are considerably cheap as compared to other marketing channels.
Furthermore, to obtain maximum exposure from optimization via Social Websites, it is important to post relevant and useful content on a frequent basis and being an active member of the community. Social Media Optimization is a very effective technique that will yield fruitful results both in the short and long term and is well worth the time and effort invested.
Importance of Blogs
Blogs are one of the most important mediums when it comes to optimization via Social Websites. This is because blog posts attract links from other bloggers which creates a snowball effect and helps your site to gain popularity and receive targeted traffic. Successful blogs provide regular, fresh and relevant content. A good way to advertise your blog is to visit other blogs that have a comments section and make an insightful comment about their content and then provide a link back to your own blog or website. This is known as marketing through “Blog Commenting” and is an effective marketing technique, if done properly.
It is important to update the blog on a regular basis. Provide links, lots of images, video clips and interactive tools. Make sure that each page you add to your site is relevant and provide value to the readers.
Which Sites to Target?
When it comes to optimizing via social websites because as a rule of thumb, the more sites you target, the better it is. There are many popular social media sites out there and choosing which ones to participate in can be overwhelming sometimes, so always join those sites that are relevant to your interest and work at a steady pace in building up your site’s reputation in these social sites.
An Internet forum is an area for discussion made available on a website for users to post discussions, read and respond to posts by other forum members. Online forums allow members or users to start new topics and reply to existing posts too. Conversations on forums are called threads.
With the advent of the internet, businesses are leaving no stone unturned to promote their businesses online. Among the various other means to market websites online, forum posting is turning into a popular option. To top that, it has been noted that visitors to websites by way of forums are worth more than any average visitor. Why? Simply because, forum visitors are active information seekers and engaged users, who are more likely to be interested in your services. However, you should note that forums are primarily beneficial for driving human traffic to your website. Search engine rankings follow closely and with a signature link with every post, you are assured greater visibility in the search engines too.
Here’s how you can take advantage of internet forums to drive traffic to your website:
Introduce Yourself: Begin by participating in the ‘Introduce Yourself’ section of the forum. Also, don’t forget to welcome new members!
Become an Active Member: You could choose forums or topics, which interest you or are closely related to your business or service and actively participate in the discussions. Try solving problems and offer help and advice when required. Don’t underestimate yourself and believe that you cannot become a moderator. The effort that you put in to become a moderator on a forum is worth it and you are assured increased visits to your blog as visitors already believe you are a subject matter expert.
Your Signature Tells All: A well-defined signature, with linked text to your URL, is essential if you want visitors to notice your link. Here’s an example:
Your website and SEO: Do you know you can drastically increase your traffic with the help of forum postings?
Michelle Crossley, studio1c
Say NO to SPAM: Drop your links in the posts you visit or reply at. But, not in a spammy way! If you are dropping links before you establish yourself as an active contributor, it won’t take you long to be ignored or banned!
Know the Forum Rules: Different forums have different and specific rules. Make sure that you have read them thoroughly (usually you can find a post on the forum rules prominently displayed in the forum index) so you aren’t banned after you have posted.
Check for typos and missing words before you click ‘Submit’.
While you work hard to increase free website traffic, you should ensure that users find relevant information on your forum posts too!
Show and tell would-be guests why they should come to your event
When promoting your event to potential attendees, it sometimes takes more than just an invite with the who, what, where, and when details to get guests to commit. To get people off the fence and clicking the Register button, you may need to give them a taste of what's to come at your gathering and share why they should attend.
There are a number of ways you can use content to promote your event via your invitation, event homepage, email newsletters, social media, and your website to hook people into coming to your gathering, whether it's a class, webinar, open house, fundraiser, or party. Most importantly, your event invitation and/or homepage should provide the benefit attendees will get out of coming to your event. You could list three things they will learn, show who their donations will benefit, or include some of the items that will be available for auction at your gathering.
But there is more content that can be used to whet the appetite of those you want to attend your event, content that can used beyond the invitation and event homepage:
Have speakers write a blog post: If there are guest speakers at your event, ask them to write a quick blog post or article that previews what they will be talking about during your event. If there are multiple speakers, you could roll out posts over a number of days during the registration period to build excitement. Spur engagement by asking readers and attendees what questions they would ask the speaker and have them post their thoughts in the blog comments or to your Facebook Page.
Post videos of scheduled speakers: Some guest speakers may have video of previous talks available on YouTube or other public video sharing sites. If so, link to the video in your event communications or embed the video on your website for people to see. Such videos could provide context to what will be covered at your event (homework for attendees) or give a taste of the speaker's style and flair.
Book excerpts: Are any of your speakers or guests published authors? Ask them if you can publish an excerpt from their books as a way to promote their appearance at your event. Authors always want publicity, and the content from the book will help demonstrate the expertise that will be on display during your seminar or class.
Post thought-provoking articles: Find an article online with a topic related to your event? Post it to your social media accounts or link to it from your blog and ask readers to share their thoughts. Make sure to tie the question back to your event!
Photos of previous events: If your event is recurring and you have photos from previous gatherings, post them to your website, event homepage, Flickr account, Facebook Page, and/or include a couple in your email newsletters as way to show what attendees can expect when they come to your next event.
Tweet with an event-specific hashtag before, during, and after the event: When tweeting about your event, include a special hashtag (e.g. #wineclass2020) in each tweet and encourage other Twitter-using attendees to do the same. This will allow you and all your attendees to track the conversations surrounding your event and discover fellow attendees without having to first follow everyone on the invitation list. Tools such as Twitter Search, HootSuite, and TweetChat are great for following specific hashtags.
