The famous orange button

Marketers, pay attentin to this: only 4% of total RSS end-users actually use the orange XML button, and only 38% of RSS aware users use it. It seems the orange button isn't dead ... it was never alive.

Let's move on and replace it with something more user-friendly. And BTW - 22% of the people that clicked on the button don't even know what action they took after clicking the button and 26% left the site. Goes to show the RSS button is only losing us subscribers.

How users find their feeds

50% use the defaults available in the RSS reader and only 13% use the search engines to find them. Yes, it's cruical to be in the RSS feed search engines, but it would be even better if you could move your way to the default seetings. And by all means, actively promote the feeds on your site as end-users, according to the report, actively tend to subscribe to the feeds on the sites they find interesting.

Conclusion

To conclude this, here's a direct quote from the report, saying exactly what I've been trying to get through for a couple of months: "To position RSS among mainstream Internet users, it is essential to effectively communicate the benefits of RSS (ease, convenience, access to information of interest).

Internet users do not understand how to use the XML button, how to actively seek out RSS feeds, or even what the term RSS means. Instead, they need a simple interface where they can choose the information and content that interests them. This is where personalized start pages and browser-based experiences can help move RSS into the mainstream."

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Written by: Myspace

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