RSS - An Overview

By Tony Allomes       Last Revised: December 2004

Web marketing continues to evolve as on-line businesses look at new ways to advertise their products or services. Blogs (web logs) and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) are two of the newer techniques becoming popular to spread marketing messages through providing content. In this article, we take a look at RSS and how it is being used by businesses and consumers around the world.

What Is RSS?
RSS is an acronym of the term Really Simple Syndication (although also known as Rich Site Summary). As the name implies, it’s a method that allows sharing of web content with other sites. Through use of an XML-based format, websites can easily distribute or "feed" news items to other websites and users. This is becoming widespread, particularly for larger sites with regularly updated content. You may notice an orange XML or RSS button on a site to indicate that it is using this technology. The RSS is read by software known as feed readers, newsreaders or aggregators which allow you to filter the information received.

Outgoing RSS
A lot of websites are now offering RSS to provide news and information on their products or services. Through use of RSS, this information can effectively be syndicated and then used as content on other sites. Sites currently using RSS include news-related sites, various blogs, online publishers, and many of the web’s largest companies (like Yahoo, Amazon etc.)

Incoming RSS
From a users point of view, RSS is a way of filtering or channelling information that is considered relevant (for yourself or users of your website). It allows you to control the specific content that is used.

Advantages
As a consumer, it allows you to be notified when a web site changes or updates its content without needing to regularly search or check the site.

As a website owner or marketer, it provides the opportunity to engage with potential customers. It also has other significant benefits including the ability to improve the link popularity of your site.

How To Set-up RSS
For sites that regularly update their content, RSS can be a very valuable tool. Initial set-up can be a little complicated though. While software is available to assist with setting up RSS, professional assistance may be required to integrate and validate the RSS feed. Contact Ausnetech Pty Ltd if you need more information about RSS or how it can be used to benefit your business in the future.

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