Simple Amazon RSS feed links

Amazon associates have easy, but limited, options for adding RSS feeds to their web sites:

1. Several Amazon categories
2. Feed URLs from customer tags newly assigned to product ASINs

Those who use the Product Advertising API have more ways to access data and create custom RSS feeds. There are tons of websites that offer Amazon feed generators based on the API, but I suspect that they add their own AssociateID to the feed URLs or get some revenue from acting as the aggregator. Caution is advised.

Note that the popular Gold Box feed of Daily Deals no longer works with an appended Associate ID. Consider using the Daily Deals widget, which provides the same functionality. If you must have the Gold Box feed, it works with the API or a Yahoo Pipe.

Adding feed links to your site is no different than adding other links. You could add a feed URL to your web page as a text link and as an image link, using the standard RSS feed icon or search Google to find alternative icons. Both types of links may be used together, as here:

Amazon Bestsellers

To add RSS feed LINKS to your blogger template, open the Layout tab and select Page Elements. Click "Add a gadget" in your sidebar and select HTML/Javascript from the list of gadget options. Paste the link, and change any ampersands (&) to & and save it. You will need to drag the gadget where you want it to appear in the sidebar, preview, and save the layout change.

Adding RSS feed CONTENT to your blogger template is the same as adding links except that you should choose RSS from the gadget options.

RSS (or Atom) feeds usually consist of news items or other frequently updated information written as XML text files in a standard format. These days, most people would say that "RSS" stands for "Really Simple Syndication", referring to its purpose of syndicating or sharing news.

The XML files are often generated from database queries and reside on the server that offers the RSS feeds. An individual can also type a simple XML feed file in notepad and store it on a web server.

The RSS XML files use standard markup that can be formatted for readability by programs called "feed readers." A raw XML feed is just code and not very pleasant to read. It would be like trying to read a web page by viewing the source.

RSS feeds are proactive, in that a person chooses to subscribe to feeds of interest, and must have a way to read current news feeds using a feed reader. Before browsers had built-in feed readers, or Google Reader existed, a subscriber had to have a desktop feed reader program, access to a web-based service, such as Newsgator or Bloglines, or a hybrid, like Pluck.

These services (or even desktop programs) are called aggregators because they gather RSS news items from servers by visiting feed URLs to check for new items, usually at regular intervals throughout the day. Individuals can check for feed updates in their feedreader programs or by opening the web address of the feed in their browser.

Feeds can also be received as e-mail messages using a service like Feedburner.