Our Favorite RSS Feed Validator Tools

Your podcast’s RSS feed is the lifeline for your audience to be able to listen to your show. The RSS feed is a document available on a public server that is full of information and links. Websites like Google, iTunes, and other podcast directories can read the content in your RSS feed in order to display your podcast’s episodes on their site. You’ll need an RSS feed if you plan on starting a podcast and they’re fairly easy to set up.

If you’re working with a podcasting host like Simplecast, a secure RSS feed will automatically be setup for you. Once you start setting up your podcast and uploading episodes, you’ll want to validate your RSS feed URL to ensure that it can be read correctly by podcast directories and other websites, and that it has all the required information in it.

To do this, you need to submit your feed’s URL into an RSS Feed validator tool. This tool will help you catch any errors and ensure your feed is readable by websites and search engines. Below are two of our favorites.

PodBase

PodBase was built to help podcasters verify their RSS feeds. It checks the formatting of your RSS feed to make sure it’s structured and functioning properly. Then it looks at the SEO functionality and if there are any conflicts with the feed’s URL. Lastly, it compares your feed’s compatibility with iTunes. For this part, it looks to see if your feed’s cover art, categories, and summary are included.

Cast Feed Validator

Another podcast feed validator, Cast Feed Validator focuses on diagnosing problems with your RSS feed that may prevent your podcast from reaching listeners. This tool checks your RSS feed’s formatting, how fast the connection is between your host and the feed, your podcast artwork, and the metadata of your podcast like your ID3 tags.