How to Use RSS Feeds - Web Guide

RSS feeds are still a largely unexplored domain in internet. A recent Yahoo survey noted that a mere 12% of internet users are aware of the use of RSS feeds, and only 4% of internet users have knowingly used RSS. Thus, it is obvious that if properly explored, RSS feeds can be crucial in generating a considerable volume of relevant traffic to your website. Moreover, increased use of RSS feeds will ensure that you have a dedicated reader base to the contents of your website. Before you reap in the benefits of RSS, it is important that you know how to use RSS for your website. This article shares important suggestions on the same.

Educate

Since the concept of RSS feeds is still unknown to most web users, the first thing that you need to know is how to educate your visitors about this feature. The main factor that holds back website visitors to use RSS is its technicality. Most readers see the icon on the page but they think its only for the geeks to subscribe to RSS. Therefore, if you want to attract the general non-geek reader base into using RSS you first have to impart some basic geeky knowledge on the subject. Do not go much into the technical details of RSS, just give a simple description of the subject and explain in details what the benefits of using RSS are. The explanatory content should be written in a helpful tone so that the reader can easily grasp the use of RSS. Place the explanation adjacent to the orange RSS icon so that the reader can immediately subscribe to the feeds after reading the explanation. Remember to not to keep the explanation too long as it will divert the attention of the visitor.

Your educative post should include basic information such as what are RSS feeds, what is a RSS reader, how can anyone get a RSS reader and how RSS is helpful in being updated. Place stress on the importance of staying updated on the contents of your website and you should be able to get your idea across.

Placement of the RSS icon

The RSS icon should be conspicuously placed in your webpage. Place it conspicuously with plenty of white space around it so that it easily catches the attention of the reader. Although you can use any graphic to represent the RSS subscription feed, it is better to stick to the conventional orange icon of RSS. The RSS graphic being self-explanatory will be helpful for the reader. Include the phrase, 'Subscribe to our feed here', beside the RSS icon you are using. Another important point to remember is that you should make the subscription steps easy for the visitor to follow. Keep the number of steps to a minimum because more number of steps increases the chances of the visitor losing interest and leaving the subscription process midway.

Add new content

Keep up to your promise of adding new content periodically. In other words, your RSS feed should be an active one. Getting a web visitor to subscribe to the RSS feed is not that difficult, but retaining the visitor after the subscription is even more challenging. You should post quality content, rich in information and without any grammatical errors.