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How do I create RSS Feeds metrics?

Updated

Visualize, discover, and act on your news content by creating RSS Feeds data feed metrics.

This article includes:

Connecting PowerMetrics to your RSS Feeds data

When writing queries in PowerMetrics, you'll need to enter an RSS Feed URL.

Creating RSS Feeds data feed metrics

When you create RSS Feeds data feed metrics, you:

Connecting to an RSS Feed and adding a data feed

Every metric needs a data feed. As you create metrics, you’ll either create a new data feed or select one from your list of existing data feeds. Learn more about data feeds.

To create a new data feed for your metric:

  1. In the left navigation sidebar click the + button beside Metrics and select See all services.
  2. On the Where is your data? page, under Data Feed Services, select RSS Feeds.
  3. Click +New data feed > Select RSS Feeds data.
  4. Select a pre-built data source from the left section of the Choose a pre-built or custom connection page or click +Create a custom RSS Feeds data source.
  5. If you chose a custom data source, at Query URL, replace <YourRSSFeed> with your chosen RSS Feed URL, for example, https://www.cbc.ca/webfeed/rss/rss-topstories.
  6. Click Get data.
  7. Ensure this is the data you’re looking for. Then, click Continue. Next step - refine the data in the data feed editor.

To use an existing data feed for your metric:

  1. In the left navigation sidebar, click Data Feeds.
  2. In your list of Data Feeds, select the one you want to use for your metric.
  3. Click the Metrics tab in the right-side pane.
  4. Click +Add metric and proceed to Configuring your metric.

Refining data in the data feed editor

You’ve arrived in the data feed editor where you can choose to either accept the automatic settings or make changes.

If you’re happy with the automatic settings:

If you want to make changes:

  • RSS Feeds returns data in a XML format. The method for refining and editing JSON source data is slightly different than when dealing with source data that’s already in a tabular format. Learn how to refine and edit XML source data feeds.
  • Some common adjustments include changing the data format or names for columns, updating the data feed name, and combining columns using formulas - there are many customization options available.
  • If you want to adjust the original query, click the tile under Data service.
  • When you’re finished editing the data feed, click Save data feed and proceed to Configuring your metric.

Note: After you’re finished creating a metric with this data feed, you can return to it and use it to make more data feed metrics. In the left navigation sidebar, click Data Feeds. Select the desired data feed from the list and click +Add metric.

Configuring your metric

When you configure a data feed metric, you select the measure and dimensions from the data feed to include in the metric and choose settings that determine how the data will be visualized. Go here for detailed instructions on configuring your metric.

Next steps – Interacting with your data

Now that you're connected and have some metrics, it's time to start learning from your data and tracking your progress.

Here are a few suggestions for interacting with your data:

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