Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is the best way to spread a blog across the Internet, reaching thousands of update services and search engines when properly configured. WordPress comes with a single pre-configured service (Ping-O-Matic) which is supposed to be the only resource you need to ping.

However, you can optimize your WP ping system by removing such service by manually adding the update services you want to access. One advantage of Ping-O-Matic is that it reaches the most common web feed services, but sticking to it also has drawbacks. For example, your blog may not be linked to certain channels, or if delivery fails, your updates will not be delivered to services, which are down or out of capacity.

Manually configuring update services allows you to gain control over where your content will be included, whether you submit full or summarized text, removing services unrelated to your niche or target audience. On the other hand, do you need Ping-O-Matic to deliver updates to a Tibetan update service? You probably won’t at all, so learn more about what services you currently feed to using WordPress’ default settings.

Now zoom out of the feed settings area and note that RSS not only provides updates for content, but also includes other metadata that is sent along the way. Such data includes the page title for each post, the description (if available), and the keywords or tags associated with each article, post, or even images that are posted from your blog library.

Adding this information to your content allows updating services for a better ranking of your blog, which translates into better positioning in their local listings. Fortunately, there are plenty of plugins out there to enhance any WordPress feature, and adding Meta information is essential to optimizing your feeds. Other plugins add additional capabilities, such as including the content of published pages in the RSS list.

WordPress pings every time a new blog post is published, but never for existing or newly created pages, unless you have activated a plugin to add this functionality. However, optimizing RSS feeds is not just about pinging, it’s also about preventing it. Every time you update old posts or rewrite a post, WordPress sends out a ping which can raise a spam flag on the update services. Therefore, make sure you have also configured a plugin to disable post-update sending unless it is absolutely necessary to resend such information.