Hey there! Are you using custom post types on your WordPress website? If so, you might be missing out on a huge opportunity to boost your traffic and engagement by including those custom post types in your main RSS feed.
Don‘t worry if that sounds complicated – I‘m here to walk you through exactly how to do it, step-by-step. By the end of this guide, you‘ll be able to attract more subscribers, improve your SEO, and get more eyeballs on all the awesome content you work so hard to create.
Let‘s get started!
Why You Should Add Custom Post Types to Your Main RSS Feed
First, let‘s talk about why you would even want to add custom post types to your RSS feed in the first place. According to a study by Mailchimp, RSS-to-email automations have an open rate of 28.8% compared to an overall email open rate of just 22.2%. So right off the bat, getting your content into RSS readers can lead to more people actually seeing it.
But the benefits don‘t stop there. Adding custom post types to your feed can also help you:
Reach a wider audience – Your main feed is the most visible and discoverable. Including custom post types alongside your standard posts expands your potential reach.
Improve content discoverability – Make it easy for people to find and engage with your most valuable content, no matter what form it takes.
Boost SEO – Additional high-quality pages in your feed give search engines more content to index and potentially rank for relevant keywords.
Increase traffic – Entice subscribers to click through to your website to view the full versions of your custom post type content.
Save time – Instead of having to manage separate RSS feeds for different post types, you can consolidate it into one comprehensive feed.
Bottom line – if you‘re not including custom post types in your main feed, you‘re leaving traffic, engagement, and growth opportunities on the table.
Custom Post Type RSS Examples
Need some inspiration for custom post types to add to your feed? Here are a few examples:
Products – If you have an online store, you can use custom post types to display products with details like price, images, and reviews. Hello increased sales!
Events – Promote upcoming courses, workshops, webinars, or conferences. A custom post type with event details makes it easy for subscribers to RSVP.
Recipes – Food bloggers can create a custom post type to beautifully display recipes with ingredients, instructions, nutrition info, and mouthwatering photos.
Case Studies – Showcase client success stories or project overviews as a custom post type. Great for demonstrating expertise and authority in your niche.
The possibilities are endless. You can create custom post types for any kind of structured data that would be useful to share with your RSS audience.
How to Add All Custom Post Types to Your RSS Feed (Method 1)
Alright, now let‘s dive into the technical details. The first method I‘ll show you will include every single public custom post type in your main RSS feed. Here‘s how to do it:
Install the free Code Snippets plugin. This allows you to easily add custom code without messing with your theme files directly.
From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to the Code Snippets section and click "Add New".
Name your snippet something descriptive like "Include All Custom Post Types in Main RSS Feed".
For the code type, choose "PHP code (no tags)".
Paste in the following code:
function include_cpts_in_feed( $query ) {
if ($query->is_feed) {
$query->set( ‘post_type‘, get_post_types( array( ‘public‘ => true ) ) );
}
return $query;
}
add_filter( ‘pre_get_posts‘, ‘include_cpts_in_feed‘ );- Click "Save" to create the snippet, then click "Activate" to add the code to your site.
What this code does is hook into the pre_get_posts filter and modify the main query to include all public custom post types when the request is for your RSS feed.
Now when someone subscribes to your main feed URL, they‘ll see all your regular posts PLUS any public custom post types, all in one convenient place. Easy peasy!
How to Choose Specific Custom Post Types for Your RSS Feed (Method 2)
But what if you only want to include certain custom post types in your main feed, while excluding others? No problemo. You can use a slightly different code snippet for that.
Follow steps 1-4 from the previous method to create a new code snippet. But this time, use this code:
function include_custom_post_types_in_rss( $query ) {
if ($query->is_feed) {
$query->set( ‘post_type‘, array( ‘post‘, ‘event‘, ‘recipe‘ ) );
}
return $query;
}
add_filter( ‘pre_get_posts‘, ‘include_custom_post_types_in_rss‘ );Just replace event and recipe with the slugs for whichever custom post types you want to include, keeping post for your default blog posts.
Save and activate the snippet, and voila! Only the post types you specified will appear in your main RSS feed. You can view the feed URL at https://yoursite.com/feed/ to make sure it‘s displaying exactly what you intended.
Tips to Optimize Your RSS Feed
Okay, you‘ve got your custom post types syndicating to your main RSS feed. Here are some ways to make sure your feed is performing at its best:
Use eye-catching featured images – Many RSS readers display thumbnail images next to each post. Make sure yours are attractive and relevant.
Craft compelling titles and excerpts – Your post titles and excerpts are what convince people to click through to read more. Put effort into making them interesting and descriptive.
Link to your RSS feed URL in prominent places – Put an RSS icon in your header, sidebar, and/or footer. Submit your feed URL to directories for even more exposure.
Provide an email subscription option – Some people prefer to receive updates via email. Use a service like MailChimp to automatically send RSS-to-email campaigns.
Keep a consistent posting schedule – Regularly publishing new content keeps subscribers engaged and signals to search engines that your site is active and relevant.
Case Study: Pineapple Ballet School
Let‘s look at a quick real-world example. The owner of Pineapple Ballet School was using a WordPress site and wanted to publish content beyond just standard blog posts. They decided to create two custom post types:
- Dance Videos – To showcase instructional content and performances
- Class Schedule – To list details about upcoming ballet classes
By adding these post types to their main RSS feed using the code snippet from Method 2, the ballet school was able to:
- Gain 50 new RSS subscribers within the first month
- Double their monthly website traffic from RSS referrals
- Fill up 3 more spots per ballet class on average
How‘s that for results? By making it easy for people to consume the content they were most interested in, the ballet school expanded its reach and drove measurable business outcomes with a single RSS feed optimization.
You‘ve Got This!
Listen, I know dealing with code and RSS feeds can seem overwhelming. But I promise you it doesn‘t have to be. By following the simple steps outlined in this guide, you can feel confident adding custom post types to your main WordPress RSS feed.
The payoff is so worth it. You‘ll be able to grow your audience and get more mileage out of all the custom content you‘re creating. And isn‘t that what it‘s all about?
So go ahead – install that code snippet, customize it to your needs, and start optimizing your RSS feed today. You‘ve got this! And if you have any questions along the way, don‘t hesitate to reach out in the comments.
Happy syndicating!
