You may have heard of RSS feeds and perhaps even know what they are, but many are still in the dark as to the immense benefits you can derive from utilizing your site’s RSS feeds with impunity! RSS can deliver amazing results through very little effort of your own. Let’s take a quick look into some of the ways RSS feeds from your sites can help you.

RSS is an acronym for really simple syndication, and it is essentially an xml-based content file for delivering news, subscriber-based content, and even website content. RSS feeds require a reader to access them. Firefox has one built in, as does the latest Internet Explorer version and several mobile browsers, notably Google’s new Android. These are used to render the code into a readable format for the user.

What Are The Benefits Of Using RSS Feeds?

• More Traffic — RSS feeds are an excellent way to get return traffic from people who have visited your site in the past. They have it sitting there in their browser, (after they’ve subscribed) and you are able to keep your content in front of them. You also can gain traffic from RSS aggregators who distribute your content, as well as search engines who index it. Many of the feed aggregators rank well, and if you are well optimized for your chosen keywords, so will you!

• No More Spam Filtering — While RSS feeds may not replace email, they certainly have their place when it comes to delivering your content as you don’t have the worry of email spam filters, which can effectively kill of around half your emails.

• Your Content Syndicated – Many webmasters will opt to use your great content on their site as content. This is a win-win for both of you: they get great content and your get links and exposure, possibly on an authority site in your niche.

• Your Pages Get Indexed Faster — Submitting your pages feed to the various RSS feed aggregators will send the GoogleBot scurrying to your site, as they spider the aggregators several times a day, looking for new links. This is a great way to have Google find your pages organically.

If you are using a blog as your main site, then you in all likelihood already have a site feed working for you. You can find it by clicking on the orange icon in the address bar to the far right of your URL.

If you are using a static site, there is software, (some of it free) which will enable you to create an RSS feed of your static pages, and use them in the same manner that other RSS feeds are.

Using your site’s RSS feeds is a simple and easy way to not only increase your traffic, but also to improve your exposure in the search engines. Make sure you don’t fail to take advantage of your feeds!