Google Ads

How to link your account and export audiences to Google's Ads

Optable uses Google OAuth exclusively for authentication purposes & to streamline the process of audience exports to Google Ads. This integration complies with the Google Ads API User Data Policy.

Google Ads Customer Match Audiences allows marketers to manage campaigns across multiple channels. Linking your Google Ads account to your DCN lets you export first-party audiences for use in advertising campaigns.

Adding Google Ads as a Destination

From the UI

You can create a new Google Ads destination from your DCN by going to the Audiences -> Destinations section in your navigation menu.

Adding a New Destination

To link your Google Ads account, name your export destination and click "Create." You'll be redirected to Google Ads for authentication. Sign in with the Google account associated with your Google Ads account to grant your DCN access to your advertiser account.

Once confirmed, you will be redirected to your DCN and will see an Advertiser ID field which will have a list of all available partners and advertisers associated with your Google Ads account. You will be able to select from this list or manually enter the Advertiser ID of the advertiser you wish to export to.

Note: Each destination can only support one advertiser account, if you would like to link your other advertiser accounts, you will have to create a new destination in your DCN.

From the CLI

From the CLI, input the following command. This will redirect you to your browser to authorize access and connect your Google account with your DCN. Below is an example of the expected CLI output:

optable-cli destination create googleads <name>

{
  "id":  2,
  "kind":  "DESTINATION_KIND_GOOGLEADS",
  "created_at":  "2022-10-28T04:08:00.607225912Z",
  "updated_at":  "2022-10-28T04:08:00.607225912Z",
  "name":  "no-display-in-the-shell",
  "state":  "DESTINATION_STATE_SETUP",
  "dv360":  {}
}

Finally, if you created the destination using your DCN UI you will be redirected to the destinations listing. If you used the CLI, you will be able to export directly from the command line.

Exporting Audiences to Google Ads

Only data collected in the first-party context can be used to create Customer Match Audiences in Google Ads. It's recommended to verify that your audience does not contain third party data prior to export. Learn more about Customer Match Policies.

From the UI

To export an audience to your Google Ads account, locate the desired audience and click the 'Export' button in the top-right corner. You will then be prompted to choose your preferred export destination from a list of available options.

When exporting to Google Ads, an audience will be created within your chosen advertiser and its unique audience ID will be shown within the export summary page in your DCN.

Each export will create a new audience in your Google Ads account. If an audience exists with the same name as your DCN audience, the audience will be appended with a number and you will get a new Google ADs audience ID.

From the CLI

From the CLI, enter the following:

optable-cli export create googleads <audience-id> <destination-id>

Where:

  <audience-id>       Audience to export
  <destination-id>    Destination of the export
  <ttl-days>          The initial amount of time (in days) during which IDs 
                      remain active.

You can choose which ID or update method to send with:

--identifiers-filter=IDENTIFIERS-FILTER,...
                        Filter identifiers by type. Options are: email or 
                        phone. The options are not mutually
			exclusive except and can be combined. 

Here is an example of what your command should look like:

$ optable-cli audience export googleads 8 1

Here is an example of the expected CLI output:

{
  "id":  2,
  "created_at":  "2022-10-28T04:21:39.222261388Z",
  "updated_at":  "2022-10-28T04:21:39.222261388Z",
  "destination":  {
    "id":  2,
    "kind":  "DESTINATION_KIND_GOOGLEADS",
    "created_at":  "2022-10-28T04:08:00.607226Z",
    "updated_at":  "2022-10-28T04:21:19.308529Z",
    "name":  "no-display-in-the-shell",
    "state":  "DESTINATION_STATE_ACTIVE",
  },
  "audience":  {
    "id":  1,
    "name":  "Optable audience test",
    "kind":  "AUDIENCE_KIND_QUERY",
    "created_at":  "2022-10-28T03:48:31.980390Z",
    "updated_at":  "2022-10-28T04:20:46.790967Z",
    "insights_computed_at":  "2022-10-28T04:20:46.583844Z",
    "state":  "AUDIENCE_STATE_ACTIVE",
    "activation":  {
      "keyword":  "1074ds3dd7"
    }
  },
  "state":  "EXPORT_STATE_PENDING",
  "identifiers_filter":  [
    "ID_KIND_EMAIL_HASH",
    "ID_KIND_PHONE_NUMBER"
  ],
  "dv360":  {
    "ttl_days":  30
  }
}

What Can I Export to Google Ads?

You can transfer emails and phone numbers to your Google Ads account. Keep in mind that Google Ads does not accept empty audience exports; ensure that the audience you've selected includes the desired ID(s) for a successful export.

How Will My Export Appear in Google Ads?

Your export will appear under the selected advertiser by going to Tools & Settings -> Shared Library -> Audience Manager. The audience name will be based upon the name of the audience you exported from your DCN.