Author: John Doetsch

Delivering regularly updated content to website visitors iseasier through RSS resources.

RSS, also known as Rich Site Summary or Really SimpleSyndication, has been used for years by online visitors.However, it has only recently begun to gain popularity amongwebmasters as a means of providing visitors with constantlyrefreshed content. These feeds were originally developed todeliver updated news more quickly, but they have since evolvedto allow for nearly instantaneous updates of many types ofinformation.

Growing websites can benefit from RSS feeds since they allow forfresh copy to be updated regularly online. Once the RSS feedsare inserted into the web pages, they provide a steady stream ofsyndicated content updated continuously. Most RSS feeds consistof a headline, content summary, and a link to the actual onlinearticle. They are typically composed in XML, a markup languagesimilar to HTML, to allow webmasters to manipulate and integratenew copy into their existing site pages.

The increased popularity of these RSS feeds have benefitedonline sites as they the have helped to drive increased trafficand search engine ranking results. The fact that the syndicatedcontent is changing constantly in RSS feeds means that searchengine spiders are likely to visit and index your website pagesmore often. RSS feeds also keep webmasters from having to worryabout updating their content, and visitors can rely on fresharticles being available to read whenever they want. Articlesare also easy to locate on RSS feeds, as they can be categorizedfor easy navigation. This increases the chances of receivingvisitors from other sites.

While modern technology has made integrating RSS feeds intoone’s website easier, contributing content to RSS feeds remainsa bit more complex. To effectively post copy onto RSS feeds, youfirst need an RSS program that will allow you to format yourcontent for syndication. If you are a professional webdeveloper, for example, you might be interested in creating yourown XML files to display content. This option will allow formore flexibility in the way content is displayed. If you lackthe online knowledge to understand how to use XML, you mightwant to invest in one of the many RSS software programs thatallow users to create and publish syndicated content withouthaving to use any XML language at all.

One of the most popular software programs is FeedForAll, whichis an inexpensive yet effective tool for developing andmaintaining an RSS feed. This program, and others like it,allows users to utilize their own syndicated content, or todownload existing feeds from the internet. It also providesusers with the ability to manually edit their site to includepictures and colors which may create a more exciting onlineexperience for customers.

As the need for the internet to provide instantaneous access toa wide variety of information continues to grow, RSS feeds havebecome a critical component of information distribution. It islikely that RSS feeds will serve as an important tool forsharing information on the web for years to come and could, inthe not too distant future, even begin to rival e-mails as thepreferred method of knowledge sharing. Therefore, understandinghow best to utilize RSS feeds into your website may havelasting, positive effects on your business’ growth.

Online reprint rights granted as long as the article ispublished in its entirety, including links and resource box. ?JohnDoetsch 2005

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/publishing-articles/content-syndication-through-rss-feeds-2199.html

About the Author
John Doetsch is founder of Websition.com, a website content provider featuring articles written by the Internet’s most gifted authors. http://www.websition.com