An effective RSS feed will communicate a compelling theme that will result in increased traffic to your site. Implementing the simple suggestions described here will make your RSS and search engine optimisation work together for maximum benefits. The first step is to have your theme be strong so that it attracts readers. The most effective RSS feeds will have a balance between keywords and optimization to garner search results and readability to attract and keep human readers.
The first thing a reader of your feed will see is the channel title so make sure it is well written to capture the interest of the visitor. You also want to make sure that the feed is appropriately categorized by search engines so include keywords in the channel title that are germane to your overall theme. Always put your company name or brand at the end of the RSS feed channel.
The channel description should give the reader a general synopsis of the feed’s content. While it is good to include keywords and phrases for search engine optimization, the main purpose is to attract human readers. Therefore make it easy to read. Do not include any HTML in the channel description to keep compatibility with RSS readers. Search engines and RSS feed directories use the channel description when building an index to a feed. This makes a channel description a very important element in RSS structure.
Just like a well written newspaper headline will attract readers, the RSS feed item titles will help lure readers. Make sure to include keywords to get picked up by searches. Do not include any HTML in the titles and they should be no longer than 75 characters.
Carefully proofread to catch all grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. While you do want to optimized the feed for search engines you still want to put the reader first. This is because it is the quality of the feed that will make the reader click through to your site. Poorly written feeds turn off readers and you will lose them forever.
Optimize your anchor text with specific keywords and phrases. This will help in getting your feed syndicated and being re posted by other publishers. A properly optimized anchor text will help in search engine website ranking.
Perform regular housecleaning by removing older items in your feed. If feeds become too bulky RSS readers will get bogged down and might not display at all. Consistent pruning of out of date items will keep your feed running smooth.
An effective technique is to use the H1 and H2 header tags to show item titles. Separate URLs with hyphens not underscores. Include keywords in the header tags to optimize your page.
Using an image in your RSS feed is a great way to establish brand recognition. Expert recommend a 88×31 for the size of an image. An image will greatly improve the feed’s appearance in an RSS reader. Warning: make sure to use the full URL of the image otherwise you will get a broken link if the feed is syndicated.
Put a favicon in your domain’s root directory so that RSS feed directories will display your site’s favorite icon. This is is a nice effect that will attract visiters. Keep in mind the balance between optimization techniques and readability. Avoid turning off potential visitor with mistakes by proofreading. These simple tips in using RSS and search engine optimisation will have a great pay back in increase visits to your site.
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