Import a video project into Google Ads

After your Google Ads account is linked to Ads Creative Studio, you can import videos into Google Ads. Follow the steps below to get started.

Before you get started

  • Your Google Ads account must have an account status of "Active". Canceled accounts can be reactivated.
  • An Ads Creative Studio user with edit or admin access has to export the project from Ads Creative Studio first.

Import a video project into Google Ads

You need access to a Google Ads account to import a video project from Ads Creative Studio. To import, you'll complete the following steps:

  1. Start an import
  2. Review and edit
  3. Select a YouTube channel
  4. Upload videos to YouTube
  5. Download video information

After you give the project a name, you can leave the page and come back later to complete the other steps in the process. To see a list of all imported projects and their current status, go to Labs > Ads Creative Studio Import.

Step 1: Start an import

  1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Labs.
  3. Click Ads Creative Studio import.
  4. Find the video project you want to import. In the "Actions" column of the project, click Import.
  5. Review the list of videos to make sure they're the ones you want to import. Click Continue to go to the next step. If you get an error, review these troubleshooting tips.

Step 2: Review and edit

Any changes you make to the imported project will only affect the copy of the project that's in Google Ads.

  1. (Optional) Give the project a memorable name in case you need to reference the project again later. After you name the project, you can leave the page at any time and come back later to continue the import process.
  2. (Optional) Review the video titles and targeting criteria set in Ads Creative Studio.
    1. Edit video titles.
    2. Add video descriptions.
    3. Review targeting criteria. You can edit this later or use it to inform your targeting settings when you add the video to a campaign.
  3. Select all videos to upload to YouTube. Note: If you don't select all of the videos at this step, you won't be able to upload the unselected videos in a later step. Instead, you can repeat the import process from Step 1 to upload the remaining videos.
  4. Click Continue to go to the next step.

Step 3: Select a channel

  1. Choose which YouTube channel to upload the videos to. Videos will be uploaded as unlisted to the channel you choose.
    • Private channel – Upload to a private, Google-managed channel. This channel is not browsable on YouTube like other channels. This option is recommended if you don't have permissions to upload to your advertiser's YouTube channel, or if you want to keep these videos separate from the videos on your channel.
    • Your own channel – Upload to a channel that you have permission to upload to (using the same Google Account you use with Google Ads). This options is recommended if you want full control of the videos along with access to analytics and other YouTube Studio features. If you choose this option and the YouTube channel you're looking for doesn't show up, ask to the channel admin to add you as a channel editor or manager using your Google Account email. If you don't see what you're looking for, you can resume the upload later.
  2. Click Continue to go to the next step.

Compare YouTube channel options

Review the benefits, drawbacks, and which channel type is recommended based on your needs.

Private channel

Benefits
  • Upload quickly if you don't have access to a brand channel
  • Avoids cluttering your brand channel with unlisted videos
  • Can be uploaded quickly by anyone with access to the Google Ads account
Potential Drawbacks
  • Not compatible with ad features that require YouTube channel assets such as logo or name
  • No access to analytics, can't edit the video directly
  • Videos can't be moved to your own channel later
  • Can't create shareable playlists
Best for
  • Quick uploads when you're unsure who to contact to upload to a brand channel
  • Standard bumper or in-stream campaigns

Your own channel (or a brand channel)

Benefits
  • Videos are uploaded to a channel you control
  • Can view video analytics and edit in YouTube Studio
  • Videos are unlisted by default, so they're not public or searchable unless you want them to be
  • Videos can be made public to all subscribers
  • Videos can be part of private or public playlists
Potential Drawbacks
Best for
  • Brands that want to keep all video content in one place
  • All video ad types

Step 4: Upload videos to YouTube

  1. Wait for the videos to upload.
  2. If there are any errors uploading the videos, you can review them here. For help with fixing errors, go to Troubleshoot video import errors.
  3. After uploading is complete, click Continue.

Step 5: Download video information

After the videos are uploaded, you can download the video information to use in your campaign. You can either download a video information sheet, which includes a list of video titles and IDs that you can manually add to your campaign, or you can download a sheet you can use to create or edit your Google Ads campaign with Google Ads Editor.

Both sheets include the following information:

  • Date uploaded
  • Google Ads campaign information: campaign, ad group, ad name, display URL, final URL
  • Video ID
  • YouTube title
  • YouTube description
  • Ads Creative Studio rules information: locations, languages, topics, audience, demographics

Choose the type that works best for you

Use the Google Ads Editor sheet if:

  • You're working with a lot of variants and targeting information and want to save time copying information

Use the video information sheet if:

  • You're working with a smaller number of variants and targeting information
  • You need to send the information to an external media agency who can use the video IDs and targeting information for campaign setup

Download a video information sheet

  1. Click Download. A window appears with two options. Both files are in comma-separated values (CSV) format.
  2. Click Download video info.
  3. To continue, click Download again. The file will be downloaded to your computer. If you don't want to download it right away, you can return to Labs at any time to download the file.
  4. Click Done. You'll be taken back to the list of imports.

How to use a video information sheet

If you prefer to manually create your campaign from a list of videos with YouTube information and targeting notes, use the video information sheet.

Edit the campaign, ad group, and ad names

Generic names will be used for the campaign and ad group names in the video information sheet, for example "Campaign 1", and "Ad group 1". The variant name in Ads Creative Studio will be used as the ad name. Update these names as needed.

Date uploaded Campaign Ad group Ad name Display URL Final URL Video ID Ad type Video title Description
10-31-2025 Campaign 6 Ad group 1 Sports     12345   Sports  
10-31-2025 Campaign 11 Ad group 1 Food     12345   Food  
10-31-2025 Campaign 23 Ad group 1 Health & Fitness     12345   Health & Fitness  
10-31-2025 Campaign 24 Ad group 1 Movies     12345   Movies  
10-31-2025 Campaign 25 Ad group 1 Automotive     12345   Automotive  
10-31-2025 Campaign 26 Ad group 1 Beauty     12345   Beauty  
10-31-2025 Campaign 27 Ad group 1 Value shoppers     12345   Value shoppers  
10-31-2025 Campaign 28 Ad group 1 Music lovers     12345   Music lovers  

Refer to targeting information as you set up your campaign

The Ads Creative Studio rules in the video information sheet are meant to be used as a reference for setting targeting information in your Google Ads campaigns. These rules can't be used to directly set targeting in Google Ads. Instead, as you create your campaign, ad groups, and ads, make sure to match up your targeting with the intended targeting described for each video.

Download a Google Ads Editor sheet

  1. Click Download. A window appears with two options. Both files are in comma-separated values (CSV) format.
  2. Click Download Google Ads Editor CSV. This file includes the default Google Ads campaign hierarchy along with the targeting values set in Ads Creative Studio.
  3. Choose a Google Ads campaign type: Video action campaign, Reach or standard, Reach non-skippable, or Reach bumper.
  4. Enter a project name to help you identify the campaign. This project name will be used as the name of the CSV file, and it will be included in the Google Ads campaign and ad group names. For example, if you enter the project name "My video ads", the CSV you download will be called "My video ads.csv". The campaign name will be "ACS_My video ads_campaign_1". Similarly, the ad groups will be named "ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1", and so on.
  5. To continue, click Download again. The file will be downloaded to your computer. If you don't want to download it right away, you can return to Labs at any time to download the file.
  6. Click Done. You'll be taken back to the list of imports.

How to use a Google Ads Editor sheet

If you need to create all new campaigns and ad groups based on targeting rules set in Ads Creative Studio, you can use Google Ads Editor to bulk import them. You'll need to provide additional information before you can post the changes to your Google Ads account. See below for more details.

About campaign, ad group, and ad names

When you download a Google Ads Editor CSV, you'll be asked to enter a project name. This project name will be used as the name of the CSV file, and it will be included in the Google Ads campaign and ad group names. For example, if you use "My video ads" as the name of the project, the campaigns and ad groups in the sheet will be named "ACS_My video ads_Campaign 1", and "ACS_My video ads_Ad group 1". The variant name in Ads Creative Studio will be used as the ad name. You can update these names as needed.

Campaign Campaign Type ID Ad Group Ad Group Type Ad Name
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1 Video - Drive conversions        
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1     ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1 Responsive video  
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1   12345 ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1    
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1   67890 ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1    
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1     ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1    
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1     ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1    
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1     ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1    
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1     ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1    
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1     ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1    
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1     ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1    
ACS_My video ads_campaign_1     ACS_My video ads_adgroup_1   Food

Import the CSV into Google Ads Editor

Import the CSV into Google Ads Editor, then click Finish and review changes.

Check for targeting information in comments

Ads Creative Studio doesn't support as many targeting options as Google Ads. If the Ads Creative Studio user wants to use Google Ads targeting options that aren't available in Ads Creative Studio, they can add custom signals. These signals will appear as comments at the ad group level in Google Ads Editor. Check for these comments for details on the intended targeting.

Review campaign changes and fill in missing information

The targeting set in Ads Creative Studio will determine the campaign and ad group structure in Google Ads Editor. Review the changes and fill in any missing information before you post it to your account.

  1. Review the list of imported changes. Google Ads Editor will display a list of errors and warnings. You'll need to fill in the missing details:
    1. Campaign details:
      • Budget
      • Budget type (average daily versus campaign total)
      • Start date and end date (Note: If you don't include a start date, the current date will be used when you import the sheet)
      • Bid strategy (based on ad group type)
    2. Ad group details:
      • Target bid based on bid strategy (for example, CPV, CPM, CPA) 
    3. Ad details
      • Display URL
      • Final URL
      • (Optional) Based on ad type: Call to action, headline, description
  2. When you're done reviewing the changes, click Post to apply the changes to your Google Ads account.

Find and resume imports

If you get interrupted after starting an import, you can resume it at any time.

  1.  Sign in to your Google Ads account.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Labs.
  3. Click Ads Creative Studio import.
  4. Find the import in the list.
  5. Click Resume import, then continue the import steps.
If you finished importing a project, you can download the video information again at any time. From the list of imports, find the "Actions" column and click Download video info.

Troubleshoot video import errors

Fix common YouTube upload problems

If you're having trouble uploading videos to YouTube, check the following:

  • If you can't select a YouTube channel, check that you have upload permissions.
  • If you receive an error while uploading your video, check for these common problems:
    • YouTube video title is longer than 95 characters
    • YouTube video description is longer than 5000 characters
    • YouTube video description has unsupported characters in it ("<" or ">")
    • YouTube channel upload limits have been exceeded. Try again in 24 hours.
  • For further troubleshooting, check Common uploading errors in the YouTube Help Center.

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