Free news sources for webmasters and beginners
Measuring and monitoring RSS, although a fairly simple idea, is really quite the opposite. Unlike websites, Feed has the added caveat of potential syndication, making accurate monitoring a challenge for anyone who isn’t tech-savvy.
It’s not unrealistic for marketers to want to know how many subscribers they have, which products in their feeds attract the most interest, or how many clicks occur as a result of the RSS feed.
You will find a number of third party companies that focus on tracking RSS feed input. Some options are rudimentary but most likely enough for a small business testing the waters with RSS. Other feed tracking solutions are more complicated and while they can be accurate, with syndication there is no answer that tracks with 100% accuracy.
Techniques used to monitor RSS ingestion
Small businesses can view web logs to provide information on how many times a particular file is requested (RSS feed). The records and information are rudimentary, but will give a fundamental idea of the achievement of the feeds. Many third party tracking options have additional tracking information available.
accommodation
The most common method of tracking the number of food accesses or people accessing a food access to is to use a third-party food service for the host. Companies like FeedBurner essentially track feeds based on hits. The downside to using a third party like Feedburner is that the URL is actually a FeedBurner URL and any PageRank or popularity associated with the URL will benefit the host of the feed rather than feed the creator. Also, no distinction is made between single views or syndicated feeds.
FeedBurner offers a free and easy service for hosting RSS feeds and they have been proactive in evading user concerns. Recently implementing a service that alleviates user concerns about migrating from FeedBurner. There is a three-step process for users interested in migrating from FeedBurner’s free service, implementing a long-term redirect and URL forwarding.
Some publishers, who were concerned about blocking or who wanted to retain control of the domain and feed URLs frequently, balk at a hosting service. The new FeedBurner Partner Pro plan is not free, but it allows users to access their own domain, retaining full control of their feeds without sacrificing statistical tracking.
The downside to using a host like FeedBurner is that some filtering applications used on corporate proxy servers block feeds residing on FeedBurner or other free hosts.
redirects
Companies like SyndicateIQ have much more complex monitoring options that generate unique URLs for each subscriber. The tracking benefits of such a custom solution are obvious. People’s routines can be monitored and any user who abuses their input and inappropriately distributes feed content can have their feed shut down. The downside, of course, is that the success of RSS is largely due to anonymity. Customers do not want their personal habits to be tracked.
Considering the interest of venture capital in these third party hosting services, it is essential to note that their value is in the information they collect. As with any third-party service, it goes without saying that publishers should study the privacy policy very carefully, be aware of who owns the rights to the information collected, and how that information may be used. It goes without saying how the value of many of the currently available free providers lies in their aggregate information.
Transparent images with distinctive names
Transparent 1×1 graphics with distinctive names can be added to the description field of an RSS feed. Users can use regular web logs to determine the number of times the image is viewed and calculate the number of times the source was accessed.
Businesses Specialized in Monitoring and Feed Metrics
Pheedo – Pheedo produces tools that allow individuals, organizations and corporations to promote, analyze and optimize their weblogs and content.
http://www.pheedo.com
FeedBurner: FeedBurner offers a full range of services to help you gain attention, track circulation, and implement revenue-generating apps within your meal(s).
http://www.feedburner.com
Each individual uses the Feed Requirements to choose the scope and importance of the analytics they need. Realizing that any system they employ is not going to be perfect.