Even though the idea of measuring and tracking RSS seems simple, it is anything but. RSS, unlike websites, can be shared with other people, which makes accurate tracking hard for anyone but the most tech-savvy people.
Marketers are not crazy for wanting to know how many subscribers they have, which items in their feeds get the most attention, and how many click-throughs an RSS feed generates.
There are a number of third-party providers whose main job is to keep track of how RSS feeds are used. Some solutions are simple, but they should be enough for a small business to try out RSS. Other RSS tracking solutions are more complicated. They can get close to being accurate, but there is no tracking solution that is 100 per cent accurate for syndication.
Methods Used to Keep Track of RSS Use
Small businesses can look at weblogs to find out how often a certain file (RSS feed) is asked for. The logs and information are simple, but they will give you an idea of how well your feed is doing. There is more tracking information available through many third-party tracking services.
Hosting
Most of the time, a third-party feed host is used to keep track of how many times a feed is accessed or how many people access it. Companies like FeedBurner track feeds based on how many times they are accessed. The problem with using a third party like Feedburner is that the URL is a Feedburner URL, and any PageRank or popularity associated with the URL will help the feed host, not the feed creator. Also, there is no difference between unique views and syndicated feeds.
Some publishers don't want to use a hosting service because they are worried about being locked in or because they want to keep control of their domain and feed URLs. The new FeedBurner Partner Pro programme is not free, but it lets users point to their own domain and keep full control of their feeds without giving up tracking statistics.
The problem with using a service like FeedBurner is that some filtering programmes used on corporate proxy servers block feeds that are hosted on FeedBurner or other free hosts.
Redirects
Companies like SyndicateIQ have more complicated tracking systems that give each subscriber a unique URL. The tracking benefits of a solution like this are clear. Users' habits can be tracked, and if a user abuses their access and shares a feed's content without permission, their feed can be turned off. The fact that RSS is so popular in part because it is anonymous is, of course, a bad thing. Users don't want their private actions to be watched.
Taking into account the interest of venture capital in these third-party hosting services. It's important to remember that the data they collect is what gives them value. As with any third-party service, publishers should carefully read the privacy policy and know who owns the rights to the information they collect and how it might be used. It goes without saying that the value of many of the free services available right now comes from the data they collect.
Uniquely Named Transparent Images
In the description field of an RSS feed, you can add transparent 1x1 graphics with names that are unique to that feed. Users can look at standard web logs to find out how many times the image has been viewed and how many times the feed has been accessed.
Businesses that focus on tracking and RSS metrics
Pheedo makes tools that help people, businesses, and organisations promote, analyse, and improve their weblogs and other content.
