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RSS Do’s and Don’ts

Posted on November 7, 2006 | Filed Under Website Tips 

By Sharon Housley

RSS is not quite a household word, but technically astute

individuals are adopting the use of RSS feeds at an alarming

rate. If you are interested in jumping on the bandwagon, but

not quite sure of where to start, consider following these

simple RSS feed tips to maximize feed compatibility and make

your feed stand out from the crowd.

RSS DO’s

1. Titles and Descriptions.

Always include meaningful keywords in your RSS feed’s

Channel title and description. Many readers will view or

search for topic specific RSS feeds using keywords or

keyword phrases. If you have descriptive keywords in your

RSS feed’s title and description the feed is more likely to

be located and subscribed to by interested parties.

2. GUID Format.

Always include a GUID with each feed item. The GUID is a

globally unique identifier. Each post should use a different

GUID. The GUID will in some cases assist RSS news readers

and aggregation software in determining when new content has

been added to the RSS feed or when existing content in an

RSS feed has been modified. If you do not use GUID’s, the

software used to aggregate the feeds may have difficulty

detecting changes to feed items or the software may not

always recognize new content.

3. Publish Dates.

Always include a publish date on feed items. The publish

date should be used even if the content is timeless. The

Publish Date will help readers determine that status of the

content contained in the feed item.

4. Polish Your Feed.

Consider including images within your RSS feed. While the

added images will not necessarily improve ranking, they will

add a polished look to your RSS feed and help brand your

feed.

5. Feed Hosting.

Either host your own feed, or set it up to forward to a

third party from your website. This will allow you retain

complete control over the RSS feed. You will not need to

rely on the stability of another company. If you control the

forwarding and at any point you are dissatisfied with the

service provided by the third party, you can redirect the

feed to another location.

RSS DON’Ts

1. Plagiarize.

Do not plagiarize content in your RSS feed, there is little

more to be said. Written words are considered protected in

most countries. Posting someone else’s work and taking

credit for their words is wrong and will damage your

reputation as a credible source.

2. Splog.

Do not create splogs by automating feed creation. Splogs

just clutter the search engines and directories and make it

difficult to locate RSS feeds with meaningful content.

3. Violate Copyrights.

Do not violate copyrights by republishing an RSS feeds

contents. If you quote content from another RSS feed, credit

the source and provide and link to the original source of

the content. As a rule of thumb, editorial content should

exceed the length of the quoted material in the post.

4. Violate TOS.

Do not republish RSS feeds without confirming that feed

syndication is allowed. The terms of use are not always

apparent, so it is important that you check the terms of

service on the publisher’s feed subscription page prior to

syndicating the contents of another publisher’s RSS feed.

5. Provide Multiple Feed Formats.

Do not provide multiple feed formats for the same content.

As far as the subscriber is concerned, the version of RSS

that you are using is irrelevant. Multiple versions of the

same feed simply cause confusion. Almost all RSS readers and

news aggregators support all versions of RSS, simply choose

a version and provide a single feed.

By adopting good feed practices, you can reap the benefits

of having an RSS feed. Following these simple RSS do’s and

don’ts will get you started on the path to RSS success.

About the Author:

Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll

http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing and

publishing RSS feeds and NotePage, Inc.

http://www.notepage.net a wireless messaging software

company.

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