Part 2 - Improve your RSS Feeds syntax - SEO Tip

After yesterdays thrilling visual guide installment of how to correctly script your RSS Feed so that it validates across as many readers as possible, here's part 2 as promised.

Yesterday, we looked at the correct syntax for each individual item. Today we look at the 'header' and 'footer' script to complete your RSS .xml file.

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
<channel>


<title>Fabulous Photo Gifts - News and Information service including Purple 13 artwork news</title>
<link>http://www.fabulousphotogifts.co.uk</link>
<description>Fabulous Photo Gifts - latest news, features and gossip from the gift giving world includes Purple 13 international art sales and SEO articles</description>
<language>en-us</language>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
<copyright>Copyright: (C) Fabulous Photo Gifts - Please contact Fabulous Photo Gifts for further information and use</copyright>
<managingEditor>jonathan@purple13.co.uk (Jonathan Crouch)</managingEditor>
<webMaster>jonathan@purple13.co.uk (Jonathan Crouch)</webMaster>
<atom:link href="http://www.purple13.co.uk/rss.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />

<item>
item here – see previous post (click here)
</item>

and at the bottom after the last 'item'
</channel>
</rss>

Remember to watch out for those pesky dates – they must follow the correct syntax e.g. Jan rather than January which is not correct. If you follow the script example above, you won't go far wrong.

You can always validate your feed after you've uploaded it to check you've done everything correctly.

Click here to validate your feed. validator.w3.org/feed/ W3C Validation service is free and offers useful correction tips rather than just telling you where you've gone wrong. Once your feed is validated, remember to keep it so.

Finally, don't forget to change the urls and text to reflect your own feed or site.

To subscribe to our own RSS Feed which often carries useful SEO tips (nothing we haven't tried ourselves!) and not miss a single tip, click here and our RSS Feed URL to your reader.

New to RSS? Click here to find out more about how to use RSS Feeds to promote your website or Blog.