One of the very first things I always do with a new blog is submit the feed to RSS directories. This is also called RSS Search Engine Marketing or RSSEM for short. These are not the same type of directories where you submit a regular site, such as a BANS site. RSS directories will be publishing your website information, your RSS feed and sometimes a snapshot of your home page.

I am going to explain why this method of promotion can and will be very powerful for you, but first I want to explain why submitting to RSS directories can fall into a somewhat gray area for some people. The reason is that there are people who scrape RSS feeds and post them to their own sites. Some people do not like this idea at all, but when looking at the bigger picture, do not let the people who might scrape your content bother you.

It is labeled content theft when someone does this and does not post a link back to your site. However, when they do leave a link to you, here is what you have to remember, you have placed your content into an RSS feed and in doing so, made it available for syndication. Almost the same as if you were submitting an article to article directories like EzineArticles or GoArticles, etc. You don’t have to like it, but that’s the way it is.

That being said, let me show you how submitting your RSS feed to RSS directories can be very powerful for your website.

First of all, when you submit and are accepted into a directory (some are instant), this is an automatic link back to your site and is the first step in your link building campaign. The bulk of these directories are constantly crawled by the search engines and the bots will be all over your site in a matter of hours, sometimes even minutes, and begin indexing your site.

Likewise, due to the age of some of the directories, many times your site will show up as a link in the directory for different keywords (from your feed) on the first page of Google results. What this means is that even if the site itself does not rank on the first page, it is possible your feed in one of the directories will. Visitors will click on the search engine result, be taken to the directory, which gives them the link to your site. You will be surprised how many visitors will arrive on your site from this alone. I will give you an example toward the end.

Believe it or not, many of the RSS directories are frequently visited by humans. If your content is interesting enough, you can get a lot of visitors to your site just by being listed in the proper category.

The last benefit to your site is the RSS content scrapers. I’m probably going to catch some heat for saying that, but it’s true. The majority of these people will leave the link back to your site intact which gives you a backlink that you did not have to ask for or even work for. Yes, most will be lower quality, but if there are enough people linking to you this way, it will work in your favor in Google’s eyes.

Think of it as I said above, it is like you have submitted an article to a directory and these people chose to reprint it on their site. Another thing to remember, Google will know that the content appeared on your site first. Don’t ask me how they know, but they do. And if you are worried about a duplicate content penalty, don’t. If anyone is going to be penalized for duplicate content with them, it will be the scraper sites.

Something else to note is that most scraper sites do not rank very well in the search engines and even if they do, it is usually only momentary. Most scraper sites are built for the short-term and when their rankings begin to fall, your site will still prevail. It will also be stronger and rank better than these sites due to the backlinks.

I will admit, there will still be those who will re-publish your content and not provide a link back. This is theft, but there is a way you can combat it. Try to see if you can link to any other post on your site in most of your posts. These people may remove the main link to your site, but in most cases will not take the time to remove the link in your content. Take advantage of this for deep links within your site.

Another way is to combat it is to use a plugin that puts a copyright notice in your feed. When most content scrapers see this, they will remove your feed.

My advice is to not worry so much about those who strip out your link. No, it’s not fair and yes, you’re going to be mad about it. However, the number of people who leave the link will outnumber these people and this is what makes it worth it.

The last thing to remember is that Google will not penalize you for the sites linking to you. Google realizes this is something you basically have no control over. In my opinion, when all is said and done, the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Create a Website Maintenance Plan to Boost Your Business Internet Exposure and Sales

Like everything, nothing stands still. It is either moving forward or slowly disintegrating. Your website is being constantly refreshed and improved, or it is losing ground and becoming ineffective. A quality website maintenance plan will keep your website functioning at peak levels 24/7.

How is this Accomplished?

Several key areas of your website maintenance plan are addressed. These areas are crucial because they not only keep information up-to-date they improve functionality and search engine positioning. Some key maintenance plan factors include:

Keyword Density Monitoring – Did you know that using too many or too few specific words on a web page can have huge effects on how Google and Yahoo understand the content? This is a major factor if you want easy and free search engine placement.

Meta Tags Improvement – Meta tags are crucial for online success. They need constant modifications to work effectively. Website maintenance plans can keep your tags exactly where they ought to be.

Content Additions/Revisions – As your business grows and improves, the content on your web pages will constantly change according to new developments. But if the content isn’t updated properly it can seriously hurt many areas of your online presence.

Navigation Trouble-Shooting – Easy navigation is so overlooked. Surely you have seen websites that confused your mind because it bombarded you with too many choices all at once. The navigation structure of your site can make the difference between surfer frustration and surfer happiness.

Overuse of Flash and JavaScript – 10 years ago a blast of fancy web additions struck like a lightening bolt. Everyone (especially web designers) wanted web content to flash and move and perform circus acts. Today it is proven that too much glitter and flash means death for any serious business website.

Email Campaign Creation – An effective, down to earth email campaign can save huge amounts of time and promote your products while you sleep. There are very proven and specific ways to successfully go about it.

Webpage Composition Alterations – Some simple alterations on your web pages’ layout can make gigantic improvements on how your customers engage with the information.

Image Optimization – Don’t let huge photo and image files on your site slow your pages down. You only have 15 seconds to make a good impression.

Analyzing Website Statistics – Of all maintenance plans this is the most important part. Did you know that everything that happens on the Internet is 100% traceable? Paying close attention to your website’s statistics is imperative to create a truly forceful, successful online presence.

Article Writing Submissions – You don’t need to be a writer for the New York Times to write articles pertaining to your business or products and services. In fact, you are the only one who truly knows every detail about your business. You can easily learn how to write an effective article within 30 minutes.

Dead and Orphaned Links Check – Links that no longer have any connection to your website can harm your site’s structure and cause search engines to drastically penalize your site for this type of neglect – and some of these links can be hidden.

Link Popularity Creation – Stop wasting time linking your website to other websites that Google doesn’t value. There is a much better way to create useful links: Have VALUABLE websites link to YOUR website. Creating a high link popularity takes time and must be handled properly to work for you.

Grand River Webs Maintenance Plans start at $100 per month depending on the size and functionality level of your website.