3 Great Reasons to Use RSS on Your Website

RSS is a great invention and with the evolution of technology most websites now have RSS as a means of delivering content to visitors.

RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication. However, what it really does is to convert our beautifully formatted webpages to text so that the Search Engine robots (spiders) can index and list our websites.

It is important to know that not all websites have a RSS feed (that's the terminology we tech types like to use). Typically, static websites - those sites that have the content hard coded into the each page - don't have RSS enabled. Dynamic sites like WordPress do and, in general, the 'feed' is enabled automatically. Here are three great Reasons why you should use RSS on your website:

Reason 1: Syndication

Can you imagine that instead of having to encourage people to your site to read your content, you can share your content with 100's, if not 1000's of blogging directories and sites and have that many more people visiting your site? With RSS this is entirely possible. You can submit your RSS feed to RSS directories where other sites will pick up your content to provide interesting information to their visitors - this is syndication

iTunes is a great example of how this can work. If iTunes likes your blog talk radio show or the podcast you provide from your website, they will add you into their podcast directory - how many people run iTunes on their desktop? Can you see how this automatically increases your reach?

Reason 2: Backlinks

Backlinks are one of the elements to improve your sites ranking in the Search Engines and it can be very time consuming. When you add content to your site, advise blogging directories (by submitting the feed for that content) that it's there. These directories are typically 'well loved' by search engines and are visited by spiders every few hours. Once your site is listed in these directories, it will be found by the spiders and listed in its on right.

Think of it as Word Of Mouth advertising - when you receive excellent service you will tell others about it. Now, imagine that you are the 'Go To Gal' (or guy) for your niche - how many people can you refer to the new service? This is fairly close to how blogging directories work.

Reason 3: Ease of Access To Your Content

By providing a RSS feed on your site, your readers will be able to use a RSS Reader and access your content right from their desktop. Savvy internet users will have their RSS Reader setup like their email and when you post new content to your site, they get a notice in their Reader about it. All they need to do is open their reader and start reading. No need to start the web browser, visit the site etc - just read the content.

Given how busy people are these days - this is a great thing to offer them.

To find out more about using RSS on your website, visit www.squidoo.com/rss-for-backlinks

About the Author

Charly Leetham has worked for over 20 years in the IT industry, specifically in the area of data communications and local area networking.

Charly is a qualifed "tech", holding an Associate Diploma in Electronics Engineering. Her experience with Personal Computers ranges from building computers to providing 2nd level user support.

Charly also holds a Masters of Business Admin (MBA), specialising in Internet Marketing.

Learn more about how Charly can help you achieve success in your Online or Internet Business at http://www.AskCharlyLeetham.com

RSS Feeds - How to Make Them Work For You

What is an RSS feed? 
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a notification system used to alert subscribers to changes or updates made to their favorite web sites, blogs, music sites, etc. It is easy to recognize that the site is RSS-enabled by the orange rectangular button that allows visitors to subscribe.

Some people tend to ignore the RSS button because they don't know how to use it. However, there are those Internet-savvy people who know how helpful it is in simplifying their searches. The feeds are similar to newsletters and may contain teasers or summaries of the content pages, so subscribers can easily pick out the articles they are interested in. To get the most out of newsfeeds, you need a powerful aggregator, though, that lets you organize, search, categorize and use news items just like emails.

RSS automatically sends the updates, and some subscribers will even display the feeds on their web pages as well, so your updates are visible to the visitors of their websites. Therefore, your website is bound to generate more traffic, making RSS feeds an essential tool in web marketing. It is also an efficient way of retaining clients by reminding them of your website's existence and encouraging them to visit it regularly.

How do I make it work for me?

1. Create your RSS feed. The title and description should be written to describe the content and the link should reference the webpage that contains that actual content.

2. Validate your RSS feed. Once you've made your RSS feed, you need to validate it. Validation consists of checking whether your RSS feeds conform to the RSS format standard. This is important because RSS is XML based, which is very strict in its coding.

3. Create a web page for displaying your RSS feeds. After your RSS feed is validated, add it to your web site. Creating a separate web page for displaying RSS feeds is a common web practice.

4. List your RSS feeds in directories. Now that you have your RSS feed, you need to make your potential viewers aware of it. This can be done by submitting the RSS web page to various RSS directories, such as the one below:

http://rss-feeds-directory.com/

5. Distribute your special RSS Reader. Now you have valid RSS feeds, and users know you have them, but you still need to convince them to add your feeds to their RSS reader. You also need to convince existing viewers to retain your feeds in their readers. To do this, most web sites add a link to download an RSS reader on the page where they have listed their RSS feeds. (http://email.about.com/od/rssreaderswin/tp/top_rss_windows.htm)

6. Update content regularly. Keeping RSS feeds updated is as important as keeping your web site updated. This is because RSS is meant to deliver content quickly and directly to the on-line reader. If you don't update your feeds regularly, then your viewers have no reason to keep your feeds in their readers. Just like your web site, if you want to keep people coming back, you have to keep it fresh with new information.

Try Creative Services at Studio 1C.

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How to Market on MySpace - Guidelines For Success

At the time this article is being written there are 262,557,280 users on MySpace. Yes that is over 260 million! The potential for your message to get viewed by users of this web site is very high. One of the best things about this particular web site as well as other social network sites is that they are free to use. But this comes with a price. You will have to follow a formula in order to get your message out there properly and to be seen by the right people.

Here's one of the biggest questions.

How do I get people to visit my MySpace page?

1. You can use good old fashioned word of mouth (with the help of your computer) Send an email out to your friends and family and have them view your page. Tell your coworkers. Direct new leads to your page.

2. Write and submit press releases. Go to free press release web sites and write a press release stating that your page is available for viewing and discuss what kind of content is contained on your page.

3. Write and submit articles. Go to web sites like this and write articles that pertain to the content of your web page. Then you can direct your readers to your page for more information.

4. Post videos on video sharing sites. Produce a short video with content related to your MySpace page. Tell your viewers to go to your page for more information.

5. Create a pay per click (PPC) account and list your page for search results. This is a paid advertising method and should only be employed if you know how PPC works and have a budget for it. Three major web sites that offer PPC advertising are Google, Yahoo and MSN.

How can I market on MySpace?

1. Blog on MySpace. Create blogs about whatever you like. Some of your blogs even get picked up by search engines depending on the content.

2. Create a group. Create a group about whatever you are selling or service you are providing and talk about it. Invite other members to join your group and start discussions.

3. Join forums. This is a similar concept to groups, but you are joining a forum where there are many members and various topics are discussed. Find a forum that relates to your page and join the forum discussions. Add valuable content to your discussion posts, readers will definitely notice.

4. Add relevant content in your 'about me' section and your 'general' sections. You can use basic HTML code here so don't hesitate to get creative. You can post videos, links and just write in whatever font and size you want. You can find MySpace layout generators that make this process easier.

5. Customize your page to fit your business and what you are offering.

6. Post a lot of pictures. Pictures are very powerful and allow you to make strong connections with your visitors. You want to show your visitors that you are not just some serious marketer, but a real person, who can also have fun.

7. Link some of your other social networking sites to MySpace. You want to create a web so that people who see you on other web sites like YouTube and Twitter can find you easily on MySpace. Make it dead simple for people to find you. After all, these web sites have millions of users and more than likely your leads and prospects are on them also.

Follow this formula for you page layout

When people first come to your page they will want to know about you and see what you are offering. You should follow this formula to captivate their attention and keep them reading.

1. Let them know why your MySpace page is active. 
2. Let them know what you offer. 
3. Empathize with them. If you both suffer from a problem and you offer a solution, tell them about. 
4. State your credibility. If you own anything, written anything or invented something let them know about it. Don't have any credentials? Then write an eBook, or if that's too hard, write an article online and post it. Voila! You are the author of that article and that gives you instant credibility. 
5. Show how you can help them. 
6. Invite them to connect with you through email or whatever. Make yourself readily available to answer question. This will increase their attraction to you.

If you don't already have a profile on MySpace go ahead and sign up now. All it requires is a valid email address. Sign in and edit your profile and account settings. Then start to implement some of these guidelines to your page and watch the connections come rolling in. Be consistent.

The last piece of advice is to be genuine and original. People can tell if you are faking it till you make it. Be yourself and the rest will follow. Incorporate this form of marketing into your arsenal and it will prove to be helpful for you and your business.
Joey Fratantoni is an internet marketing consultant and business coach. To learn more about MySpace marketing and other powerful social networking marketing strategies check out http://www.JoeyFratantoni.com

Want to Make the Most of Ning? Interaction is Key

I've noticed this happen a lot on Ning. People join bunches of networks, post a picture and their link, and then wait for people to come to them. Another variation on this is that they start making friends with lots of people and then they never talk to them. Then they come to this conclusion: This Ning stuff doesn't work. In this article I'll be giving you some tips on how to make your Ning membership work in your favor.

Don't just randomly join Ning groups because they have a big membership. A small network that is related to your business is a lot more beneficial than belonging to a network full of people that aren't interested in small business matters at all. It is important to find networks that fit your business niche or are related to a hobby you have knowledge of. I'm not suggesting that Ning has to be all about business. However, if that's your primary goal, you need to be sure that you maintain a presence in areas where people in your niche are likely to be.

Start your own group within the network. Many groups allow their members to start groups within the network. Basically a group is like a mini network. It's a way of getting more specific in a niche. So let's say you join a Ning network about small business. You could start a group for chiropractors. That way you can know for sure that you're just talking to chiropractors. If you have information that's pertinent to a specific group that might not be specific to the whole group, this is a great way to get that information out without getting in trouble with the network owner. Be sure to read the rules carefully and make sure this is allowed before you do so.

Finally, make a point to talk with the network leader. Find out what that person needs help with. Offer suggestions to make the network better. Community leaders love hearing from their members. It helps them know someone is paying attention. Sometimes we feel like we are talking to ourselves when we don't get feedback.

Just like everything else with social networking, Ning only works if you participate. You have to actually go up to people that seem interesting to you and start talking to them. Most of the time people won't find you unless you find them.Be sure to interact with the people in your network at least once a day if you don't do anything but stop in on them to say hi! I know you've heard this plenty of times before, but it's worth repeating. Networking is a process not a one time event. You have to consistently be interacting with people if you want to see results from your networking.
And you can get a free ecourse on traffic generation. Just go to http://www.learnsmallbusiness.com and click on the words get free ecourse now.

How to Increase Website Traffic With Blogging

Blogging has evolved as a great activity among the online community today. A huge number of people are seen to be members of blogs. Blogs are great tools to stay in touch with friends, acquaintances, the people you know, etc and also a great tool to know new people, make new friends, and for social networking.

Today, blogs have become a great tool used by various businesses as well for their promotion and advertising purposes. This makes traffic an important factor for the blogs. Let us see how to increase website traffic with blogging and how it can help you with your business.

Original and Good Quality Material

When you post information on the blogs, try to maintain a very good standard. Make sure the content you post is original, and of a very good quality. The better the quality of the content, the more number of people will be reading through it. This is because people generally prefer original and quality posts and will treat you with more importance when the standard of your blog post shows good authority. Hence, original and good quality material is a great way to influence people and drive more traffic to your website.

Be Consistent With Your Blog Posts

When you want to make the best use of the blog spaces for the promotion and development of traffic to your website, be consistent with the articles you post. Posting about ten to twenty articles over the various article directories can be a great way to reach out to more number of people than just posting a single article. In fact, try to carry on with this even if you don't see much success initially. Consistent blogging will get more people interested in your articles over time and generate more traffic for your website.

Leave Testimonials and Comments on Other Blogs

Try to read through good quality posts on the other blogs and leave a comment or a feedback if there is an option for it. Moreover, try to write testimonials about what you think of such posts that you read and don't forget to leave a link to your website at the end of your comment. This is also a great way to make people check your website out after reading your comments.

You must understand that a good quality post will have more readers than just any other post. If you comment on such a post, the chances of people reading your comments are also high. This in turn increases the possibility of these people from clicking on the link provided at the end of your comment and checking out your website. This is another great way to increase traffic to your site.

These are some of the great methods when you want to know how to increase website traffic with blogging.
Agnes Seow is an accomplished Internet Marketer, specialises in traffic generation. Are you spending hard time not being able to attract quality traffic to your site? Here is the ultimate solution to bring unlimited volume of targeted quality traffic to your site. Don't blame me if you find your server can't stand the huge volume after you apply the simple traffic generation strategies found at http://growwebsitetraffic.com

Traffic Treasury - 7 Killer Traffic Generation Strategies

Today, I would like to share with you an overview of a book called 'Traffic Treasury' that details some of your the killer traffic generation strategies on how to further generate massive, instant highly targeted traffic to websites, landing pages and squeeze pages.

Here are the 7 killer traffic generation strategies:

Strategy #1: Targeted Keywords

• Instead of experimenting what keywords to use, you should find out what are the keywords used by your potential prospects so that you can incorporate these keyword phrases into your content and marketing campaigns (eg: article marketing, SEO, etc.)

• Avoid using broad or general keyword phrases such as 'weight loss' or 'golf' simply due to the mass amount of competition in the market which will cost you a great deal of money. Instead, try to choose long tail (specific) phrases or keywords such as 'weight loss solutions' or 'old golf equipment' that you can still reach out to your market and drive in targeted traffic while minimizing costs.

Strategy #2: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Optimize every single webpage rather than just your index page as SEO does not rank entire websites but individual pages.

• Focus on both 'on-site SEO' and 'off-site SEO' to obtain high ranking within the search engines.

• With on-site SEO, optimize every page on your website, from its title tag, keywords used within content to the way that your site map or overall structure is created.

• With off-site SEO, focus on building solid back links to your website from relevant authority websites.

• Pay attention to structural elements such as the title tags, meta description tags, meta keyword tags as well as implementing a site map so that the 'spiders' are able to successfully crawl, explore and index all of your main pages as well as all internal (sub) pages. 

Strategy #3: Off-Site Search Engine Optimization

There are many different ways of establishing quality back links to your website but two most popular methods are:

• Online directories: you can add your website into specific categories and instantly establish back links to your website.

• Social bookmarking: you can easily generate traffic to your website, by submitting your website URL into social communities which allow users to share their favorite sites with other members of the community, as well as post comments regarding the website content.

Strategy #4: Pay-Per-Click Campaign (PPC)

• Use a mix of PPC engines in your traffic campaigns, both the large and small networks, to get the most traffic possible for your budget. A recommended mix would be to choose one of the big players, like Google, and one of the smaller players, like GoClick.com

• Focus on building campaigns that include targeted keywords for your niche, as well as action driven ad copy, titles and body text assigned to each ad block.

• Start off with 10-30 keywords and gradually add in additional keywords as you begin to see progress with your PPC marketing.

• Create split test campaigns to determine which particular advertisement will produce the best results.

Strategy #5: Social Marketing

There are two great methods to social marketing: Squidoo and Hub Pages.

• Squidoo: create one-page website referred to as 'lenses' where you are able to rank for specific keywords used within your page's title and content itself.

• Hub Pages: create add ons and tags to your hub pages for better ranking within the search engine. 

Strategy #6: Article Marketing

Article marketing is very effective in generating traffic through relevant back links from authority websites for the long term.

• Write article between 300 and 600 words in length and provide useful information that your target audience would find appealing.

• Focus on high quality content instead of just the quantity that is being submitted to article directories.

• Submit as many articles as possible so that the greater the number of articles in circulation, the more exposure you will receive, and the greater the traffic is driven to your website.

Strategy #7: Forum Marketing

• Find forums that receive a good amount of traffic and that members participate regularly and actively pertaining to your market or niche.

• Participate in forums and community boards and communicate with your target audience to create back links to your website.

By consistently implementing these traffic generation strategies outlined above, you will be able to maintain your positioning and continue to maximize your outreach, effortlessly.
Wilfred Tan is an expert affiliate marketer committed to finding ways to help new online marketers to generate more traffic to their websites. You can also learn more comprehensive traffic generation strategies with step-by-step action plan from his book on Complete Guide To Traffic Generation Strategies or by visiting his website http://www.affiliatesecretprogram.com

10 Tweetlater Tactics to Make Your Twitter Life 100 Times More Productive

Being a fan of twitter and a gadget geek I have tried a fair few twitter tactics and table offerings over the last few months and one of my favourites is Tweetlater for several reasons. So, if you're looking for a reason to splash out on a twitter tool take a look at my list of twitter tactics you can apply by using tweetlater professional as part of your social media marketing campaign.

Here's my list of ten tweetlater twitter tactics to add a little productivity to your social media marketing campaign;

1.Automated follow back - this is a great time saver and allows you to concentrate your twitter tactics on adding value to your new twitter followers instead of spending the evening simply hitting the follow tab.

2.Automated welcome messaging to your new twitter followers - don't spam and don't sell but do add value and entertain and your new followers will thank you for it.

3.Filter out SPAM by keywords - no more FREE E-Books if you don't want them. Simply set your spam filter and that's the last you'll see of them.

4.Mute annoying twitter tweeters - without having to unfollow losing the potential leverage of their followers. Set your account to simply mute those tweeters you don't want to hear (don't try this one at home though!)

5.Unlimited twitter accounts - for those with a multiple twitter personality disorder this is a great tool and adds extra punch to your marketing power if managed effectively. This is gorilla marketing twitter style!

6.Automated unfollow for those who switch off from what you have to offer - this is essential if you want to gather a large twitter following and don't want to hit the twitter wall with too few followers and your account adding tweeters by the day.

7.Schedule tweets tool to be sent out at a later date - automated entertainment to keep you in control of your twitter activity and able to interact while in the background adding value to the twittersphere.

8.Bit.ly shortening on all your links to keep those links intact and allow you to track your twitter followers activity. Tracking is the key to success in internet marketing and is an absolute requirement if you're serious about social media marketing.

9.Inbox management on autopilot - set your account to delete DM (direct messages) every week, 10 days or on a monthly basis to keep your inbox clutter free on autopilot.

10.Keyword tracking - set alerts to follow and search specific keywords. This tool allows you to listen to what is being said about your brand or to follow a specific twitter conversation on autopilot.

Twitter is a modern marketing powerhouse if used correctly and tweetlater is a good addition to the growing list of twitter productivity tools but remember one thing; tweetlater is simply a tool to help you do better what you already do well. Don't misuse it, don't allow it to take the place of good old fashioned interaction and don't forget to add value even on autopilot or people will soon switch off and you'll join the other twitter lepers down at the spam colony.

Neil Ashworth is a successful internet marketer and leading member of the CarbonCopyPro group .

Neil is a former Pro Soccer player and a master online marketer living and working from home in the mountains of West Cork, Ireland.

5 Secrets to Creating a Powerful Google Profile

I often want to find out more about someone before I decide to do business with that person. To get the information that I need, I Google the person's name and see how well-known they are online and what they have to say. What I discovered in my search is that their social media profiles, like those found on Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook, show up high in the search results. Google, however, has started giving these well-known social networking sites a run for their money by creating their own online profile option.

Google Profiles are simple web pages where you can list general information about yourself. Anyone who can create an account on Google and verify their real name through a screening routine can now have a personal profile page on Google. The most powerful aspect of this system, however, is the ability to include links in your profile, which can pack a powerful search engine optimization (SEO) punch for you. Best of all, Google provides this service at no cost to you.

Profiles are public and include your actual name and/or a nickname. You can list your occupation, where you are located (your profile will be used for Google Maps), a list of links, your photo and a short introduction. Google even provides a way for visitors to click a link on your profile to contact you directly.

Here are 5 secrets to creating a powerful Google Profile:

1. Upload your photo. One of the keys to creating relationships online is to let others know you're a real person. The easiest way to do that is to provide a visual cue, like a photo, to help them remember you.

2. Include keywords in bio. The "About Me" section is where you can use outbound keyword-rich links to your advantage. As you compose this section, be sure and include several keywords others might use to find you, and link those back to your web site. For example, if you're a divorce attorney in Houston, you might have the keyword phrases, "Houston divorce attorney" and "family law attorney" as links back to your primary web site.

3. Link to your sites and profiles. You can link to any number of sites from your Google profile. Just like in your bio, use keywords to your advantage here as well. So, if you run a cleaning business and have produced several videos demonstrating what you do, instead of listing your link to your YouTube videos as "YouTube.com," you might instead use "Professional Cleaning Videos," which links to your YouTube stream instead.

You should add the following links to your profile:

--web site(s)

--blog

--all of your social networking profiles (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Linkedin)

--YouTube.com or UStream channel

--Squidoo lens

--Social bookmarking profiles (Delicious, Reddit, Digg

--Article syndication page

--Free giveaway sign up page

--Products page

--Services page

4. Showcase your products and services. The page editor allows you to upload images through photo sharing sites Flickr and Picasa. Upload images of your physical or information products or shots of you in action delivering your service.

5. Take care when choosing your profile URL. If you have a Gmail account, Google will ask you if your want to use that username as part of your profile URL. Be aware that if you choose that option, you are inadvertently giving away your Gmail address. I chose instead the longer profile URL with the long string of numbers. I don't like my email address appearing anywhere online, so even though this profile URL is longer and more difficult to reference, it beats filling my inbox with spam.

If you don't use Gmail, you can select any available username to be part of your profile URL. If later on you sign up for Gmail, you can choose this username as your Gmail username. Once you've selected your customized URL, you won't be able to change it or delete it. However, you can make it private at any time by selecting your old URL on the "Edit profile" page.

Take a few minutes today to claim your name and create a powerful profile for your business. It costs you nothing, creates powerful one-way inbound links back to your site, and will help you get found online.
Copyright (c) 2009 OnlineBizU.com

Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps baby boomers create profitable online retirement businesses by demystifying the steps needed to successfully market a baby boomer business online. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at ==> http://www.OnlineBizU.com