Frequently Asked Questions (for help with your XML2U feed please contact Support)
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What is XML?
XML is a simple text format which is now the default method in the exchange of all kinds of data on the internet. It was originally designed to meet the challenges of large-scale electronic publishing but is a perfect format for the real estate industry, the motor industry, jobs, boats and products. It has become the world's preferred format for accurately exchanging online data. Back To Top |
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What is a data feed?
It is a text file containing your listings (and links to your images) and is created in what is known as XML.
XML2U feeds are updated daily so you can be sure that whomever the feed has been sent to will always have your latest data.Back To Top |
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How is the feed updated?
Our robot will re-visit the source of your listings data (your website, someone else's website, an xml feed) every day, extract the latest data and update your XML2U feed accordingly. If you already have a data feed, and have asked us to convert it, we will re-visit your feed every day to to collect any changes.Back To Top |
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Example Feeds & Feed Formats
Real Estate feeds - available in an extensive range of formats:- XML2U Default (world-wide real-estate standard)
- Kyero (Spain, Portugal, France, Italy)
- Openimmo (Europe-wide)
- REA XML (Australasia)
- Retirement (World-wide)
- Rightmove v3 (UK properties)
- Rightmove v3i (non-UK properties)
- Rofo (Commercial)
- RSS
- Savills (Offices & Associates should contact Savills before ordering a feed)
- Zillow (USA properties - new-homes)
- Zillow (USA properties)
So, no matter where you want your feed to go, the receiving site(s) will have a choice of formats from which to successfully import your properties. See our Portals page for some of the 1000+ better-known portals and search engines accepting an XML2U feed format (shown above). 100+ do not charge you to advertise your listings!!
Automotive feeds - available in this format:
Jobs & Products feed - sample available on request:
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Who can accept an XML2U data feed?
Any website, portal, mobile website, phone app or interactive presentation using a database to store data can accept a data feed, particularly if the feed is in the industry-standard 'XML' format. Our experience shows that more than 95% of the world's portals and database-driven sites can accept an XML2U feed in one or other of its many formats. We are continually adding to our list as we receive confirmations or requests, and these can be viewed here
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How Many Data Feeds Will I Need?
If you intend to distribute your data you will typically only need the one feed - your data feed can be used by as many websites or apps as you choose to send it to. If you want to submit all your listings to some websites or apps but only a selection to a particular recipient, you may need a second feed just containing that selection.
NOTES
(i) If you are planning to feed a portal that limits the number of listings you can advertise (e.g. Rightmove), please tell us that number on the order form. Your feed will then be limited to that number.
(ii) If you want to be selective about which properties to include in the feed, you can add an identifying character to each property on your site (say a *, to the property ref number, or at the beginning of the title or description. This identification mark should be visible on the page that lists your properties, not on the individual details pages). Then just tell us on the order form that we are to only collect those so marked. Or, you can ask us to use the search facility on your site so we only collect the properties returned by specific search criteria, (eg. Houses in 'a town' up to €500,000). To clarify this, one selection = one feed. If you need more than one different selection, you will need to order more than one feed.If you plan to import data to your own site from multiple sources, you will need a feed for each source. Back To Top |
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My data feed is 'Active' - What's Next?
When your feed is ready for distribution we will email you with details of how to have it sent to your chosen portals/recipients. A full explanation of what happens next and how to have your feed distributed can be found here
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How will the sites or apps I list on receive the updates?
Once the feed has been submitted to a portal or app, they have access to the updated data each day, so can update their databases as often as they need. We have provided a Send My Feed facility in your Data Feed Manager, which will store a history of the sites you have submitted your feed to. The receivers of your feed will be able to access it every day and collect the latest data.There are a few real estate portals, such as Rightmove, Primelocation, Zoopla, Finn, Immobilienscout24 and portals that import the Openimmo version, who can only accept a feed uploaded via ftp (ie. the feed needs to be submitted directly into their servers). For these we have provided a direct upload from the 'Settings' page in Data Feed Manager. You only have to initiate this once. After that, the feed will be uploaded automatically each day. You may need at least a branch ID for each portal and, in some cases, ftp credentials. Don't worry if you don't know what this means. Simply ask the portal for these details.
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How can I view the contents of my feed?
You can view the contents of your feed in any web browser. We recommend you use Google Chrome as it has the capacity to display the number of listings so you can keep an eye on that. To open the feed, you need to be logged in to your XML2U.com account. In My Data Feeds, click the View/Edit icon adjacent to your feed entry and click ‘Get Link’; then copy & paste the url into the web browser’s address bar. Then use Ctrl F to open a 'find' box, type '' into the box and click enter. This will tell you how many listings are in the feed. By using Ctrl F and entering keywords or reference numbers, you can also locate individual listings to see what data is being collected and delivered to your chosen recipients.Back To Top |
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I represent a portal or app. Can we offer this service to our clients?
Yes, you can either register on this site and order the data feeds on your clients' behalf or direct them to xml2u.com to order for themselves. As soon as you are ready to accept XML2U feeds let us know and we will include you on our pages and notify existing feed clients that they can upload to your facility. If you would like to have your portal or service added to the Partner Search click here Back To Top |
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Does it matter how many sites or apps I give the feed to?
No, you can give the links to your feed to as many as you want to publish your listings on.
The feed is not compromised by the number of recipients accessing it, nor do we charge you any extra, regardless of how many sites, apps or other media you submit your feed to. Back To Top |
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I don't have my listings on my own website, but I list them on another website Is that OK?
Yes. Go to the 'Data Feed Manager' tab (above) and on the order form enter the web address that accesses your listings on the other website. Back To Top |
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My website is built using Flash technology. Is that OK?
If your website has a Flash intro, our robot can pass through it and access your listings details in the usual way. If the display of your listings is in Flash please email send your web address to Support. We can usually find a solution. Back To Top |
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Do I need to tell you if I make changes to my web site?
YES. To populate your feed, we build a data extraction robot to visit your website (or data source) and configure it to collect the listings data as it is displayed at that time. If you make any material changes to the way your listings are displayed, or accessed, the path our robot takes may have been disrupted and the data extraction may fail. It is always best to let us know if you have made a change. When necessary, we will reconfigure the robot to accommodate your changes but this may incur a separate cost depending on the extent of the changes.Back To Top |
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Some of my listings are missing from my feed. What can cause this?
There are several possibilities:
1. You have made some changes to your site that have disrupted the path our data extraction robot had been configured to follow. Contact our tech team to see what needs to be done to accommodate the changes.
2. Your server is blocking access to our data extraction robot. Our tech team can give you details to send to your server host to remove the block.
3. Our robot extracted the data from your site before you added the listings in question. Check again in 24 hours before reporting the missing listings as an error.Back To Top |
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I have a data feed but I'd like to use XML2U to convert it. Can I?
Yes. The majority of websites and apps receive feeds but your current feed may not be in a format that they can accept. We can convert your current feed and deliver it in our range of formats making it acceptable to all the portals, sites and apps shown on this site. Go to the 'Data Feed Manager' tab (above) > Convert Your Own Data Feed, and enter the link to your existing data feed on the feed order form. Back To Top |
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My current feed provider charges me for every site or app I upload to. Do you?
No, once you have your data feed you may use it to upload to as many sites or apps as you choose, at no extra cost.Back To Top |
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Can I limit which listings and/or how many, are in my feed?
Yes. We can limit the number of listings. You only need to email the request or enter the requirement in the Comments box when you place the feed order.Which listings are included in the feed can also be chosen by you. We can either carry out a specific search on your website or you can add something to each listing to identify that it is to be included in the feed. For more details contact Support. Back To Top |
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How can I list on Facebook Marketplace, Dynamic Ads or on my Timeline?
If you have an XML2U feed it comes in a variety of formats, one of which can be used to upload your listings to Facebook.We now provide 3 facilities for displaying your listings on Facebook: - Facebook Marketplace - this is Facebook's classified ads section where people can search for the items they want (including real estate sales and rentals). This is a free service. Details here https://www.xml2u.com/portals/Facebook-Marketplace/help.htm
- Facebook Dynamic Ads - this is Facebook's paid advert service (a bit like Google Adsense) where you decide which demographic of people see your ads and you pay based on the number of views or clicks the ads generate. Your listings can be added to Dynamic Ads via Facebook Marketplace (above).
- Your Facebook Timeline - this is where your listings are drip-fed to your Facebook pages, a few at a time, to look like you entered them yourself over time. The cost for this is £5 a month plus a £20 setup fee. See https://www.xml2u.com/social-media/ for details and to order.
For more details click here. Back To Top |
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