https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=XML
XML
In
computing,
Extensible Markup Language (
XML) is a
markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding
documents in a
format that is both
human-readable and
machine-readable. The
W3C's XML 1.0 Specification
[2] and several other related specifications
[3]—all of them free
open standards—define XML.
[4]
The design goals of XML emphasize simplicity, generality, and usability across the
Internet.
[5] It is a textual data format with strong support via
Unicode for different
human languages. Although the design of XML focuses on documents, the language is widely used for the representation of arbitrary
data structures[6] such as those used in
web services.
Several
schema systems exist to aid in the definition of XML-based languages, while programmers have developed many
application programming interfaces (APIs) to aid the processing of XML data.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML
What is a XML Feed?
XML feeds are a form of paid inclusion where a search engine is fed information about an advertiser’s web pages by XML. XML is a data delivery language that stands for “Extensible Markup Language” and allows users to define their own elements for sharing structured data. XML feeds also allow the search engine to gather information about web pages without having to gather information by crawling through pages. Marketers who are involved with an
XML feed pay to have their pages included in a spider-based search index based on a XML format document which represents each advertiser’s websites.
When dealing with an
XML feed, advertisers pay either annually per URL listed, or on a CPC (cost per click) basis. The CPC choice is based upon and XML document representing each page on the client web page, and from clients being assured of frequent crawl cycles so that their advertised pages appear regularly. XML feeds are being used for more than just web pages though. Some are incorporating new media types into this style of paid inclusion, including video, audio, rich media, and graphics. While there are different opinions on using XML and XML feeds, this form of paid inclusion is a growing choice for paid inclusion.
http://www.brickmarketing.com/define-xml-feed.htm
