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Blogging Tip: Turn off FeedBurner Redirect in RSS Feeds

Wed, Oct 31, 2007

Tech for Life

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.

Hello there, thanks for visiting and reading ShanKri-la. If you liked what you read, you could get free updates by RSS or by email. You could even follow me on Twitter or check out our Indian food blog or iPhone blog. See you soon!

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86 Comments For This Post

  1. 1
    Kyle Eslick Says:

    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 :D

  2. 2
    K Says:

    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? :wink:

  3. 3
    Stephen Cronin Says:

    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.

  4. 4
    K Says:

    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! :-) I think I have added you as my friend there.. in case I haven’t what is your SU login?

  5. 5
    Madhur Kapoor Says:

    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.

  6. 6
    K Says:

    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. :cool:

  7. 7
    Stephen Cronin Says:

    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/

  8. 8
    K-IntheHouse Says:

    Stephen.. got you in my friends’ list! Just ping me from the toolbar if you are ever looking for some stumble love. :-)

  9. 9
    Stephen Cronin Says:

    K, Got you now… Likewise with the stumble love…

  10. 10
    dexter Says:

    thanks for the link

    dexter’s last blog post..Link Love # 10 :Filipino SEOContest2008 Contenders and Other Good Stuff

  11. 11
    Jonathan Says:

    Ah ha! Thanks for the key! Now my CommentLuv will work correctly. Cheers.

    Jonathan’s last blog post..189 High Quality Backlinks in 30 Minutes! And Growing!

  12. 12
    chodirin Says:

    thanks for ur tips. i was remove my feed redirect.

    chodirins last blog post..Blog saya sekarang DoFollow

  13. 13
    Our Monmouth Says:

    Thanks for sharing this tip. I sincerely appreciate it! Thanks!

  14. 14
    David Says:

    Thanks for the tip.

    Davids last blog post..Fun new project

  15. 15
    K Says:

    You are very welcome, David. I think it really helps out to link to someone while reading via RSS reader.

  16. 16
    Vinny Says:

    Many thanks for the advice, I have switched mine off as I feel a direct like might be better for SEO.

  17. 17
    Zath Says:

    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

  18. 18
    Elpie@Mambo Tutorials Says:

    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!

    Elpies last blog post..Search Engine Spider View of Your Mambo Site

  19. 19
    BioTecK Says:

    Cool… I didn’t knew I could switch this off so a big thnx!!:D

    BioTecKs last blog post..PC VS Mac: Part 1

  20. 20
    K Says:

    BioTeck, you are very welcome. Hope you spread the word as I really would love to see everyone doing it.

  21. 21
    Archie Pennies Says:

    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.

    Archie Penniess last blog post..Which are the most profitable niches?

  22. 22
    K Says:

    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. :-) Have a great day.

  23. 23
    Pepe Says:

    Gracias por el dato, excelente solución, lo andaba buscando y no me había percatado de eso.

    Saludos :D
    Pepes last blog post..Guatemalteco muere electrocutado en Tamaulipas, México

  24. 24
    Louise@Crab Meat Recipes Says:

    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.

    Louises last blog post..Maryland Crab Cakes Recipe

  25. 25
    Jon@Beauty Salon Marketing Says:

    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

    Jons last blog post..How not to sell gift certificates… and secret shoppers

  26. 26
    Richard Says:

    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

    Richards last blog post..Get High Ranking Blog Links in Seconds

  27. 27
    Dueces Says:

    I am going to do it now:)

  28. 28
    C. Laeuse Says:

    Didn’t impress me. I will continue with the same after this article too!

  29. 29
    Sunil Ram Says:

    Will try soon

    Sunil Rams last blog post..Zenith Z42LC6DF / Z47LC6DF LCD HDTVs hit the FCC

  30. 30
    Dueces Says:

    What’s dangerous in trying:p

  31. 31
    cheap jordans Says:

    great tip. doing this right now after im done commenting. thanks admin

  32. 32
    K Says:

    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. :-)
    Dueces.. hope you are enjoying the fruits of it now.

    C. Laeuse.. it’s definitely up to you! :-)
    cheap jordans.. great!

  33. 33
    Matthew Says:

    great tip! stumbled

    Matthews last blog post..Blogging for Blood Cancer

  34. 34
    K Says:

    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. :-)

  35. 35
    Gary@bluray Says:

    Have now unchecked the ‘Item link Clicks’ in Feedburner. Thanks for the article.

  36. 36
    K Says:

    Gary, now enjoy the power of making it easy for others to link to you. :-)

  37. 37
    Ryan Says:

    Will try this method definitely

  38. 38
    Dawn Says:

    It’s a great new thing:)

  39. 39
    Sire Says:

    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

    Sires last blog post..Joining The Crazy Blogging For Money Train

  40. 40
    Tyrone Says:

    Great idea

    Tyrones last blog post..Theme Edits For Our Users

  41. 41
    Randel@TheWebpreneur.ca Says:

    Good Stuff

    Randels last blog post..Create your own YouTube in seconds - No Technical Skills Required!

  42. 42
    bungie Says:

    Very nice post, mate. Thanks a lot. I bookmark it!

  43. 43
    njmtb@NJ Mountain Bike Trails Says:

    This is a great tip and is very appreciated.

    Best wishes!

  44. 44
    Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Net Says:

    Just wandering.. You used to link at my post.. Why did you removed it , Just asking

    Dexter | Tech At Hand Dot Nets last blog post..An Event Which I Failed to Attend

  45. 45
    Invisaline Says:

    Sweet Thanks for the tip and walkthrough. I agree with you about the importance of directing my visitors rather than worrying about my stats. Thanks again and greetings from New Zealand

  46. 46
    Scott Says:

    Great tip. I hadn’t known how to do this, so this was a big help.

    Thanks.

  47. 47
    Einstein Says:

    Awesome. Thanks. I’m making the changes now!

  48. 48
    Mike @ Anti Scams Product Reviews Says:

    Thanks for the tips. this link juice is very important.

    Mikes last blog post..Vanish Acne in 3 Days!

  49. 49
    sskumar Says:

    I appreciate your posting. Let me try out this.

  50. 50
    kouji@haiku poems examples Says:

    thanks for this information. was rather annoyed to find that commentluv would link to feedburner, and not directly to my blog. :( am hoping this’ll fix that.

  51. 51
    pandu Says:

    I used commentluv and keywordluv on my blog but I didn’t turn this off yet. I’ll do it now. Thanks for this great tips.

    pandus last blog post..Keywords Tool Does Matter In Blogging

  52. 52
    ant Says:

    This is a great tip that I really hadnt thought about. Most people I have spoken with just turned comment luv on and that was it…

  53. 53
    Jerry @ Bluehost Hosting Review Says:

    Great tips. This will improve my blog’s user friendliness and in turn improve my blog readership indirectly.

    Jerrys last blog post..Bluehost Uptime Monitoring

  54. 54
    Steve@alternative music chart Says:

    Great tip, I hate redirecting links…

  55. 55
    Down For You Too? Says:

    Great tips of feed reader. I wish more people were aware of the power of RSS and how it can bring people back to a website!

  56. 56
    Rowing Machines Says:

    Awesome blogging tips.. and very nice comments as well. Thanks for providing such a quality article.

  57. 57
    Alec Satin Says:

    K,

    This solved a puzzle. THANK YOU.

    Alec

    Alec Satins last blog post..Redoubled Customer Focus and Project Management

  58. 58
    el products Says:

    Great work, such a crucial function often overlooked and forgotten about. Made a world of difference to my blog :) cheers.

  59. 59
    panama property Says:

    I don’t seem to have that on mine, what version are you using??

  60. 60
    Florist Supplies Says:

    lol dude its present in every version, its pretty easy to change that option. There is also a plugin (only for wordpress) that gives you alot of options to do with this feature.

  61. 61
    evening jewellery Says:

    Not all versions, the beta versions did not include this and i think it is only available in versions 1.1 and above. Anyway, its not exactly hard to find, its in the settings :S and you could just read the manual? :P

  62. 62
    Jens P. Berget Says:

    Thank you!

    Finally commentluv works. I have been posting comments all over and it just showed one of the posts I published several weeks ago.

    I used a wordpress plugin that redirected my feeds to feedburner. I turned it off, and now everything is perfect :-)
    Jens P. Bergets last blog post..The Pizza Delivery Guy

  63. 63
    Free sms to India Says:

    It give a bit strange feeling, but it all depends upon the taste of the user.

    Thanks for sharing.

  64. 64
    Deanna Keahey Says:

    Thanks! I was searching Feedburner to try to find how to do this. Your instructions with helpful screen shots were just what I needed. Thanks a bunch!

    Deanna Keaheys last blog post..So there we were.. power lounging at White Bay

  65. 65
    Борис Says:

    Все об отпусках, каникулах, выходных и просто качественных уикендах

  66. 66
    Marketing Automation Software Says:

    hey.. This was exactly what I was googling for. This was a very entertaining and informative read. I enjoyed it very much. Keep up the good work and Happy Holidays and Happy 2009!

    Marketing Automation Softwares last blog post..Great Plains Software | Accounting Only?

  67. 67
    Mira@Amish Tables Says:

    Hi , I had no idea about this feedburner thing. Thanks, will look into it and see what my settings are.

  68. 68
    seo Says:

    Cheers, this will come in handy when i do my next update. I think lots of content is good for users but to much and they can drown in it.

  69. 69
    IT Support Says:

    Interesting, thanks.

  70. 70
    Andrea Hill@Digital Likeness Says:

    Great article (I found you via the CommentLuv/Feedburner Blog post). I don’t know that I knew what those Item Clicks Stats were anyway ;)
    Andrea Hills last blog post..Razorfish’s Patent on Measuring Social Media

  71. 71
    Laurence Flynn Says:

    Excellent tip. Definitely employing this on our new blog!

  72. 72
    Marnie Says:

    Thanks for sharing this tip and the link on how to turn these off in Feedburner. Much appreciated :)
    Marnies last blog post..Review: Acai Noni Slimming Blend Superfood Body Cleanse

  73. 73
    Annie@Sevierville Real Estate Says:

    Great tip. I have been guilty of this very thing. I have since changed my settings though. Thanks!

    Annies last blog post..Real Estate Foreclosures in Sevierville, TN | Short Sales

  74. 74
    Theo M Says:

    Some of my RSS subscribers were complaining of this issue. Thanks for helping me resolve it!

    Theo Ms last blog post..Billy Powell Dead – Lynyrd Skynyrd Keyboardist

  75. 75
    Jason@judgment recovery Says:

    Thanks for the hack! We need to do anything we can to make sure we get credit for our links. I learn something new everyday in this business.

    Jasons last blog post..Judgment Recovery And The Use Of A Bank Levy To Collect Judgments

  76. 76
    Avinashtech@software tips and tricks Says:

    i read about this somewhere else too… Nice post m8..keep going cheers

    Avinashtechs last blog post..Download Avira AntiVir Premium genuine 6 Month License for Free

  77. 77
    Quiz and earn Says:

    A very nice and informative post by you thank you visit my web site QUiz and Earn for earning by answering quiz.

  78. 78
    steve@Debt Settlement Companies Says:

    Great thread here, I use RSS feeds and they work like charms for my syndication of blogs.

  79. 79
    stag nights Says:

    Thanks for the tip, saves a fair bit of server resources.

  80. 80
    Jeremy Louis Says:

    You really seem like you know what you’re talking about. Good stuff, keep it up!

  81. 81
    Dane Hillery Says:

    I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.

  82. 82
    Jeremy Louis Says:

    This is a cool blog, i’ll definately be coming back. I like the layout.

  83. 83
    Baby Log Application Says:

    This is a great post on how to Turn off FeedBurner Redirect in RSS Feeds.

  84. 84
    mortga Says:

    I used a wordpress plugin that redirected my feeds to feedburner. I turned it off, and now everything is well done

  85. 85
    MxRockstar Says:

    Thanks, have never used the feed burner on my sites. I’m going to give it a try and will us your setting that is recommended. Thanks again for the tip i will let you know how it turns out.

  86. 86
    Nich Says:

    Well, this one doesn’t solve my problem.. I even have tried to deactivate the FeedBurner plugins but to no avail. Still got the cURL error 6: name lookup timed out..

    *sigh*

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Note: Use of DoFollow & KeywordLuv have been discontinued in this blog. Using your real name will earn you some serious 'Street Cred' here.