Why Every Site Needs RSS

Why Every Site Needs RSS

by: Andrew J. Morris

RSS or ‘really Simple Syndicationก is not just for Blogs and News sites. Every website can benefit from this newly popular technology. The term กsyndicationก is what throws a lot of people off the track. Syndication is like news articles, isn’t it?

Well it can be. But think of it like this. If you had a bricksandmortar store and decided to carry a new product line, how would you let people know? You could advertise of course, but a better and free alternative is to send a news release to the local paper. Their business section may carry your announcement free of charge.

Now back to our cyberstore in virtual space. If you add a new web page, or make substantial changes to existing pages, how do you let your customers (both former and future) know? You can email your former customers, but spam blocking software will prevent half of them from getting your message. And keeping track of mailing lists, unsubscribe requests and address changes is nothing short of a nightmare.

Instead, post a news release using RSS. Interested customers will have their newsreader programs watching for your announcements, and will get the news as soon as you send it out. The announcement will include a link to the new or changed page, and your customer can click on it if they are interested. True, fewer will click through than might read an email from you but those who do will arrive at your site in a much more receptive frame of mind. And those email readers still need to click through to your site to see your new page anyhow.

If you make frequent additions or changes to your site you should have your own RSS feed. Check out these sites to learn how to make your own feed:

Making An RSS Feed

http://searchenginewatch.com/sereport/article.php/2175271

How To Get Your Web Site Content Syndicated

http://www.highsearchengineranking.com/How_To_Get_Your_Web_Site_Content_Syndicated.htm

Or you might want to try these programs to format your information, so you can post it to your website:

ListGarden RSS Feed Generator Program

Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux, open source

http://www.softwaregarden.com/products/listgarden/index.html

RSS Headliner

Create RSS Feed file online to copy and post to your site.

http://www.webdevtips.com/webdevtips/codegen/rss.shtml

But what if you don’t often make changes or additions to your site? There is a new site that offers a solution to that problem. Shared RSS provides feed by TOPIC rather than publisher. So you simply post your message in the appropriate topic category (there are thousands to choose from) and share your feed with others publishing on the same topic. It is a free service that you certainly should use if you do not publish your own feed.

http://www.sharedrss.com/

Wouldn’t that mean (I can hear someone object) that I would be sharing a feed with my competition? Well yes, but that isn’t a bad thing. Itกs like all those antique stores that congregate in the same part of town shoppers flock there and wander store to store, to the benefit of all.

Don’t kid yourself, customers already know about your competition. For every customer of yours who visits their sites because they found an RSS link on your site, you will receive one, two or three visits from potential customers who found your information on an RSS link they discovered on your competitors site, or in a catalog of RSS feeds. The benefit far outweighs the risk.

And RSS feeds are not just for business. If other sites submit to the shared feed they will bring with them more people interested in that topic, who may become your future customers.

No, RSS is not just for Blogs anymore! Start your own or submit to a shared feed, either way you can only benefit.

The following article may be freely reprinted in digital formats or print, so long as the กabout the authorก box is left intact. If placed online or in a medium supporting live links, the links should be activated.

About The Author

Andrew J. Morris is the owner and creator of SharedRSS a website that allows all website owners to syndicate their newly added material for FREE. http://www.sharedrss.com/

This article was posted on October 19, 2004

by Andrew J. Morris

Why I Switched to A Tableless Design

Why I Switched to A Tableless Design

by: Karen Blundell

Since I made the switch 6 months ago to a tableless design on my main site, I’ve noticed some interesting things:

My search engine rankings have dramatically improved

My bandwidth usage has dropped about 5075%

I can now make changes to the look and feel of my site easily by just changing the one file, the stylesheet.

Let’s look at why my search engine rankings improved. Now that I have less unindexable code on my pages, the search engines can now spider my site quicker. Less code, more content, therefore a better ranking. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Bandwidth costs money, and unless you have a really good hosting plan with lots of bandwidth, then your larger files will take up more room on your server, and take a lot longer to load. Tableless designs use up considerably less bandwidth and are more accessible.

Every once in a while I may want to alter the look of my site. I like to change font colors, link colors, menu items, etc…Before I started using tableless designs, these changes took me hours to do. Now I just open up my stylesheet, make the changes I want, and in a few minutes I have my site updated with the new look and feel. It’s so easy!

For a client who wants to make their own changes, tableless designs could literally save them thousands on tech costs.

Most of my clients still want sites with tables. I now give them the choice of either style. After all, the customer needs to be happy, right?

Some people have the misconception that utilizing tableless designs means having a boring and less graphical site. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Take a look at one of my favorite websites: http://www.csszengarden.com/. At that site you can really appreciate what can be accomplished through cssbased tableless designs. Beautiful!

So make the switch to a more profitable, usable, and accessible website!

About The Author

Karen Blundell is a web designer and internet consultant based in Welland, Ontario. Her focus is to assist home and small business owners succeed on the internet. You can find out more about her services at http://webzonecentral.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 19

by Karen Blundell

The Google Patent Reveals The Secret To Great Site

The Google Patent Reveals The Secret To Great Site Ranking

by: Darren Yates

How many years did you register your domain name for?

If it was only one then Google could hold that against you.

Why?

Because the majority of Spam websites only register a domain name for one year. A domain name registered for a longer period implies that the owner is more likely to be legitimate and

serious about their web site.

This is just one of the unusual factors possibly considered by Google when indexing and ranking a website. Factors you could never even have guessed at in some cases.

How do I know this?

Google have recently made public the contents of their filing of United States Patent

Application 20050071741 on March 31 2005.

In which many of the search giants secret ranking criteria is revealed and it makes very

interesting reading. You must read this if you are serious about ranking well in Google. The

days of Spaming Google are drawing to a close. With this patent they reveal just how hard they’re coming down on Spam sites. You Do Not want to get caught out.

Here are the facts.

• Links.

Itกs common knowledge that Google relies heavily on inbound relevant links to rank a site. Now they explain exactly how it works.

As well as the number, quality and anchor text factors of a link. Google seems to also consider historical factors. Apparently the Google กsandboxก or aging delay begins count down the minute links to a new site are discovered.

Google records the discovery of a link, link changes over time, the speed at which a site gains links and the link life span. With this in mind fast link acquisition may be a strong indicator of potential search engine Spam.

Gone are the days of pages and pages full of links. You must grow your links slowly to stay below the radar and be careful who you exchange links with. That means no more buying hundreds of links at once or other underhand tactics.

PR is now very valuable.

Your link anchor text should vary but remain consistent with your site content. No more using your main keywords on every link exchange you gain. Thatกs กanchor Spamก. Instead vary them around your top five to ten keywords.

Link exchanges are still very important but you must work and utilize them ethically. If you don’t and you get caught the recovery from a ban can be months in coming and your host and IP may also be recorded.

Softly softly seems to be the message. The fact is fewer but better quality links will benefit you more anyway and they will be much more likely to be longterm which is also good.

• Site click through rates (CTR)

CTR may now be monitored through cache, temporary files, bookmarks and favorites via the Google toolbar or desktop tools. Many have suspected for some time that sites are reward for good CTR with a raise in ranking. Similar to how Adwords works.

CTR is monitored to see if fresh or stale content is preferred for a search result.

CTR is also analyzed for increases or decreases relating to trends or seasons.

• Web page rankings are recorded and monitored for changes.

• The traffic to a web page is recorded and monitored over time.

• Sites can be ranked seasonally. A ski site may rank higher in the winter than in the summer.

Google can monitor and rank pages by recording CTR changes by season.

• Bookmarks and favorites could be monitored for changes, deletions or additions.

• User behaviour in general could be monitored.

As Google is capable of tracking traffic to your site you should closely monitor the small amount of copy returned in search results. Ideally you want to integrate a call to action in there to increase your listings CTR.

Clicks away from your site back to the search results are also monitored. Make your site as sticky as possible to keep visitors there longer. As mentioned above it may also help if you could get your visitors to bookmark you.

• The frequency and amount of page updates is monitored and recorded as is the number of pages.

Mass updates of hundreds of files will see you pop up on the radar.On the other hand few or small updates to your site could see your rankings slide. Unless your CTR is good. A stale page that receives good traffic may hold itกs own and not require an update. So don’t update for the sake of it.

A further indicator that Google is really cracking down on Spam is made clear in the following extract from the Patent. Mention is made of changing the focus of multiple pages at once.

Hereกs the quote

ขA significant change over time in the set of topics associated with a document may indicate that the document has changed owners and previous document indicators, such as score, anchor text, etc., are no longer reliable.

Similarly, a spike in the number of topics could indicate Spam. For example, if a particular document is associated with a set of one or more topics over what may be considered a ’stable’ period of time and then a (sudden) spike occurs in the number of topics associated with the document, this may be an indication that the document has been taken over as a ‘doorway’ document.

Another indication may include the sudden disappearance of the original topics associated with the document. If one or more of these situations are detected, then [Google] may reduce the relative score of such documents and/or the links, anchor text, or other data associated the document.ข

Thereกs still more to look out for:

• Changes in on page keyword density is monitored and recorded as are changes to anchor text.

• The domain name owner address is considered, most likely to help in a local search result.

• The technical and admin contact details are checked for consistency. These are often falsified for Spam domains.

• Your hosts IP address. If you are on a shared server itกs possible somebody else on that server is using dirty tactics or Spaming. If so your site will suffer since you share the same IP.

The impression I get here is that Google have learned from the Spam กattackก they suffered in early 2004 and they are determined to eradicate it from their listing results.

So what do you do?

You can’t go far wrong with your SEO if you try to grow your site as organically as possible. Carry on with link exchanges but consider each site carefully and slow down in your gathering of them. Vary your anchor text. Add small amounts of good quality content to your site regularly.

Check your search engine listings and edit your site to include a call to action in them if possible. Make your site more กstickyก to encourage visitors to stay a while. Encourage visitors to Bookmark your site. Oh and register new domain names for at least two years.

Overall keep it ethical and you can’t go far wrong.

Stick to the guidelines above and you are much more likely to outlast and out rank your competition.

About The Author

Darren Yates is the owner of http://www.howtomakemoneyonline.info a site featuring, news, tips, resources, thousands of Internet marketing articles and useful links.

This article comes with reprint rights. You are free to reprint and distribute it.

All that we ask is that you do not make any changes, that this resource text is include, and that the link above is intact.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 11

by Darren Yates

The Value of Building An Internet Community

The Value of Building An Internet Community

by: Lois M. Jeary

Synopsis: The internet is a constantly changing, evolving entity. Understanding new laws, new regulations and even new technology is vital to your success. Unless you are prepared to embrace these changes, you may be left behind.

We see thousands of people adopting the internet and its offerings every day. Some will just want to browse from site to site to see whatกs there. Many have started using the internet to do their shopping for both home and business. Others are simply looking for a way to keep in touch with friends and family. A select group of these individuals will see the advantages of creating a homebased business using the internet as their platform.

It is rare though that you will find an individual who can กwear all the hatsก required to run a successful business in todayกs world. There is a huge amount of information that requires consideration when starting your business, not the least of which is a sound business plan.

Selfstarters require talents that range anywhere from being an accountant, a web designer to a graphic artist. Then there is a need for copywriting skills, management and delegation ability, technical know how, legal knowledge and perhaps software development. And letกs not forget about marketing. Thatกs a full plate for anyone, particularly if you are just getting started.

With a bricks กn mortar style business, corporations can hire the talent they need when they need it. For the small, homebased business that is just starting out, this can present problems. And this is where building a community or network of responsible people can be a real boost for you and your business.

You and I have had a chance to connect with other ethical and responsible people who also run an online business. Weกve had the chance to learn from our mistakes and adjust to the changes taking place on the internet on a regular basis. Now think of all the newbies who are just starting their internet adventure today.

Experienced marketers have had some trouble understanding the FTC regulations as well as the new CANSPAM law which went into effect on January 1st, 2004. The law came into effect on January 1st, however, the FTC has until September, 2004 to กfine tuneก the regulations.

Now we are facing more new challenges with email. Personally, Iกve been very disillusioned with email delivery for about a year and a half and I know Iกm not alone. Thatกs why you have seen more publishers switching to rss feeds or weblogs. You’re going to see more publishers adopting a weblogtype format. Others will send a note telling you where the latest online edition is located. The big thing lacking here is interaction. Think back to why you started publishing an ezine in the first place. Didn’t you love getting feedback from your subscribers? Thatกs what made it fun and worthwhile.

With all the changes taking place, we are losing that essential contact with our readers. Of course we need to make money, but that isn’t the whole picture. Subscribers, your customers, are also becoming numb to the reasons behind all the changes taking place. How many times have you asked them to resubscribe? How many did you lose each time? Inboxes have become so congested with unsolicted email, it has become next to impossible to find the information they have requested.

We need to provide a safe place for our readers so that we can get back to providing good content as well as share products and services that will benefit their business as well as yours.

A perfect example is the Quikonnex Service created by Jim Gray and Carolyn Peltier (http://quikonnex.com/109). Here publishers and members of the community can work together. They can share resources and help each other build their businesses. Quikonnex also offers the latest in private messaging (QMTP) which virtually eliminates the need for email to stay in touch with fellow publishers and members.

Quikonnex is a mediarich content management system that beats any service currently out there. You can use Quikonnex to publish your ezine even if you don’t currently have a website or tie it in with your site if you do. The Quikonnex Forum contains a wealth of information. Publishers and members can share tools, ideas, suggestions or tips that help them in their day to day business itกs all about people helping people. What a refreshing change.

For those of you who are hesitant about downloading programs, the creators of Quikonnex built their own crossplatform, cross browser reader called QuikView that makes subscribing to a channel a breeze no matter what browser or operating system you currently use. If you don’t mind downloading a reader, they provide a customized version of the Awasu reader. And itกs all backed up with support.

Don’t let the changes taking place on the internet paralyze you into inaction. And don’t be afraid to make a change that will benefit you as well as your readers. We all have tools that we use in our daily business. If that tool becomes less effective, itกs time to replace it. Just because you started publishing using email as your method of delivery doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it that way.

I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t met some of the amazing and resourceful people who have become my mentors and friends. My way of saying ‘thank youก to them, is to help others along the way. Imagine how powerful, how positive our internet experience would be if we all helped each other succeed.

About The Author

Lois Jeary publishes KIT (Keeping In Touch) through her Home4Success channel which features straight forward articles, helpful hints and suggestions, interaction with subscribers and more. Join today: http://home4success.com/go/to.cgi?l=quik Helping you build a successful homebased business one step at a time. View the Home4Success Channel here: http://quikonnex.com/channel/page/home4success/109/4

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 02, 2004

by Lois M. Jeary