Business Blog

Get Better Search Engine Rankings with RSS

RSS is the latest craze in online publishing. But what exactly is RSS?

RSS or Rich Site Syndication is a file format similar to XML, and is used by publishers to make their content available to others in a format that can be universally understood.

RSS allows publishers to “syndicate” their content through the distribution of lists of hyperlinks.

It has actually been around for a while, but with the advent of spam filters and online blogging, it is fast becoming the choice of ezine publishers who want to get their message across to their subscribers.

However, not much attention has been given to the advantages RSS provides for search engine optimization.

Why Search Engines Love RSS

Many SEO experts believe that sites optimized around themes,or niches, where all pages correspond to a particular subject or set of keywords, rank better in the search engines.

For example, if your website is designed to sell tennis rackets, your entire site content would be focused around tennis and tennis rackets.

Search engines like Google seem to prefer tightly-themed pages.

But where does RSS figure in all this?

RSS feeds, usually sourced from newsfeeds or blogs, often correspond to a particular theme or niche.

By using highly targeted RSS feeds, you can enhance your site’s content without having to write a single line on your own.

It’s like having your own content writer - writing theme-based articles for you - for free!

How can RSS improve my Search Engine Rankings?

There are three powerful reasons why content from RSS Feeds is irresistible bait for search engine spiders.

1. RSS Feeds Provide Instant Themed Content

There are several publishers of RSS feeds that are specific to a particular theme.

Since the feed is highly targeted, it could contain several keywords that you want to rank highly for.

Adding these keywords to your pages helps Google tag your site as one with relevant content.

2. RSS Feeds Provide Fresh, Updated Content

RSS feeds from large publishers are updated at specific intervals. When the publisher adds a new article to the feed, the oldest article is dropped.

These changes are immediately effected on your pages with the RSS feed as well. So you have fresh relevant content for your visitors every hour or day.

3. RSS Feeds Result in More Frequent Spidering

One thing I never anticipated would happen as a result of adding an RSS feed to my site was that the Googlebot visited my site almost daily.

To the Googlebot, my page that had the RSS feed incorporated into it was as good as a page that was being updated daily, and in its judgement, was a page that was worth visiting daily.

What this means to you, is that you will have your site being indexed more frequently by the Googlebot and so any new pages that you add to your site will be picked up much faster than your competitors.

How does this benefit you as a marketer?

Well, for example, let’s says a top Internet Marketer comes out with a new product that you review and write up a little article on, and that your competitors do the same.

Google generally tends to index pages at the start of the month and if you miss that update, you will probably need to wait till the next month to even see your entry in.

But, since your site has RSS feeds, it now gets indexed more frequently. So the chances of getting your page indexed quickly are much higher.

This gives you an advantage over the competition, as your review will show up sooner in the search results than theirs.

Imagine what an entire month’s advantage could do to your affiliate sales!

Why Javascript Feeds Are Not Effective

Some sites offer javascript code that generates content sourced from RSS feeds for your site.

These are of absolutely no value in terms of search engine rankings, as the googlebot cannot read javascript and the content is not interpreted as part of your page.

What you need is code that parses the RSS feed and renders the feed as html content that’s part of your page.

This is achieved using server side scripting languages like PHP or ASP.

A good free ASP script is available from Kattanweb

http://www.kattanweb.com/webdev/projects/index.asp?ID=7

An equally good PHP script is CARP

http://www.geckotribe.com/rss/carp/

So in conclusion, besides optimizing on page and off page factors, adding RSS feeds to your pages should be an important part of your strategy to boost your search engine rankings.

June 6th, 2006 Posted by Administrator | | no comments

Internet Scams Add to Worries of Online Banks

The advent of the Internet has been a huge boon to the banking industry. Long concerned about the costs of doing business, banks have quickly embraced the Internet as a way of doing business with their customers without having to pay employees to handle the transactions. The Internet is open for business 24 hours a day and a “teller” is always on call in the form of a fully automated system.

Unfortunately, certain clever criminals have made the very notion of online banking inherently risky. Using a system known as “phishing”, these unscrupulous types have sent out millions of e-mail messages that appear to be from legitimate banking institutions, asking customers for personal information, such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers. Many people have replied to these messages without realizing that they are not from their bank, but from someone who wants to steal information from them.

An even worse problem is that of “pharming” where malicious code directs customers who are trying to find a bank’s Website to a site that the criminals have set up that looks just like the real one. This one, however, is only there to steal information.

This has led to some customers losing money, as the crooks have been able to infiltrate their bank accounts using the stolen information. An even worse outcome is that there is not a bit more unease among all consumers about engaging in financial transactions online.

There are a number of solutions in the works. Some of them involve more detailed questions of customers as the log in, so that their identities can be more accurately confirmed and so that the customers can be assured that they are at the right Website. The hardware solutions are more effective, as they require that the customer use a physical device to connect, such as a card that displays a number that changes once a minute that only the real bank’s server knows. The problems with these solutions are cost and the problem of physically distributing the devices to the public. Internet commerce is still in its youth, and these problems will eventually go away as the entire system becomes more sophisticated. In the meantime, customers who bank online should make a habit of becoming more cautions as they use the Web for financial purposes.

June 6th, 2006 Posted by Administrator | | no comments

Avoiding Work at Home Employment Scams

This article is not aimed at discouraging people from starting Home based business through the Internet, but to guide the people about the Business opportunities available on the net that are bogus and illegitimate. These are more popularly termed as Scams. There are numerous opportunities available on the Internet for starting a home-based business successfully. Some of these opportunities are really success oriented. However all these business strategies require hard work and dedication besides thorough knowledge about the market.

Some of these opportunities are quick and easy way of making money. Before getting involved into any business opportunity through the Internet, people must make themselves cautioned against the fraudulent scams. They should not get carried away by people who try to fool others using fake testimonials, documents, guarantee cards, and offering huge income potentials in short period of time.

There are many reliable work at home jobs on the Internet. These jobs do not claim to give easy money in short period of time. These jobs are based on hard work and open-minded communication between the employers and trusted employees through telecommuting. These jobs are more or less similar to the regular jobs in many ways. The employee must first qualify for the job that is offered. He must then develop trust with the employer through dedicated work. Most of these telecommuting jobs are treated as part time opportunities. Another way of working on the Internet is to work as freelancer or on independent contract. You can work as article writer, consultant, editor, designer and numerous other ways. With all these type of opportunities the risk of getting involved in scams is less.

The Internet business opportunity scams are more common in sales endeavors. The scrupulous people who run the Internet scams are always on the look out for a naïve wishful and desperate surfer. Many homemakers, and elderly people become a prey under these scams. Before getting it to any business option, people must get a thorough knowledge about these scams. They can get all the necessary information from the Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission. These organizations help you to keep away from the Internet based scams and also help to verify the offers on the net and file complaints if necessary. Another way to avoid scams is to start up the home based business after getting the necessary information from the Small business Administration.

It is essential for people to come forward and report the scams however small be the money involved. Scams have proliferated through Internet because of the access to millions of customers. The most commonplace for Internet scams is through the auction sites. Fraudulent merchandise sales sites are on the rise. The scammers try to allure customers by offering hard to find goods such as electronic gadgets. Thousand of shoppers who whisk their money have never received their goods. The people are advised to be skeptical of sites, which offer the goods at incredibly low prices.

Copyright © Cheryl Mustian
http://www.CherylWorksAtHome.net

To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit: http://www.CherylWorksAtHome.net

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the “About The Author” resource box. Thanks!

June 6th, 2006 Posted by Administrator | | no comments

Work At Home Scams Thrive on the Internet

The ability to earn a living from home is one that millions of people would enjoy. No one likes being a slave to a time clock, and no one enjoys working for a difficult boss. The notion of working from home is appealing to everyone who has ever had an unpleasant job, and thousands of Americans try their hands at it every year with varying degrees of success.

Where there is opportunity for success, there is also opportunity for fraud, and the work at home sector is no exception to that rule. Offers to work from home are common subjects of spam e-mail, and there are thousands of Websites devoted to lavish descriptions of the riches one can acquire while working from home. Unfortunately, most of these offers are fraudulent, and the only thing that most people will get out of them is a lighter wallet. Offers to get rich at home while stuffing envelopes or processing medical claims for physicians earn far more for the people selling them than they do for the victims who buy them.

These are but two of the common work at home scams that can be commonly found in e-mail solicitations or in the classified advertising sections of business-related magazines. Anyone who is considering investing in a plan to work from home should first consider the following:

You can’t get something for nothing. If a company promises that you can make thousands each week from doing little or no work, you should be suspicious.

Do not respond to solicitations that come via e-mail. These messages are literally sent out by the millions in hopes that a few people will believe the offer and send money. Don’t do it.

Find out what it is you will do to get paid. Then do some research on your own. Is there a market for the work you will be doing? Look into it.

Research the company involved. Thanks to the Internet, it’s as easy as looking them up in a search engine. See what others have to say about the company.

Do you have to invest money? How much? What do you receive? Can you get a refund if you change your mind? Find out.

While there are legitimate opportunities to work from home, most offers to hire people to do so are fraudulent. By doing a little homework before you invest your money or time, you can avoid being another victim of a work at home scam.

June 6th, 2006 Posted by Administrator | | no comments