Is an RSS feed using site a scraper?

yes I guess, - but are RSS results considered content?

[Sobriquet]

With Google now opening RSS feeds and also, so many RSS feeds available, Auto news fetching is the game of the day for most.

I recently noticed an automated ( scraper ) using an RSS to get content, ( no other content ).

Now, is RSS results considered as valid content ( technically and TOS ) by AdSense?

Also, what do you all think - Is an RSS feed using site a scraper?

[WallyWorld]

I think RSS feeds aren't read by the search engines. I may be wrong but you need to use something like Carp to turn it into static content.

[Sobriquet]

I also think you are right. Search engines try to use real content.

can anyone here, who has used RSS throw some light on this?

[howiejs]

You can re-write the RSS on to a plain old html page . .

If you are providing a service - aggregating content into a spot that a user may not have seen before - and that meets their goal - it is valid

[jo1ene]

no other content

This is the real issue. What's the big deal including a few teasers to other relevant websites of interest on *a* page of your website?

[Sobriquet]

You can re-write the RSS on to a plain old html page . .

How? are u mentioning an automated process? or you mean copy and paste? Please explain.

[wackybrit]

Sobriquet: Google 'feed digest' and you'll see what he might be talking about. There are services where you can include RSS feeds in pages using PHP etc. I have also seen some dedicated scripts which you can download and edit to do this.

[jonathanleger]

The search engines read whatever you show them on the page. If you incorporate the RSS feed in PHP or an include and not using javascript, they will get read.

[Sobriquet]

Is such a feed incorporated by PHP is a symptom of being a scraper? ( as applied to adsense )

Are you people using such a thing? is it ok?

[asp4bunnies]

It all depends on what you are doing with the content. A good example of a site that is certainly legal is Topix.net.

They are using RSS gathering and custom spidering to bring news articles into topical categories and display google ads along side them.

[john_k]

How? are u mentioning an automated process? or you mean copy and paste? Please explain.

As wackybrit said, you just consume the feed at the server and render the results into the html that is sent to the browser. Example:

You use your browser to view page 1 on site A. Page 1 is a PHP or ASP page. When the script in Page 1 executes, it fetches the RSS feed from site B. It transforms the results into a block of HTML that it places within the other content on the page. Then it returns the full set of HTML to your browser. Your browser has no idea that an RSS feed was ever used. And neither would any spider/indexing mechanism.

In fact, from the perspective of the server hosting the RSS feed (Site B above), this is preferred when the feed only updates once or twice a day. That is because the consuming server (Site A from above) can cache the feed, thereby significantly reducing the impact on the Site B server.

[Sobriquet]

Thank for the update .

I was able to integrate RSS feeds in my site using php.

Now, one issue with Google RSS.

Google RSS TOS says that it can be used for non commercial purpose. Is using a Google RSS in an AdSense site a commercial purpose?

[VKworld]

I don't know a specific answer to your question, but there are programs out there that do the RSS to HTML thing.

I'm on several internet marketing mailing lists that brought my attention to 4 such programs. I'm assuming then that means there are a lot of programs out there that convert RSS to HTML.

As to the copyright/TOS of the original creators of the content, I really don't know - but I figure, if they're syndicating their writing, it's alright, isn't it? Don't they WANT their articles "out there?"

[Iguana]

The question is, if a site has no other content apart from that provided by third party RSS feeds, is it considered a scraper by Google and Adsense?

I'm currently building a site with no original content. I have read the TOS and guidelines for Adsense and I can find nothing that bans me from putting Adsense on it. So, I don't think Adsense cares if you're a scraper or not as long as you adhere to their rules.

[howiejs]

Is such a feed incorporated by PHP is a symptom of being a scraper? ( as applied to adsense )

I don't think so -- look at Yahoo News, Google News etc - they are aggregating feeds - Topix was a great example - putting them into categories.

[Gargen]

yea they are read i added a ticker to the top of my page ive been getting tons of hits from terms only used in the feeds

[Iguana]

Only part of the Program Policies I can see that might possibly relate to a scraper site (or RSS based site):

No Google ad may be placed on pages published specifically for the purpose of showing ads, whether or not the page content is relevant.

But that is a very vague and difficult to interpret.

[wackybrit]

For me it all comes down to intent. I have directly included titles and links from RSS feeds (with the link going direct to the feed item on the remote sites) on sites before, but only as a valid resource for users, and not for more "Google juice".

If you're just going to throw up thousands of pages driven by other people's feeds and content with no real utility for your users, then that's a different intent entirely.

[Iguana]

But original content is not required by Adsense. I think people have begun to assume that all scraper sites are banned by Adsense. I can't see how a site that doesn't breach copyright (by using just snippets or RSS) breaks any Adsense rules.

So you are allowed produce a site with just RSS feeds. Unlikely to be a site that will be linked to by any other sites but your own and probably not a great site for users - but you won't be banned from Adsense or Google for it.

[mikeh100]

I have used an RSS feed on my site for ages now. I convert it using carp so that it appears embedded in the code of my pages.

I provide the information as a service to my clients with little thought as to whether it would help me rank higher or generate higher AdSense earnings.

This is on my company's mortgage broking website to display facutal news stories relating to my niche.

I dont see my site as a scraper site because of this.