ClickZ Doesn't Get RSS Metrics - How We Really Can Measure RSS

Even after all that's been written and explained, even reputable online marketing publications such as ClickZ.com still don't get RSS metrics.

In an otherwise good RSS marketing article, Add RSS to Your Marketing Mix, Heidi Cohen has this to say about RSS metrics:

"From a marketing perspective, RSS's measurability is still evolving and therefore limited. You can't tell who has received your feeds as you can with e-mail."

Yes, RSS's measurability is still evolving and probably will evolve beyond e-mail metrics. In some ways it already has ...

And it's also true that you can't tell who has received your feeds ... if you're using the most established RSS approaches and just the basic technologies.

However, once you connect your feeds with your existing user databases, you can in fact go beyond what e-mail metrics offer.

Here are some possibilities ...

a] Use the "unique feed URL" approach, where each subscriber receives a feed with a unique identifier, based on which you can track precisely what feeds are being requested ... namely what annonymous user is requesting what feed.

b] If you'd like to integrate annonymous feed subscriber data with named (registered) user data, you can easily provide feeds only upon registration or only to logged-in users, and actually connect each unique feed URL with a named user. Especially if you provide feed customization this won't be a problem at all. Once you've integrated this data you can measure every and any iteraction your user has with your feed.

c] If you don't want to force your visitors to register in order to subscribe to your feed, you can still use the unique feed URL approach, which you connect with a user session, cookie or other identifiable information. Once your RSS feed subscriber registers you can integrate the data you already collected based on existing feed interaction and website interaction with his new user account.

d] The other approach you can use is user authentication, where you limit access to your feeds with a username/password combination. If each unique users receives a unique combination, you can track everything based on this information.

There are other possibilities as well, and the actual implementation of those above is somewhat more complicated than it seems at first sight. It does for example also require a more complex internet marketing strategy. It does require using more complex tools than the simplest RSS publishing solutions available on the market. It does require integration with your user database and internet platform.

But the point is that it's not only theoretically possible, but also in praxis. And in fact simple for companies with their own advanced internet platforms.

Just a quick disclaimer ...

a] If your feed gets widely syndicated you can in fact lose view of who's receiving your feed, even if you're using unique feed URLs (you can of course measure this as well, by analyzing user agent data). Using the user authentication model solves this problem as well.

b] Even if your feed does get widely syndicated, that's still comparable to your e-mail messages being passed around by users. And if we take in to account that measuring open-rates is getting increasingly difficult due to users blocking images, e-mail metrics don't look that shiny anymore.

If you'd like to find out more about RSS metrics, simply start by reading our articles in the RSS Metrics section.

I'm also hoping that there'll soon come a time when responses like this will no longer be needed, because marketers will finally understand the power of RSS metrics.

Excellent piece. I read that ClickZ article this morning and was struck by the same line you quoted regarding tracking usage.

You wrote: "If you don't want to force your visitors to register in order to subscribe to your feed, you can still use the unique feed URL approach, which you connect with a user session, cookie or other identifiable information. Once your RSS feed subscriber registers you can integrate the data you already collected based on existing feed interaction and website interaction with his new user account."

Do you have any additional resources on implementation of this?

Thanks in advance for the infromatuion,

Natasha "That Girl From Marketing" Robinson

Posted by: Natasha Robinson at August 11, 2005 8:39 PM

Quick question: You mention (1) unique feed URLs (2) required registration and (3) password protected RSS urls as a means to track unique users.

My question is does this limit/impede susbscribtion to feeds through online services such as bloglines or My Yahoo!?

Posted by: Andrew Barnett at September 26, 2005 5:08 PM

Natasha, there are many methods of implementing this and it really depends on what you are currently using to manage your content and users?

Andrew, (1) and (2) make no difference, (3) unofrtunatelly does.

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