When starting in the world of performance marketing, you might come across various terms and concepts that can be a bit overwhelming. One such term is "XML feed." In this support article, we will help you understand what an XML feed is and its purpose in performance marketing.

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a widely-used format for structuring and sharing data across different platforms and applications. An XML feed is a document formatted in XML that contains regularly updated data, such as product information, news articles, or job listings.

In performance marketing, XML feeds play a vital role in providing up-to-date information about products, services, or offers to affiliates. This data helps affiliates generate content for their websites, ensuring that their audience receives accurate and current information.

XML feeds serve various purposes in performance marketing. Some of the most common use cases include:

In our case we need an XML feed to be able to set-up Google shopping campaigns. You find various plug-ins for your website to easily create and export an XML feed. In the list bellow you will find the most common used plug-ins for Shopify, Lightspeed, Magento and WooCommerce:

Feed for Google Shopping by Simprosys (https://apps.shopify.com/google-shopping-feed) is a Shopify app that allows you to create and export XML feeds for your products. This app is specifically designed to generate feeds for Google Shopping, but the XML feeds can also be used for other purposes. It offers features like feed customization, product filtering, and automatic updates.

LS-Feeds (https://ecom-support.lightspeedhq.com/hc/en-us/articles/220320888-Custom-feeds-creating-your-own-feed#twig) is a third-party service designed for Lightspeed that lets you create and export XML feeds for your products. The service supports custom feed templates and offers a user-friendly interface to define which product data to include in the feed. It also supports scheduling and automatic updates to keep your feed current.

Xtento Product Feed Export (https://www.xtento.com/magento-extensions/magento-product-feed-export-module.html) is an extension for Magento that allows you to create and export XML feeds for your products. With its intuitive interface, you can define custom XML templates and specify which product data to include in the feed. It also offers features like filtering, scheduling, and automatic updates.

Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce (https://nl.wordpress.org/plugins/product-xml-feeds-for-woocommerce/) is a powerful plugin for WooCommerce that enables you to create and export XML feeds for your products. It offers a user-friendly interface, allowing you to customize the feed's structure, select specific product data, and set up field mapping. The plugin supports scheduling and automatic updates to ensure your feed remains up-to-date.

These plugins and services should provide you with the functionality needed to create and export XML feeds for each of the mentioned e-commerce platforms. Make sure to choose the one that best fits your specific requirements and platform.