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RSS Feed SEO
Just like HTML web pages, RSS feeds can be optimized
to perform better in search engine listings. Quality
web content is irrelevant if the website cannot
be "found". Optimizing RSS feeds using Search
Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques will assure
that interested parties can find your RSS feed.
1. Update Frequently
Just like web pages, RSS feeds that are updated
frequently, and on a regular basis, will perform
better in the search engines.
2. Keywords
Use keywords and keyword phrases judiciously
in the RSS feed's title and description. RSS feed
directories and search engines will often include
search functionality and spider feeds. If you
neglect to include critical terms, the RSS feed
will not appear in the search results when those
keywords are searched.
3. Subscribe
Subscribe to your RSS feed in MyYahoo and MSN.
This will increase the speed of the Yahoo and
MSN's RSS feed indexing.
4. Solicit Links
Submit your RSS feed to RSS specific search engines
and directories. This will increase the number
of back-links to your feed, which will help the
RSS feed's popularity.
5. Linking
Link to your website in the RSS feed description.
This will ensure links back to your website if
anyone syndicates the RSS feed's contents. While
etiquette dictates that syndicators include links
to the original feed, not all webmasters adhere
to that unwritten rule. Including links that are
embedded in the syndicated content will mean the
links will always appear, regardless of etiquette
breaches.
6. Choose Feed And Item Titles Carefully
Select your RSS feed titles carefully. Use titles
that will attract the attention of your target
audience. Keep the RSS feed titles under 100 characters.
The titles should be interesting, and relevant.
7. Sign It
Include your RSS feed URL in your email and
forum post signatures.
8. Add Auto-Discovery
Add Auto-Discovery code to the header tags of
your website. This will allow browsers and possibly
search engines to automatically detect the existence
of your RSS feed.
9. Length
The length of an RSS feed matters, and should
contain a number of related items. When considering
the length of a feed you need to strike a balance
-- providing enough content to attract the attention
of the search engines, but not so much content
that it is slow to load in an RSS feed reader.
The items in an RSS feed should all relate to
a common theme and tie the channel topic to the
feed items.
10. Validate
Test and validate your RSS feed to make sure
that it is properly formed. If you are using RSS
feed software (like FeedForAll) to create the
feed, it may have feed validation built-in, and
will notify you of any errors. If you are creating
the RSS feed by hand, you should use a web-based
validator (like feedvalidator.org) to test the
RSS feed.
11. Host Images
Use relative URLs and be sure that you host any
images referenced in your feed. This will allow
you to retain control over the feed's contents.
If you link to images on websites that you do
not control, and the image is subsequently changed
without your knowledge, you could inadvertently
end up displaying incorrect, unrelated, or inappropriate
content that you didn't intend to display originally.
Take a few extra moments to optimize each RSS
feed item and the traffic generated will result.
Related Articles:
How to Start
With RSS Feeds
How
to Locate Good Keywords?
The Keyword Search
Blog Post Ideas
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Developer
101
RSS Feed Search Engine Optimization