RSS Feeds
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”.
Here is a quote from:: WIKI – “RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated digital content, such as blogs, news feeds or podcasts.“ RSS Feeds are designed to SYNDICATE updated information. The information needs to be maintained and updated frequently, in order to justify putting it in an RSS Feed format.
Optimizing Your RSS Feed
Some merchants who have rushed to get an RSS feed available for their Affiliates have totally missed the point of having an RSS Feed. The information is supposed to be updated on a regular basis. If you are thinking of putting together an RSS Feed for your Affiliate Program then you should take a serious look at what information you are going to be able to provide. If any of your options include links that “COULD” be banner links or static text links, then avoid putting them into your RSS Feed. Below is a list of things I have seen other merchants include in their RSS Feed and you should avoid including these types of links or information.
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Purchase Limit For Free Shipping – ie. “Free Shipping On Orders Over $50“ |
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Any Ongoing Sale or Discount – ie. “10% Off Purchases Over $100“ |
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Giving Each RSS Entry The Same Title. This Causes The RSS Reader To Display The Same Thing Over And Over. “Daily Coupon” – “Daily Coupon” – “Daily Coupon” |
Savvy Affiliates will not use your RSS Feed if it is not updated on a regular basis. There is no point in setting up an RSS Reader and creating a nice spot for it on a web page if the information is never updated. Simply put – “Updated RSS Feeds Get Used More Often“.
Things you can do to improve your RSS Feed:::
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Pick one item a day and give a higher discount than any other discount on your site. Include the product name in the RSS information. |
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Take the time to set up RSS Specific sales and “events” – TODAY ONLY or THIS WEEK ONLY… type of deals and discounts… |
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Think update update update…. If not DAILY then at least WEEKLY |
Thanks for adding AffGoo and AffiliateNewsReview to your blogrolls. As soon as you get to some critical mass I’ll add you to the AffGoo blogroll.
I am looking forward to your posts and will add you to my Google reader. I think datafeeds in particular RSS datafeeds are really one of the next big things in affiliate marketing. Your domain name is killer. Stick!
Stick,
Yes me too! When Vista comes out and is widely used… OR when most of the users online upgrade to IE 7.. RSS Feeds will be the next big thing. Vista comes preloaded with IE 7 – IE 7 comes with an RSS Feed reader… once people start using it – RSS feeds will take off… That is why I want Merchants to know the importance of UPDATING their RSS Feeds and not just including STATIC links…
Thanks for the kind words about the site and the domain name! Yep I love the domain….!