As a voracious RSS feed consumer, I have always been irked by the fact that a lot of FeedBurner enabled blog feeds have the title URL point to a FeedBurner URL instead of a link to the actual post.
If I wanted to bookmark the post or save the link to blog about it, I cannot do it by simply right-clicking. I have to open the post in a new tab/window to get the actual post link. Or I could hunt the bottom of the post to see if the feed has a Permalink to the post.
Recently, I came across this tip in gHacks where you can turn off FeedBurner redirect and make your post title link directly to your post URL.
Here is how you do it:
- Login to your FeedBurner account
- Choose the feed you want to edit
- Under the Analyze tab, click on the ‘FeedBurner StatsPRO’ at the very bottom of the sidebar. (FeedBurner PRO was made free after Google acquired it)
- Uncheck ‘Item Link Clicks’ shown in the screenshot and save it.
After I made this change, all my feed titles now have direct link to my posts. I am going to lose the stats related to this. But right now, making it easy for my readers and fellow bloggers to use my posts is more important to me than those stats.
Also, a FeedBurner plugin such as Better Feed WordPress plugin provide a Permalink to your post and other powerful options to personalize the look of your feed. You have probably noticed how mine looks with this plugin enabled.
It is still quite natural to click the title of the post in the feed to get the link. I wouldn’t have found this if it weren’t for the gHacks post. So, hats off to them!
Does your blog feed has this FeedBurner redirect in post titles? Now, you too can make it easy for me to link to your posts.
Updated 8/13/2008
Are you losing link love from DoFollow + CommentLuv blogs? Read this excellent post from Stephen Cronin, the creator of KeywordLuv plugin who explains quite eloquently (look towards the end of the post) why you shouldn’t let your CommentLuv be stolen away.
if you are curious about what CommentLuv & keyWordLuv mean, read one of the most commented posts in this blog – Get CommentLuv and KeywordLuv for your comments
Updated 12/17/2008
It’s still amazing how many bloggers still have this turned on. I hate it when I have to open the post in another tab in my browser from Google reader just to link to it. Being an active Twitter user, this is just frustrating. If you feel like I do, spread the word and lets get everyone turn this off.
This is something I’ve done in my feed reader (GreatNews).
I guess it would make more sense to make the adjustment on my Feedburner account though ๐
Kyle.. that’s not a bad idea, eh? ..to grab the original feed in the first place. But, would it work if a blog uses plugins like Feedsmith to redirect it to Feedburner? Or is there another way to change that in GreatNews? I think it will definitely make it easier for others to grab your link and sped link or whatever they do with it. Less clicks to get it, more love for you. :grin:Between, our little bet is coming up this weekend. Are you ready to do a guest post on mine? ๐
K, Thanks, I’ve turned mine off. Now let me tell you why this is FANTASTIC for me:
When I’m reading feeds, I sometimes want to go to someone’s site to leave a comment. As you know I live in China. Unfortunately FeedBurner links are blocked here. That means, if someone has the FeedBurner link, I can’t get to their site simply by clicking the link. Instead I have to go to their site and try and find the post manually. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it’s annoying and there have been times when I’ve chosen not to bother with the comment.
That only affects me (or other people in China), but your point above about bookmarking or linking to a site, affects everyone. Why make it harder for people to blog about you?
If people really want the stats, fine, but I suspect most people have this on by default. Stumbled… And I’ll be posting about this.
Other notes: Google Reader still show the feedburner links for your site before October 2. I guess GR is cached and it will continue to use the old links for the past. But still this is great.
Stephen, you are very welcome. I remember your comments about FeedBurner being blocked in China but it didn’t occur to me when I was writing this. Yes, until I came across that tip, I had no idea this was a feature that can be turned off. The setting is well hidden and is not obvous even when you are looking at it.
I can only imagine your frustration to jump through hoops to comment but now that I know it means so much more that comment here so frequently besides the obstacles.
Appreciate the Stumble! ๐ I think I have added you as my friend there.. in case I haven’t what is your SU login?
Nice post. Even i used to open each post separately in the browser when the actual address was not displayed. Now it is solved. Will save me a lot of time.
Madhur.. glad you found it useful! Definitely a huge time saver for me too. Sometimes, it’s crazy how a simple thing like this could be a huge time saver. ๐
Hi K,
You’re right about that setting being hidden and no obvious. I have it on my list to post about your post, but it will probably be next week now before it appears.
The stumble was well deserved. Maurice (The Cayman Host) beat me to it by 13 hours. My address is http://stephencronin.stumbleupon.com/
Stephen.. got you in my friends’ list! Just ping me from the toolbar if you are ever looking for some stumble love. ๐
K, Got you now… Likewise with the stumble love…
thanks for the link
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Ah ha! Thanks for the key! Now my CommentLuv will work correctly. Cheers.
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thanks for ur tips. i was remove my feed redirect.
chodirins last blog post..Blog saya sekarang DoFollow
Thanks for sharing this tip. I sincerely appreciate it! Thanks!
Thanks for the tip.
Davids last blog post..Fun new project
You are very welcome, David. I think it really helps out to link to someone while reading via RSS reader.
Many thanks for the advice, I have switched mine off as I feel a direct like might be better for SEO.
I’ve only just changed mine over – I don’t know how long that Feedburner option has been there, but it’s taken me 15 months since starting my blog to change it over!
Cheers!
Zaths last blog post..Free Tesco Mobile Sim Card
I came to your post from another blog which highlighted the problem with the Feedburner redirects. Finding this has saved me time and will, hopefully, improve the readership on my site, so your post is very much appreciated. Thanks!
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Cool… I didn’t knew I could switch this off so a big thnx!!:D
BioTecKs last blog post..PC VS Mac: Part 1
BioTeck, you are very welcome. Hope you spread the word as I really would love to see everyone doing it.
I never thought of this nice tip thank you a lot. I applied this to my feed and seems to be working. Wonder how many redirected links I have around from participating in fellow bloggers blogs that have comment luv but are pointing to my feed.
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Hi Archie, it warms my heart anytime someone comes across this tip and turns it off. So thanks a lot to you for taking the time to comment to let me know. I posted this before CommentLuv plugin was popular but it has become a very nice side effect for those using it. ๐ Have a great day.
Gracias por el dato, excelente soluciรณn, lo andaba buscando y no me habรญa percatado de eso.
Saludos ๐
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I have a WordPress blog and continue to host my own feeds so I have total control. Not sure how much benefit I’m losing from not being able to track my feed subscribers, though.
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Thanks for the information, I was wondering why when I’d left comments on CommentLuv sites they had pointed to feedburner. And then I came across this post – synchronicity in action!
Thanks again, Jon
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This is a very cool recommendation, I really appreciate the tips I get by following great blogs like yours,
I will ad your feen to my Thunderbird
Have a great day
Richard
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I am going to do it now:)
Didn’t impress me. I will continue with the same after this article too!
Will try soon
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What’s dangerous in trying:p
great tip. doing this right now after im done commenting. thanks admin
pepe.. thanks!
Louise.. Feedburner offers a few neat options but I hardly spend much time there each month.
John.. glad you found it useful and found it at a time you were thinking about it.
Richard, you are very welcome. Comments like yours make my day and motivate me to share more things with you. ๐
Dueces.. hope you are enjoying the fruits of it now.
C. Laeuse.. it’s definitely up to you! ๐
cheap jordans.. great!
great tip! stumbled
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Matthew, great to see you man! I just updated the post with a couple of cool links to posts that highly relate to this tip as well as how it could help you leverage CommentLuv + DoFolloow goodness. Appreciate the stumble. ๐
Have now unchecked the ‘Item link Clicks’ in Feedburner. Thanks for the article.
Gary, now enjoy the power of making it easy for others to link to you. ๐
Will try this method definitely
It’s a great new thing:)
Wow, I never even knew this existed. Who knows how many people have wanted to link to me and were not able to, I know I wouldn’t go through all the extra hassle. Thanks so much for poting this
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Great idea
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Good Stuff
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Very nice post, mate. Thanks a lot. I bookmark it!
This is a great tip and is very appreciated.
Best wishes!