RSS (which, in its most recent format, stands for “Really Simple Syndication”) is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a “feed”, “web feed”, or “channel”, contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that’s easier than checking them manually.

RSS content can be read using software called a “feed reader” or an “aggregator.” The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed’s link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.

The initials “RSS” are used to refer to the following formats:

Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)

The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a general-purpose markup language.[1] It is classified as an extensible language because it allows its users to define their own tags. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the sharing of structured data across different information systems, particularly via the Internet.[2] It is used both to encode documents and serialize data. In the latter context, it is comparable with other text-based serialization languages such as JSON and YAML.[3] RSS + XML feeds can be used to send dynamicly generated content to users who will then recieve thier content via an “aggregator” which then links back to the source of the content. This gives that content multiple one way back links.

Really Simple Syndication or RSS feed is a type of coding that is dynamic in nature and allows parties to access and propagate content from one website or blog to another. An example of this would be yahoo news. If you go to yahoo.com you have an option of subscribing to multiple RSS feeds, whether it be news or sports updates, it is all provided in a format that is dynamic. If you choose to add this information to your website or blog you can paste in a piece of code and the information will begin to stream as it is updated by Yahoo. One of the most popular uses of RSS feeds is through blogs. A blog or web log is a dynamic content management system.  What this means is the user is able to login in and generate a topic or thread. Once they have chosen their topic they may post comments within that topic. The comments are then published to the web. Blogs are very popular because once the information is posted it can be streamed into multiple places, like RSS News readers, example: (newsgator.com) or simply downloaded by reader’s google or yahoo homepage. A user might also paste the RSS feed into their websites source code. RSS and SEO

Now that you have the basics on how a RSS feed operates, how can you use this type of coding to boost your SEO. A popular way is to encourage others to download your blog. After you setup your blog on your website you want to start blogging about information related to your website. Example: If you are a real estate agent in San Diego, then you could blog about San Diego real estate market updates. After a few posts the next step is getting the info to the readers. A good way is to submit your RSS feed to Newsreaders and Blog search engines. These are places that people are looking for current information that is to their interest. Once you start submitting your website to these sources you will begin to get people downloading your feed. Once the third party pastes your feed onto their website the back links begin. These links are simply coming from your blog feeds post title and will link back to where the information is hosted i.e.: your blog. This boosts your SEO by increasing the link popularity to your blog, which is hosted on your websites URL.  However the value of these types of links slowly lose weight in search engines, i.e., the first post is more valuable than the 2nd, 3rd or 4th post, simply by its order. Google placed a higher value on the initial relationship itself. So the key to RSS linking is blog good quality information and people will add it and you will get traffic and popularity.