FAQ RSS feeds - Europe Forum News

Is RSS Only Available Through a Computer?

Added Tue, 13 May 2008 09:00:00 -0400
Are RSS feeds only accessible through a computer?

No, many mobile devices all support RSS feeds.

How Do you Track a Feeds Popularity?

Added Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:00:00 -0500
How Do you Monitor and Track a Feeds Popularity?

There are a number of ways to track an RSS feeds popularity. Unfortunately because of the nature of syndication the tracking is not always reliable or accurate. Use the followng to track the consumption of RSS feeds.

1. Tracking URLs
2. Transparent Gif
3. Web logs
4. 3rd Party Services (like FeedBurner, Pheedo, FeedCraft, MeasureMap, SiteMeter)
5. Use Unique URLs

The best tracking will result when a combination of tracking methods are employed. More information on tracking RSS feeds]]>

Is There any Free Way to Create RSS Feeds?

Added Wed, 2 Jan 2008 09:00:00 -0500
Is There any Free Way to Create RSS Feeds?

While it might be difficult to locate rss software free of charge, you can always hand create an RSS feed. There is a step by step tutorial at Make RSS Feeds that will walk you through the process of hand creating RSS feeds.

If you find the process cumbersome you may need to buy software that will handle all the encoding for you. Often the time saved by using the software, the software will quickly pay for itself.

What is a FeedMix

Added Wed, 26 Dec 2007 09:00:00 -0500
What is a Feed Mix?

A feedmix is simply a fancy way of saying that multiple feeds are merged into one feed. Often similar feeds will contain duplicate feed items, so its helpful that inconjunction with merging the RSS feeds you also filter the feeds to avoid duplicate content. There are a number of scripts in the RSS Scripts Directory that will make the process easier. Take a look at RSSmesh and RSSfilter.]]>

Can You Restrict Feed Syndication?

Added Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:00:00 -0500
Can You Restrict RSS Feed Syndication?

That is a tricky question. Legally you can restrict the use of your RSS feed BUT enforcing the restriction can be very difficult if not impossible.

The Copyright Debate and RSS

How Do You Promote RSS Feeds?

Added Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:00:00 -0500
How Do You Promote RSS Feeds?

Many companies now struggle with RSS feed promotion. Use these tips to improve the consumption of your RSS feeds.

1. Make it easy to subscribe.
2. Submit feeds to popular RSS search engines using tools like RSS Submit.
3. Optimize the feed using standard SEO techniques.
4. Promote in newsletters, email signatures, and forums.
5. Include a badge on the website.
6. Use autodiscovery.

Read this detailed article for additional tips to promoting an RSS feed -

Steps to Creating and Promoting RSS Feeds  
Publicize Your RSS Feeds]]>

How Many RSS Feeds Should a Website Have?

Added Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:00:00 -0500
How Many RSS Feeds Should a Website Have?

Good question, it depends. RSS feeds should be segmented into categories and information sources. For example you might have an RSS feed for a forum, a blog, a newsletter, if you sell various products you might have different feeds for each product or product line. Additionally you might have support feeds or a FAQ feed for each product or product family.

Webmasters might also group feed discounts or coupon deals, offers, press releases, or job postings. Bottom line be createive use RSS feeds for all aspects of communication, but match the theme of each feed so that all the content in a feed is related.

How Do I Make My Feed Be AutoDiscovered?

Added Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:00:00 -0400
What do I do so that RSS readers know I have an RSS feed?

You can include auto-discovery code in the header of your HTML web page. Use this online tool to create auto-discovery code for you, then simply paste the code into the header of your HTML web page.

How is RSS Being Used in Specific Industries?

Added Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:00:00 -0400
Everyone talks about RSS being a success but how is it being adopted in niche markets?

Vertical markets have taken to RSS and a number are embracing the technology to increase their profitability and productivity. We recently analyzed how lawyers are using RSS, how educators are using RSS and will continue the series with additional articles about how RSS is used in niche markets.

Can I Put Feeds in a Database?

Added Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:00:00 -0400
I would like to create a searchable archive of RSS feeds. Can I pull RSS feeds into a database?

Yes! You can use RSS2SQL which will easily create SQL databases from RSS feeds. The script currently supports the conversion of RSS feeds to MySQL databases. When using RSS2SQL script the publisher has complete control over the content in the resulting database. Administrators and publishers control which RSS feed fields are used in the database, giving them the flexibility to determine what data is inserted into the database.

Can I Post Political Feeds?

Added Thu, 10 May 2007 09:00:00 -0400
Where can I find political feeds? I want to display them on my political website.

You can search the directory for Political Feeds , you should check permissions prior to displaying the contents of the political feeds.

Can You Use Javascript to Display RSS Feeds?

Added Tue, 8 May 2007 09:00:00 -0400
Can you use javascript to display the contents of an RSS feed on a website?

Yes, BUT if you use javascript to display the RSS feed the contents of the RSS feed will not be visible to the search engines, meaning that the search engines will be unable to spider the contents of the RSS feed, and there will be no search engine benefit to displaying the feed. A better option is to use rss2html a PHP script to display the feed. This article details a number of different of options for displaying RSS feeds. The article discusses the pros and cons to the various options.

Can You Filter Multiple Feeds?

Added Thu, 3 May 2007 09:00:00 -0400
Is there any way to filter a bunch of feeds and merge them into a single feed, removing duplicate items?

Yes, you can use RSSmesh in conjunction with RSSFilter to dyncamically merge and filter RSS feeds based on rules.

How Can RSS Help Search Engine Ranking?

Added Tue, 1 May 2007 09:00:00 -0400
How Can RSS Feeds Be Used for Search Engine Optimization?

Just as optimizing an HTML web page will increase exposure, so too will an RSS feed that is properly optimized and promoted. Use these simple tips to improve your web feed exposure.  There are a number of different things that you can do to use RSS feeds to improve your search engine ranking. This article will cut to the facts: RSS Feed Tips to Help Search Engine Optimization

Where Do I Promote Educational Feeds?

Added Tue, 24 Apr 2007 09:00:00 -0400
We are a University and have a number of RSS feeds for our courses can you provide me suggestions about how and where we can promote the feeds?

Yes! You should promote the feeds through normal communication channels with your audience (that might mean email, newsletter, website, autodiscovery code) and you can also promote them through some directories specific for educational feeds and podcasts:

educational feeds and podcasts
educational podcast network

Additional information on feed promotion can be found in Publicize Your RSS Feed. You may also want to use this free tool to create your RSS auto discovery code.]]>

Can I Create a Database from My RSS Feed?

Added Thu, 1 Mar 2007 09:00:00 -0500
Is there any way to create a database from my RSS feed?

Yes, you can use the rss2sql script to populate a database from an RSS feed. When using RSS2SQL script the publisher has complete control over the content in the resulting database. Administrators and publishers control which RSS feed fields are used in the database, giving them the flexibility to determine what data is inserted into the database.

Where Can I Get Ideas for My Posts?

Added Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:00:00 -0500
I have been blogging for about a year but am running out of ideas of what to write about! Any ideas on where I can find ideas for writing?

You are not alone, many bloggers find themselves in search of content for regular postings. The best blogs and feeds are those that contain unique, fresh, compelling, content. Not surprisingly, ideas for blog posts or RSS feed items originate or are influenced by other web content.

Where to Get Ideas for RSS Feeds and Blog Posts

Should a Feed be .rss or xml?

Added Mon, 12 Feb 2007 09:00:00 -0500
Should I save my file as .rss or .xml? What is the difference?

If you are using software to create your RSS feed, FeedForAll will support both .rss or .xml. However, .xml is more widely used and probably the better choice.

What is the Difference Between Link and Url in the Image?

Added Fri, 9 Feb 2007 09:00:00 -0500
What is the difference between the link tag and the URL tag under images?

The link tag is the web address of a web page that has the information that relates to the RSS feed contents. In most cases the link should be same as the link in feed channel. The URL is the web address of the actual image. The URL of the image should not be the path to the image on your local drive but the URL of the image on the Internet.

How Can I Get Feeds to Load Faster?

Added Wed, 7 Feb 2007 09:00:00 -0500
I am using RSS2HTML to display RSS feeds, but as the feeds size grows it appears slower. Is there anything I can do to speed up the feeds display time?

Yes, the rss2html Cache module can be used by users of the rss2html.php script and will increase the display time of RSS feeds. The rss2html Cache module reduces bandwith and speeds up the process of displaying RSS feeds as html web pages.

What is the MIME Type for HTML?

Added Fri, 2 Feb 2007 09:00:00 -0500
What is the MIME Type for HTML?

The MIME type for HTML is "text/html". The latest version of FeedForAll auto detects the appropriate MIME type, but if you prefer you can refer to the Directory of MIME Types.

Can I Create Headlines and A Separate Web Page for Every Feed Item?

Added Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0500
I want to create a web page of headlines, and then individual web pages for each item in my RSS feed. Is there any easy way to dynamically do this?  

Yes, you can use the RSS2HTML Pro script. The RSS2HTML Pro add on script expands the functionality of RSS2HTML by allowing publishers and webmasters to dynamically create an index of feed items. The RSS2HTML Pro script dynamically generates a separate web page for each item contained in the RSS feed. The script also creates an index of feed items as a separate web page.

As with the RSS2HTML script the web pages dynamically update as the feed's item changes, meaning that the information displayed is always current. Additionally the contents of the web pages is able to be spidered by search engines.

Can I Prepublish the Contents of My RSS Feed?

Added Mon, 29 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0500
I am going on vacation, and wish to put items in my RSS feed prior to leaving. What do you suggest?

You can use FutureRSS to automatically delay the publication of Items in an RSS feed. This allows Items in a RSS feed to be created ahead of time, and then slowly released over a period of time. Many people have tried to set the PubDate field on their RSS feed Items to a future date and time, in an attempt to have that particular item become 'visible' to their feed's subscribers on that particular date and time. Unfortunately, they will soon find out that many RSS readers and aggregators don't honor future PubDates, and immediately show all their feed's items. The future-rss.php script 'hides' the future items from RSS feed readers and aggregators, until their PubDate becomes current.

What is the Most Popular Version of RSS?

Added Fri, 26 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0500
What is the most popular version of RSS?

The most popular version of RSS is version 2.0. This specification is held at the Berkman Center at Harvard University. As per the website:

RSS 2.0 is offered by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School under the terms of the Attribution/Share Alike Creative Commons license. The author of this document is Dave Winer, founder of UserLand software, and fellow at Berkman Center.
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What is the Dublin Core Namespace?

Added Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:00:00 -0500
What is the Dublin Core namespace?

The Dublin Core namespace  allows for meta data to be associated with content contained in an RSS feed. Additional details on the Dublin Core or the DC extension.