Long have I been proclaiming effectiveness of RSS as a communications channel for non personal communications over that of email. The protection and anonymity that RSS can offer over email means that it is fast becoming preferred medium for many users. It seems visitors to your site now put more trust in RSS as they are five times more likely to subscribe to an RSS feed as they are to equivalent information via email.

A recent article from Rok Hrastnik at Marketing Studies shows that there is greater trust in RSS over email as well as RSS being more effective at attracting visitors back to your site. Over a 48 hour period it was shown that average CTR from feed to site was 23 percent. That means that nearly a quarter of readers of your RSS message click through back to your main site.

Rok's report also shows that there is a 6.8 percent average CTR from a content item in your feed to web page that content item points to. Better still is results that show a 150 percent CTR from your feed to site within a 30 day period. That means on average each subscriber of your RSS feed clicks through to your site one and a half times each month.

The more time people spend at your web site, more time you'll have to persuade them to buy your product or service. Below are ten powerful ways to keep visitors at your web site longer.

1. Provide your web site visitors with content they can't read anywhere else. People will stay longer at your web site to read original content.

2. Remind your web site visitors they can print out your content. They may browse around your online store while it's printing.

3. Offer your web site visitors a freebie if they take time to fill out your online survey. They'll be at site longer and might buy something afterwards.

4. Offer your visitors free software that they can download right from your web site. While they are waiting they might read your ad.