The Pros And Cons Of Rss Feeds

Whats all the buzz about RSS feeds? To some webmasters its their knight in shining armor when it comes to adding relevant content to their web site. If your are considering adding a RSS feed to your site, get some background information first so you will know what to expect.

Lets start off by explaining exactly what a RSS feed is.

If youve been hanging around the internet lately, then youve seen these 3 letters in many of the websites youve visited. It has become all the rave and its popularity is on a steady uphill climb. I predict that the day will come when 95% of all websites will incorporate a RSS feed of some sort into their site.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary; syndicating means republishing an article that comes from another source such as a website.

An RSS is a means of publicizing updates about websites. It may or may not include a summary and photos of the latest posting. But those that provide summaries (thus Rich Site Summary) allow users to skim through the article so that they could decide later on if they want to access the website source. The RSS feed usually contains the title of the update originating from the website. It is also usually the link to the website source.

What are the benefits of RSS?

RSS gives benefits to both readers and web publishers alike with its ease and simplicity of use.

1. It gives you the latest updates. Whether its about the weather, music, software upgrades, or local news. You can obtain a feed on an unlimited number of subjects and as its popularity continue to increase, so will the many different subjects you will be able to retrieve from a feed.

2. If youre looking for a quick method of surfing the web, RSS feeds can meet that demand. Because it pulls information from outside sources and compile that data into a single feed, it saves on surfing time. Some feeds provides a summary of related articles, this saves the users time by helping him/her decide on which items to prioritize when reading or browsing the net.

3. It gives freedom of choice to the user. Users are given a free-hand on which websites to include in their RSS aggregators which they have the freedom to change at any time. This puts pressure on the RSS feed provider to maintain an up-to-date data base of current and relevant articles.

4. It lessens the clutter in your inbox. Although your email address will be required to enjoy the services of online RSS feed aggregators, RSS does not use your email address to send the updates. Everything is done from their servers. This makes it virtually hassle free.

5. RSS feeds are completely spam free. Unlike email subscriptions, RSS does not make use of your email address to send updates thus your privacy is kept safe from spam mails.

6. Unsubscribing is also hassle-free. When you no longer want to post an RSS feed from a provider on your website, all you have to do is delete the html code or the RSS feeds URL from your site.

7. It can be used as an advertising or marketing tool. Users who subscribe receive the latest news on products and services from your site without it being viewed as spam mail by the receiver. This is an advantage to both the web user and the website owner since advertising becomes targeted to people who are actually interested in your products. As for the web user, he/she receives current, up-to-date articles about topics that interest them.

What are the drawbacks of RSS Feeds?

The biggest drawback to the use of RSS feeds is the fact that its a relatively new technology and it has been known to have some user-preference concerns such as:

1. Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed.

2. Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds.

3. The identity of the source website can be confusing. Since RSS feeds do not display the actual URL or name of the website, it can sometimes get confusing on what feed a user is actually reading.

4. Publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to their feed and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, they would not know the reasons why users unsubscribe which could be important in improving their advertising.

5. RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the website owners server.

6. Since it is a new technology, many website hosting companies do not currently support RSS feeds.

O.K. Im Interested: How do I start using RSS feeds on my website?

There are two things needed: an RSS feed and an RSS aggregator or reader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS supported website. There are also websites that provide a list of RSS feeds of different websites. An RSS aggregator is used to read the RSS feed from the source website. It scans and collects data on the latest RSS feeds from the worldwide web.

An aggregator comes in two forms: a downloadable program also known as desktop aggregator and an online or web-based aggregator. Downloadable aggregators may require payment before they can be acquired, while internet-based aggregators are usually free of charge. All you need to do is to register an account then you are ready to use their services. Both versions allow you to customize or choose which RSS feeds to enter. Paid aggregators are usually chosen by more experienced users and they usually allow more freedom in customizing feeds.

1. Choose an RSS aggregator to use. For beginners, web-based aggregators are recommended since they are usually user-friendly.

2. Scan the homepage of your target website for the RSS or XML button. It contains the RSS code you need to enter in the aggregator. Copy this code. Syndic8 provides a directory of websites that support RSS.

3. Paste the code (which contains the URL of the website) in your aggregator. There is a space provided for pasting the code.

After you have done these three easy steps, you can start reading the RSS feeds coming from the website. New postings appear as they are published real time at the source website.

As RSS feeds increase in popularity, no doubt the number of websites that employ this method of Internet web site marketing will increase along with it. If you are looking for a quick and efficient way to provide relevant content to your web site, then consider incorporating a RSS feed.

Dont give up! If at first you dont succeed, TRY, TRY, AGAIN! There is a lot to learn when trying to figure out what works best for your online business. Give yourself a break and dont set unrealistic goals. Dont be afraid to learn from others and keep at it until you get it just how you want it.

So, Good Luck, Make Money and Have Fun Doing It – Shirley Kelly

About the Author:

Shirley Kelly is a full time internet marketer who has written over 200 articles in print and 5 published ebooks. Her passion is helping others avoid the mistakes she made when she launched her first website. Her motto is “Knowledge is power and power is having a good understanding about what you’re doing.” To learn more about Internet web site marketing, download this great ebook The Newbies Guide To Internet Marketing at www.websitemarketing2.com

Building Real Customer Relationships with Custom Social Network Sites

Many decry the loss of community, suggesting we’ve all lost touch with each other in a world of cell phones, video games, and other electronically based distractions; in reality, though, community is more important now than ever. People still seek the security and understanding inherent in close communities. What has changed is the appearance: instead of reaching out over the fence or sitting around a table, we reach out over continents and time zones. Our “neighbors” may be a world away, but the concept of community is still strong as evidenced by the rise of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Instead of being connected by geography, millions are linked by interests, profession, and other defining factors.

Social Networks Are Less Confining Than Ever

The social networking site phenomenon also extends to businesses and marketing, specifically how businesses can build their brand without selling. These sites, which have been used with tremendous success, are based on a small business model. Small businesses typically cannot afford expensive television ads and aggressive marketing campaigns. Instead, they rely on word of mouth, repeat customers, customer referrals, and the like. Custom social networking sites do much the same thing for businesses of any size and have become one of the most effective brand marketing tools in the industry.

Why Custom Social Networking?

The goal of custom SNS is to build relationships. While it is true that the ultimate goal of any business is to sell a product or service, the objective of unique social networks is to establish a relationship between customers and the brand, and even between customer and customer. In other words, the goal here is not to sell. Through a custom social network, a company appeals to the sense of community that may tie their target audience together. By taking their interests to heart and by providing a resource through which consumers may communicate, a relationship – and trust – is founded. A by-product of that trust is sales. But again, the key to efficacy is focusing on community, not selling.

Existing social networks have been used by companies, especially nonprofits, to reach out to targeted consumer bases. A nonprofit, for instance, may have a profile on a popular SNS in order to encourage volunteers, raise support for a particular cause, or raise funds. The difference is that custom SNS are built by an organization specifically for the purpose of allowing their targeted audiences to communicate. These SNS are designed for a particular organization based on key factors, such as profession, age, or shared interests. Developing a successful unique social network is predicated upon knowing your audience, being willing to know them further, and motivating them to share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

What do custom social networking sites allow consumers to do? It, of course, depends on the site, but they should allow individuals to post text, images, audio, video, join existing communities on the site, and create their own. They should be designed around the organization’s particular niche, and above all, should be audience-based. To do this, various options are available, including wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, polls, ratings, forums, widgets, chat, message boards, friendly interface, and much more. To develop the most user-friendly, interactive, and effective SNS, it is crucial that consumers have access to the tools they want and need. They need to both be able to take from the site and to give back to it. This is the essence of community.

The advantages of developing a custom social networking site are myriad but the key benefit is that businesses can reach out the community in a way that allows the community to reach back. A relationship is developed, and the trust that we normally see with neighborhood mom and pops can be built by Fortune 500 companies or small start-ups.

The concept of community is fundamentally unchanged. We still search for connections – though those connections may be thousands of miles away. Building a brand through custom social networks benefits both the organization and the consumer because all are given a place and a voice. A faceless company can no longer expect to thrive in today’s business atmosphere; by creating a unique SNS, you give your organization – and your consumers – a face.

Your Path To Financial Freedom

Social Media Marketing: Building A Bridge To The Future With Solid Advice/p>

You must take advantage of new and newest ways to use social media marketing techniques before they become ineffective.

Put a Facebook “like” button on the homepage of your website. This makes it easy for readers to “like” your content on the social website. Having this directly on your blog lets your page without having to navigate away from your site. This will give you greater exposure to your site.

You may notice that commercial pages on social media ad pages. It is a clever idea to use attractive images to draw buyers onto your ad. Once they look at your ad, they will be more likely to click through to your site and buy one of your products or services.

Keep in mind that results will not be instant. It takes time to create a viable revenue stream using social media campaign.

Be ready for the negativity associated with using social media. Social media is great when you get praise, but there is also an unfavorable side. Do not turn your back on it but answer them and try to make them happy.

Have patience when using social media site. People must trust what you’re doing and whatever it is you are trying to sell. Take your time and focus on one customer at a good reputation for yourself. In no time you should have tons of customers.

Your website should be tied to your other social networking profiles for increased exposure and a better level of visibility. This is easily accomplished by adding buttons on your site that will let your customers share your content via their own social profiles. These widgets should be on the main page of your website, in blogs posts as well as RSS feeds to help get your consumers to share content that you post.

The tips you’ve read will help make your business a success, and will be able to help you market any future projects, as well. It’s always good to have strong social marketing skills. Make sure you follow the tips listed above in order to pull off a seamless SMM campaign.

Chris Carpenter reveals his new program called The Info Cash. The program teaches Internet how to make use of Facebook and boost business sales. You can have access to this awesome product through this link. http://guideonhowtomakemoneyonfacebook.com/

How To Make Merchandising Decisions

Every online retailer has his or her own approach to making merchandising decisions, based on their background and training, their products, their historical experience and the amount of time they have worked on strategies.

If you are like most business owners, you do some things pretty well, but wish you knew more about how to make decisions and worry that you are working too much on gut feeling and not enough on hard analytics.

Do you ever wonder if your approach is very different, pretty much average or substantially more sophisticated than other online retailers?

The 8th Annual Merchant Survey Report, based on a first quarter 2009 survey of 190 ecommerce executives and released in April by research and advisory firm The Etailing Group Inc., provides excellent insight into this question. As part of their survey, Etailing Group researchers asked marketing executives how they make their decisions about strategy. The answers are revealing.

As you might expect:

– Ninety two percent base their decisions on web analytics

– Seventy three percent based their decisions on sales history

– Sixty eight percent base their decisions on conversion data

One of the greatest advantages of the Web is the ability to quickly and easily track so much about customers. Pay per click analysis, landing page analysis, referral analysis, conversion rates all paint a picture of activity by your customers and potential customers. Every online retailer should be looking at their web analytics and know enough about what they mean to make decisions using their guidance.

However, there are some other techniques those marketing execs use that begin to show some of the art of marketing. For example, fifty six percent of marketers use ‘gut feeling’ to help them guide their decisions, a statistic that may make some of the less data driven entrepreneurs on the Internet feel a bit better.

Another technique that is substantially easier on the web is benchmarking against competitors and fifty percent of retailers look at benchmarking data such as search engine page ranking, Alexa website rank, page views and number and placement of pay per click ads to make merchandising decisions.

The increased interaction with customers through data collection during registration for newsletters, emails and RSS feeds allows thirty percent of marketers to use profiling as a way to make decisions. Customer reviews are used by thirty nine percent of marketers.

Many marketers also rely on more traditional bricks and mortar techniques as well. For example, fifty eight percent look at inventory data, forty nine percent use product margin and forty five percent use sales ranking as a guide.

How do you stack up against the survey participants? Do you have systems in place that allow you to access the kind of data resources that more and more marketers are using? Are you taking advantage of the uniquely open nature of the Internet to benchmark yourself against your competitors? Are you balancing that gut feeling decision making with solid data that allows you to make choices among products, weed out the non movers, establish loss leaders and create cross sell and up sell combinations? If not, it is a good time to start.

When should you switch energy providers to get the best energy prices

Of all household bills, taxes and other things we have to pay out, energy prices are the ones that seem to fluctuate the most, and yet always seem to be on the rise! With all of the major energy providers announcing price hikes in the last few months that could see some people paying as much as 80 extra a year, and only a single provider (EDF) freezing their prices until March, it might seem on paper that switching at all is complete waste of the time, but that isnt the case at all you just need to be smart about when and how you switch over! Here are some simple tips to help you decide when to switch over:

Pricing A huge number of different things can make energy prices go up, down, or stall. Consumer groups and government are usually pushing for cheaper energy prices especially for vulnerable customers, while things like wars, disputes and shortages can push the prices up. For the last few years energy prices have actually been reasonably stable, but prices have started to rise again now, which shows that you cant always predict when and how these changes are going to happen.

What usually happens in the UK is that pretty much all of the big providers change their prices at the same time, and you should make sure all the big names have made their price announcements before you move over. If you move too quickly after only a single provider has made a decision, you could be left on a more expensive tariff and on a long contract that will make it impossible to switch again for at least a year without paying exit fees.

Watching & Comparing Knowing what the energy companies are doing and when and where they are going to announce good deals and special offers can make a huge difference to the price you can end up with. Keeping an eye on the market will give you a better idea of what companies are offering better deals. You could do this by monitoring six different electricity websites, but its far simpler to just watch a good comparison or consumer news website instead, which will provide you with news, prices and information of all big providers as they happen. You can subscribe to blogs, newsletters and RSS feeds from most comparison and consumer websites as well, which means you dont even have to spend time constantly visiting them to get the latest news.

Switching Once youve found a great provider and have waited for all the big names to announce where they stand, actually switching over to a different provider is very easy. The great thing about switching is that not only can you find an overall cheaper monthly deal, but you can also enjoy the benefits and offers that are nearly always only offered to new customers. Customers who switch their provider regularly can take advantage of these deals and one time offers which can see their electricity costs being reduced even further. The switching process is simple and painless, but it can take up to eight weeks, so always allow time to move over during which you might still be charged on the rates of your old provider.

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Web business is a paradox. On one hand, it’s ridiculously to start a business and it’s also extremely cost effective. On the other hand, reaching success can be brutal if you don’t understand how traffic works. Search engine optimization is the key to making your web site accessible to your potential customers. Continue reading to find some amazing SEO tips and techniques which you can’t find anywhere else./p>

Spiders cannot read session ids and dynamic language very well, so remember that when making URL names. Meaningful URLs and relevant keywords make it easier for the search engines to read your pages. This means your website has a better chance at higher visibility.

A product feed is an effective way to grow your client roster and attract a larger number of visitors to your website. Such feeds provide detailed information about your offerings, such as pictures, descriptions and prices. Submit them to major search engines and shopping comparison sites. Add an RSS feed icon on your site or blog, and suggest to readers that they should subscribe to your site’s feed for all of the latest updates.

Creating a site map can really have a positive impact on your business, as search engines are able to index your pages more easily. A site map, or navigation bar, will let the search engines know about a given page from every other page on your site. Even if your website is just a hole in the wall compared to giants like Amazon, a site map does wonders for your search engine optimization.

To increase your search engine ranking, include written transcripts of any audio and video content on your site. When you make the effort to include the transcripts, the search engine crawlers will be able to read and rank your page.

Before beginning a website, research information about your keywords. Wisely choose which keywords to use on your website and in your titles. This allows you to know what potential visitors are looking up in your category. To boost your search engine rankings, make sure these key items are highlighted throughout your site.

Web sites most likely to have the most traffic are those that show up in the first few pages of search engine results. Use the tips you just read to help attract visitors to your website or your blog. Optimizing your site or blog can do a lot for your business.

Mobile marketing. is one of the newest types of marketing, yet it actually incorporates elements of some of the oldest and well proven methods. Many of the same rules that apply to other kinds of marketing will apply to mobile marketing too. However, there are some noteworthy differences.

seo packages Best Seo Services Seo Business Cheap Seo Services

Web business is a paradox. On one hand, it’s ridiculously to start a business and it’s also extremely cost effective. On the other hand, reaching success can be brutal if you don’t understand how traffic works. Search engine optimization is the key to making your web site accessible to your potential customers. Continue reading to find some amazing SEO tips and techniques which you can’t find anywhere else./p>

Spiders cannot read session ids and dynamic language very well, so remember that when making URL names. Meaningful URLs and relevant keywords make it easier for the search engines to read your pages. This means your website has a better chance at higher visibility.

A product feed is an effective way to grow your client roster and attract a larger number of visitors to your website. Such feeds provide detailed information about your offerings, such as pictures, descriptions and prices. Submit them to major search engines and shopping comparison sites. Add an RSS feed icon on your site or blog, and suggest to readers that they should subscribe to your site’s feed for all of the latest updates.

Creating a site map can really have a positive impact on your business, as search engines are able to index your pages more easily. A site map, or navigation bar, will let the search engines know about a given page from every other page on your site. Even if your website is just a hole in the wall compared to giants like Amazon, a site map does wonders for your search engine optimization.

To increase your search engine ranking, include written transcripts of any audio and video content on your site. When you make the effort to include the transcripts, the search engine crawlers will be able to read and rank your page.

Before beginning a website, research information about your keywords. Wisely choose which keywords to use on your website and in your titles. This allows you to know what potential visitors are looking up in your category. To boost your search engine rankings, make sure these key items are highlighted throughout your site.

Web sites most likely to have the most traffic are those that show up in the first few pages of search engine results. Use the tips you just read to help attract visitors to your website or your blog. Optimizing your site or blog can do a lot for your business.

Mobile marketing. is one of the newest types of marketing, yet it actually incorporates elements of some of the oldest and well proven methods. Many of the same rules that apply to other kinds of marketing will apply to mobile marketing too. However, there are some noteworthy differences.

How To Gain Profit From Email Marketing Strategy

Email marketing:

Email marketing is done successfully by using email services anddistributing the marketing newsletters, promotions and other things. Email marketing service is one of the best choices for advertising at an inexpensive cost. This service helps to send something interesting about your business to the visitors to make them to buythe product. Also, saving the visitors’email addresses on your mailing list will help in marketing to the visitors again and again. This helps in creating trust and relationship with the visitor and makes them to purchase your product. You need to follow many things to have profitable email marketing.

Tips to gain profit from email marketing:

Email marketing is one among the most helpful channels for businesses to improve sales through online. Here are some tips for you to gain profit with the help of your email marketing strategies. Following the below tips, you can have a greatsuccess of each step in your business.

It is very important to focus on your subject lines before sending the email. The subject lines must be simple and brief that makes your visitors to know about your company easily. It is very important to prevent using words like reminder, free, percent off and help, as these words will send your email to the spam list. You can also make use of an exclamation or question marks to be different from other businesses. You can choose an Email Marketing Company like Constant Contact, MailChimp, Aweber, Benchmark Email, iContact or any others to make use of their services and send emails to the number of visitors and subscribers at an affordable price.

Next, you need to make sure that all your emails are mobile compatible. This is because a more number of people use their mobile to browse internet. So, all your emails must support both desktops and mobiles to make people read about your products and services. You need to make the process easy for visitors to subscribe, so it is worth adding up subscribe forms everywhere possible in your blog and website. You can alsocreate a sign up form in your Facebook account and also share your business links in the networking sites. See that all your emails are available in many formats and keep on updating them to email your visitors regularly. You can also create a good design to send email and add GIF pictures to it to give a good look.

Email marketing services:

At present, there are lot of Email Marketing Service is available for businesses. Thus, you can choose any type of services for your business to have profitable email marketing. Mailchimp is a famous email marketing company. It offers numerous efficient services like RSS, email, integration tools, templates etc. These are convenient and easy to use.They give you afree plan with which you can send emails from 2000 to 12000 subscribers every month. This means that you will be able to send six emails to your subscribers every month without any problem. This service also offers you options like setting up auto responders, schedule emails, publish latest emails through social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and others.

How to make an effective content plan for email marketing newsletter

Delivering an email newsletter means you are required to have an email marketing plan on generating content on a daily basis. You may be sending weekly, monthly or on a completely different timetable. It is significant to redesign your content in advance. One of the difficult parts of writing a newsletter is getting in the habit of creating content frequently and ensuring that it is correctly published. But, you can make the method much more convenient with effective planning.

Whenever you plan the content of your email newsletter, just make sure that you are not just delivering an email – have a purpose behind it. Develop an email marketing plan for your campaign to make relationships. It may be significant to you that you have details of a new product or service that you want to explain them. Even though, if you are unable to find perspective of what the reader needs, in favor of marketing your business, your customers will stop going through it. Developing the best user experiences in advertising is the main element to nurture more leads.

A useful, revealing and entertaining email newsletter content will attract your subscribers to your newsletter and they will definitely be reading it when you make a decision to send some sales based information. Here are some tips to create an effective content plan for your email marketing newsletter:

1. Try to create the best content for attracting the right people. There is no definite set of regulations; you will only find out what attracts to your customers through testing. Testing and assessments will help you in determining what is right for your email newsletter campaigns.

2. Click-through rate is the best way to discover what content in your newsletters your receivers like going through more about – definitely the higher the click-through rates are the better. Use click-through details to observe what was latest and then modify content and links for that reason in future e-mail campaigns.

3. Try using surveys in your emails or registration page. Surveys are the best method for getting out about your customer preferences. For instance, what they are involved in and what they would like to perceive more in your promotional newsletters that way, you identify what they want and you can deliver more appropriate emails, which increases open rates.

4. Take that subsequent step further by integrating customer voices into your emails, by including customer reviews, testaments, RSS feeds, and remarks in your newsletter. Having your customers talk about your products or services for you right away improves your brand identity in a manner that even the best marketing copy cannot match.

5. Try personalizing your newsletter with active content, a component within an e-mail campaign that varies from one customer to another relying on the details you have for them in your record. It is a great method to increase the relevance of your content, and better convene your recipient’s individual requirements. Additionally, active content has been verified to considerably increase click-through rates.

6. Get the right balance of revealing updates about your organization, business, and guides or resources to involve that are helpful to your customer. Therefore, getting the right pace for your email newsletter is significant. You will get more return on investment from your email newsletter if it is sent on a regular time, i.e. on a daily basis, weekly or monthly.

seo packages Best Seo Services Cheap Seo Services Seo

Web business is a paradox. On one hand, it’s ridiculously to start a business and it’s also extremely cost effective. On the other hand, reaching success can be brutal if you don’t understand how traffic works. Search engine optimization is the key to making your web site accessible to your potential customers. Continue reading to find some amazing SEO tips and techniques which you can’t find anywhere else./p>

Spiders cannot read session ids and dynamic language very well, so remember that when making URL names. Meaningful URLs and relevant keywords make it easier for the search engines to read your pages. This means your website has a better chance at higher visibility.

A product feed is an effective way to grow your client roster and attract a larger number of visitors to your website. Such feeds provide detailed information about your offerings, such as pictures, descriptions and prices. Submit them to major search engines and shopping comparison sites. Add an RSS feed icon on your site or blog, and suggest to readers that they should subscribe to your site’s feed for all of the latest updates.

Creating a site map can really have a positive impact on your business, as search engines are able to index your pages more easily. A site map, or navigation bar, will let the search engines know about a given page from every other page on your site. Even if your website is just a hole in the wall compared to giants like Amazon, a site map does wonders for your search engine optimization.

To increase your search engine ranking, include written transcripts of any audio and video content on your site. When you make the effort to include the transcripts, the search engine crawlers will be able to read and rank your page.

Before beginning a website, research information about your keywords. Wisely choose which keywords to use on your website and in your titles. This allows you to know what potential visitors are looking up in your category. To boost your search engine rankings, make sure these key items are highlighted throughout your site.

Web sites most likely to have the most traffic are those that show up in the first few pages of search engine results. Use the tips you just read to help attract visitors to your website or your blog. Optimizing your site or blog can do a lot for your business.

Mobile marketing. is one of the newest types of marketing, yet it actually incorporates elements of some of the oldest and well proven methods. Many of the same rules that apply to other kinds of marketing will apply to mobile marketing too. However, there are some noteworthy differences.