Really Simple Syndication

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. Many news-related sites, weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to whoever wants it.

Brief History of RSS

RSS was first invented by Netscape, when they were trying to get into the portal business. They required an XML format that would be easy for them to get news stories and information from other sites and have them automatically added to their site. UserLand Software then picked up RSS version released by Netscape and continued development of their version of RSS (Really Simple Syndication), eventually releasing RSS 2.0.

How to use RSS Feeds?

More and more sites offer RSS feeds, in the form of html, xml codes. You will need an RSS aggregator to properly read your feed.

If you have never used an aggregator or RSS reader before, then here are some quick steps to follow -

1. Download feed reader or RSS aggregator compatible with your operating system
2. Start aggregator and go to add channel/feed and then paste the URL and press ok.
3. Add as many feeds to your RSS aggregator and use it as news reader.

Why use RSS Aggregators?

Aggregators reduce the time and effort needed to regularly check websites for updates, creating a unique information space or "personal newspaper." Once subscribed to a feed, an aggregator is able to check for new content at user-determined intervals and retrieve the update.

The content is sometimes described as being "pulled" to the subscriber, as opposed to "pushed" with email or IM. Unlike recipients of some "pushed" information, the aggregator user can easily unsubscribe from a feed.

List of RSS Aggregators

There are a number of RSS news aggregators out there that automatically suck up RSS files from content providers and present the news in a variety of ways (my.netscape.com, my.userland.com, xmltree.com, moreover.com, SharpReader , Bloglines, FeedDemon, Radio UserLand).

Benefits using RSS

Normally you would have to keep visiting your favorite websites to hunt for new content. With an RSS Feed via a news reader or aggregator you can just sit back and be automatically informed of any new content that is published on your favorite web.

Reciprocal and One Way Link Building Campaigns

Link Building campaigns is an important activity in search engine optimization Process. Back links are one of the most important factors in determining a sites page rank and position in the Google search engine results.

The Number of back links are a crucial factor in Google's algorithm (and in other search engines), a link campaign should be part of your search engine marketing efforts. There are two types of links that a web site can have:

Reciprocal links - Reciprocal link is the one which you can exchange link with any other site by putting its link on your site.

One-way links - One way link is the link which you get from another site to your site without receiving back a link.

Reciprocal linking is a done by a webmaster who searches the internet looking for relevant sites whose theme matches with yours and that he or she can trade links with that site. Once the list of suitable sites has been obtained, a personalized email is sent to the respective webmasters and a request for an exchange of links takes place. When a response is received, webmasters adds that site immediately, and send an email intimating that their link has been added and can be seen at a url on your site.

You need to check regularly that your partners are still linking to your site in order to continue the partnership and retain the back links. Most webmasters are honest and will keep you linked, but there are a few who don't keep the trust. This is quite a time consuming process.

One-way Links : One way Links carry more weightage in the eyes of Google and other search engines and hence are the most suitable type of links. One way linking is not difficult to do, but there will be an amount of effort involved.

The easiest way to get In bound one way links to your site is to do directory submissions. There are many great free directories to submit to, and it's worth the time and effort to get listed in as many as you possibly can.

There are also paid directories which accept the site submissions for free and you can try to get listed in all paid directories that are relevant to your site's topic, if you have budget for that.

You can also get one-way links to your site by issuing press releases. With sites such as prwire, you can submit a press release to them for free, and that will not only get your site exposure, but it will also get you some in-bound links.

Webmaster generally have the ability to compose articles or columns. There are many sites that can get your site listing and exposure by you allowing to post your articles there.

You should be very careful not to overdo the article submission otherwise the search engines may penalize you for duplicate content. This will create in-bound links to your site.