This can actually be done fairly easily. This post is going to give you a quick and simple method to do this.

The code you see below is the default settings from the free version of Feed Commander using an RSS feed from www.feedcommander.com.

Any or all of the bold red highlighted areas can be removed to allow your stylesheet to control the display.

The result removing all would look like this:

Editing that piece of code, and changing the feed url saves a ton of time, and the display will already follow the styles of the site it’s being displayed on. Create a feed once, edit, and save for future use.

In the world of online business, search engines determine your business’ future. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is big business. Being unaware of SEO practices can seriously injure your online profit. 

A website that is properly optimized for search engines takes advantage of every opportunity to pack relevant information and keywords into their website to help increase the search engine results ranking.  Your RSS feed content is no exception.  In fact, optimizing your RSS feed just makes sense.

The most important aspect of SEO is relevance.  An RSS feed delivers content that users subscribe to from your website. Shouldn’t that content be relevant to your business?  If I subscribe to an RSS feed from a blog about cell phones, I don’t expect to get content about how to barbecue ribs.

The RSS feed on your website is meant to bring in traffic, not drive it away with unrelated content.  Avoid the temptation to stuff your RSS content with keywords.  If a keyword can be placed in the content with a saturation of no more than 10%, go for it, but don’t stress if your chosen keyword only appears 2-3 times.  It is better for an article to read naturally than to be keyword rich.  It’s also important to remember that if the content is not interesting and free of punctuation, grammar and spelling mistakes no one will want to read your feed.

The process of optimizing your RSS feed is very similar to optimizing your website.  Carefully selecting your channel title, channel description, article title, anchor text, heading tags and image title all will help increase your search engine results ranking.

Your selected channel title should be relevant to your feed and keyword rich.  Since RSS feeds are displayed in an XML format, which is a simple form of code, HTML should not be used in your channel title as it may not be compatible with all forms of RSS readers.  Your channel title is the initial text that catches a reader’s attention and should be treated as one of the most important aspects of your RSS feed copy.  Make every word count.  Cut the fat by trimming down any unnecessary or repetitive words. Keep it simple and powerful.

Your channel description is the place where you have an opportunity to really hook the reader.  Using descriptive language and excellent ad copies will pay off by drawing the reader into your website and your RSS feed.  While you can of course slip in a few keyword phrases, the channel description is intended to impress people, not search engines.  A limited amount of HTML can be displayed in this area if you would like to change the font size or text color for added emphasis.

Selecting an SEO Appropriate Title For Your Feed Articles

Since RSS feeds are read by many different aggregators, you should keep your article titles shorter to ensure that the title can be displayed by all types of RSS readers.  A character length of between 50 and 75 characters is best.  Try to determine what the keywords for the article content would be, then include a few of those keywords in the title and the relevance rule still applies.  Do not include any HTML in your article titles as in the channel title.

Images are a great way to break up monotonous text and add some interest to the content of your feeds.  The majority of RSS readers will display the image at the top of the page, before the text of the article.  For this reason, your images should be selected with great care and display an image that relates to the included text and grabs the reader’s attention.  The image should be around 81 x 31 in size and absolutely no larger than 144 x 400.  Be sure to include the full URL of the image and double check that the link actually works or it will be read as a broken link.  Search engine spiders frown deeply on broken links.  The added time and attention to double check things are worth the effort.

Keep It Simple, Keep It Fresh

Regular maintenance is required to keep your RSS feed current.  Daily content is best, but it is also crucial to archive older articles and keep the feed from bogging down with older information.  Some feed readers will not display your fresh information if the total quantity of content contained in the feed is too large.  Search engine crawlers thrive on websites that are updated frequently with relevant information.  That’s why so many blogs are popping up on business websites- they increase your SERPS.

The Odds and Ends

Anchor text and heading tags should be used as well when optimizing your RSS feed.  The same website SEO principals apply to these tags as well.  If you are new to SEO or would like to expand your knowledge of the basics of SEO, check out my SEO101 articles for more information from A Rookie’s Guide To Search Engine Optimization and Marketing.

SEO can help propel your website to the top of the search engine results page.  An RSS feed can bring in traffic by the droves if done properly with compelling, unique content.  These two Internet marketing tools work together to provide results.  The bottom line is that SEO increases sales.  Using it in your RSS feed as well as your entire website is just plain old good business sense. If you are confused by the how to’s of SEO and RSS feeds, consult an Internet consultant who can either walk you through the steps or take over the Internet marketing and optimization for your website.  You can visit Search Commander or Feed Commander for more information on using SEO and RSS feeds or to get a quote on Internet services from a professional with a proven track record and the skills that will put your business on top of the search engine results page.

 

We think that’s a small price to pay for such a useful piece of software, but if you would like to remove the link, please watch for our paid version coming soon.