Set up campaign templates

Create a campaign template

Sign in to your Search Ads 360 experience.
Navigate to the relevant sub-manager account.
From the page menu, under “Tools & settings”, click the Templates drop-down.
Click Templates.
Click the plus button .
Click + Campaign template.
Follow the instructions in the sections below, starting with Campaign template pre-stage.
Click Continue to complete each stage and proceed to the next one.

For information about configuring dynamic template elements, refer to the articles About custom columns in templates and Configure custom columns in templates. These dynamic settings are highlighted in gray in the "Stage 2: Campaign settings" table.

For dynamic settings, examples based on a flight theme are provided. For more information, refer to the below flights feed table.

Flights feed table

In this example, the "Flights" feed table contains the following columns of product data supplied by a new Search Ads 360 customer, Example Airways.

Example Airways operates two brands. Albatross Flights sells transatlantic tickets between the US and European destinations, while Golden Eagle Flights markets route tickets within Europe.

The example feed table only contains information for one route for each brand to ease understanding.

Feed column name	Column description	Column value example 1	Column value example 2
"product_id"	Flight origin airport international air transport association (IATA) code –destination airport IATA code	CDignoredLHR	SEA-CDG
"brand"	The brand name for the flight	Golden Eagle Flights	Albatross Flights
"availability"	Flight ticket availability	Available	Not available
"seats_left"	Number of unsold seats on the flight	11	0
"origin_iata"	Flight origin airport’s IATA code	CDG	SEA
"origin_name"	Flight departure location	Paris	Seattle
"origin_country"	Flight origin country’s name	France	USA
"destination _iata"	Flight destination airport´s IATA code	LHR	CDG
"destination_name"	Flight destination´s name	London	Paris
"destination_country"	Flight destination country’s name	UK	France
"price_usd"	The flight price in US dollars	400	900

Click the headings below to learn about each stage in the template creation flow, including stage settings and dynamic content examples.

The example formulas in the tables below are presented as you would enter them in the formula editor. If you enter formulas manually supported by the Columns and Functions menus, you must enclose them in quotation marks (for example, f:"Brand").

Campaign template pre-stage

Stage	Panel	Applies to	Settings and descriptions
"Pre-stage"	"New campaign template"		Select the applicable accounts or plan template parents. For a client-account template, select the feed data source. If you select a plan template parent, the feed is inherited. Add optional feed filters.

Stage 1: Campaign template settings

Stage	Panel	Settings and descriptions
Stage 1 "Template settings"	"Template name" Required Must be unique at sub-manager level	Name your campaign template.
	"Client accounts"	Inherited from the pre-stage, but only editable for an account parent. Inherited plan parents can't be changed.
	"Data source"	Inherited from the pre-stage. Not editable. Optional filters can be added.
	"Multiplier"	Multipliers define the columns from which the unique value combinations are derived. The unique value combinations determine the campaign instances that campaign templates generate. There are two options: Use feed columns from the campaign name formula that is defined in the next step (Recommended) at Stage 2. Alternatively, use custom-selected feed columns: Click Select multipliers. Select the required multiplier columns from the feed columns. Click Done. (Optional) Add filters to the feed to modify the multiplier. Example The recommended Use feed columns from the campaign name formula option is selected. The following formula defines the campaign name: `f:"brand" & f:"origin_country" & f:"destination_country"` "brand", "origin_country" and "destination_country" become the campaign multiplier used. For each unique "brand"/ "origin_country/destination_country" combination in the feed, a campaign is generated.
	"Label associations"	Associate existing labels with template-generated campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords. Enter static or dynamic values. Learn more about associating labels. Click "Add label" to enter additional values.
	"Custom dimensions"	Associate existing custom dimension values with template-generated campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords. Enter static or dynamic values to match against feed data to determine the custom dimension value to be associated. Learn how to Create and apply custom dimensions. Click "Add custom dimensions data" to select additional custom dimensions to associate values from.
	"Group by Match type"	By default, the template doesn't subdivide your campaign by keyword match type. If you want to divide your campaign by keyword match type, click the option to Create all keywords in match type-specific campaigns. When this option is selected, depending on your keyword configuration, this template may create multiple campaigns with names suffixed with "_exact" and "_broad" to match what’s configured as match types for your keywords. Example The campaign name created in the template at step 2 is: `f:"brand" & f:"origin_country" & f:"destination_country"` If the keywords are only of broad and exact match type in the keyword template, and the Create all keywords in match type-specific campaigns option is selected, the campaign names generated are: Golden Eagle Flights France UK_exact Golden Eagle Flights France UK_broad Albatross Flights USA France_exact Albatross Flights USA France_broad If the keywords are all broad match type in the keyword template and the Create all keywords in match type-specific campaigns option is selected, the campaign names generated are: Golden Eagle Flights France UK_broad Albatross Flights USA France_broad If the Create all keywords in match type-specific campaigns option isn't selected, keyword match types don't affect campaign names: Golden Eagle Flights France Albatross Flights USA
	Coming soon: "Email notifications"	Select the preferred email result when campaigns are generated: No emails Every time a campaign is generated
	"Status"	Select Remove, Pause, or No changes to set the template and both new and existing entity statuses when items are no longer found in the feed. If required, select Create campaigns in a paused state. If required, select Pause campaigns when a condition is met, then create your condition using a custom column. Example Campaigns are paused when the "no seats left" condition is matched: `f:"seats_left" < 1`

Stage 2: Campaign settings

Stage	Panel	Applies to	Settings and descriptions
Stage 2 "Campaign settings"	"Campaign name" Required Unique within the client account Can be dynamic	All account types	For all advertising platform/client accounts: Enter the campaign name. You can use columns, functions, and operators to create the custom column formula for the campaign name. If you selected Use feed columns from the campaign name formula that's defined on the next page as the multiplier in Stage 1, the columns you use become the multiplier and are presented in the setting at Stage 1 as the multiplier. Under the completed name, the feed columns used in the multiplier are shown along with the following message: Feed attributes used to scale campaign creation. For specific advertising platform/client accounts: Click "Add a custom setting" to configure network settings based on selected advertising platforms or client accounts. Custom settings based on advertising platform or selected client accounts can be used. Learn how to Apply custom settings. Example `f:"brand" & "/" & f:"origin_country" & "/" & f:"destination_country"` Brand, origin_country, and destination_country become the campaign multiplier used to scale campaign creation. For each unique brand, origin_country, and destination_country combination, a campaign is generated. Example output: Golden Eagle Flights/France/UK Albatross Flights/USA/France If the option to Create all keywords in match-type specific campaigns is selected in Stage 1 "Template settings", and only the keyword match types broad and exact are used, the campaign names generated are: goldeneagleflights/france/uk_exact goldeneagleflights/france/uk_broad albatrossflights/usa/france_exact albatrossflights/usa/france_broad
	"Budget" Required Can be dynamic		For all advertising platform/client accounts: Enter a campaign budget. This can be static, or dynamic based on a formula you enter in the custom column. For specific advertising platform/client accounts: Click "Add a custom setting" to configure the budget based on the selected advertising platforms or client accounts. Example This can be a static numerical value (for example, "100"). It can also be based on a formula: `if(f:"price_usd" > 1000, 100, 50)` In this example, the `if` function is used. If the price of the ticket in the feed is > 1000, the budget is set at 100. If the ticket price is < 1000, the budget is set at 50.
	"Networks"	Google Ads only	Include Google search partners — Ads that this campaign template generates display near Google search results and on other Google sites when users execute a Google search using keywords that are relevant to the keywords associated with this campaign. Include Google display network — When this campaign template generates ads that are predicted to be effective, they display in sites and along with videos and apps. For specific advertising platform/client accounts: Click "Add a custom setting" to configure network settings based on selected advertising platforms or client accounts.
	"Start date" and "End date"	Google Ads only	For all advertising platform/client accounts: Start date Start once campaigns are created — The campaigns start as soon as the templates generate them and are sent to the advertising platform. Days from creation — The campaigns start a specific number of days after the templates generate them and are sent to the advertising platform. Date picker — The campaigns start on a specific date after the templates generate them and are sent to the advertising platform. End date No end date — The campaigns never end. Days after start — The campaigns stop a specific number of days after they start. Date picker — The campaigns stop on a specific date. For specific advertising platform/client accounts: Click "Add a custom setting" to configure start and end settings based on selected advertising platforms or client accounts.
	"Bidding" Available if your bid strategies have been upgraded.		Choose one of the following bid strategies: An available automated bid-strategy type, and then select one of the existing portfolio strategies of that type. Manual CPC bidding, in which you set your own maximum cost-per-click (CPC) for ads. Click "Add a custom campaign bidding setting" to configure bidding for an account type or a specific account. Use the same options described above. If you select "Manual CPC bidding" for Google Ads accounts after adding a custom campaign bidding setting, you also have the option to "Help increase conversions with Enhanced CPC", which lets you optimize for number of conversions or for conversion value. Note that if you add a custom campaign-bidding setting for a Google Ads account that includes campaigns that use shared budgets, those campaigns continue to use the shared-budget settings instead of the budget setting in the template. When you add a custom campaign-bidding setting for a Google Ads account, you're also able to: Select existing portfolio bid strategies in the new Search Ads 360 and Google Ads. Configure Google Ads standard bid strategies.
	"Conversion goals" Available if you have completed bidding and unified-goal migration.		Choose the conversion goals (the new Search Ads 360, Google Ads, or both) you want to use for bid optimization. Click one of the following: Use account default goal settings Use campaign specific goals (click Add goals to add additional goals to the list) Click "Add a custom campaign conversion goal setting" to configure conversion goals for an account type or a specific account. Use the same options described above.
	"Attribution models" Available if you have completed bidding and unified-goal migration.		By default, the new Search Ads 360 uses the last-click attribution model. Select Override attribution models for specific conversion actions to select different attribution models for specific conversion actions. Use the left-hand menu to select a conversion action. Use the right-hand menu to select the attribution model you want to use for that conversion action. Click Add. Repeat the process for each conversion action for which you want an override. Click "Add a custom campaign attribution model setting" to configure attribution-model overrides for an account type or a specific account. Use the same options described above.
	"Device bid adjustments"		For all advertising platform/client accounts: Mobile bid adjustment — Define a percentage increase or decrease in bid amounts for ads that display on mobile. Tablet bid adjustment — Define a percentage increase or decrease in bid amounts for ads that display on tablets. Desktop bid adjustment — Define a percentage increase or decrease in bid amounts for ads that display on desktop computers. For specific advertising platform/client accounts: Click "Add a custom setting" to configure these device bid adjustments based on the selected advertising platforms or client accounts.
	"Locations"		For all advertising platform/client accounts: Select locations to target — Target or exclude certain locations). Additional Google Ads only location options — Target or exclude people based on their location, whether they showed interest in your targeted locations, or search for your targeted locations. For specific advertising platform/client accounts: Click "Add a custom setting" to configure these location settings based on selected advertising platforms or client accounts.
	"Languages"		For all advertising platform/client accounts: Select the language your customers speak. Target specific languages based on users’ language settings and website settings. For specific advertising platforms/client accounts: Click "Add a custom setting" to configure these language settings based on selected advertising platforms or client accounts.
	"Campaign URL options" Can be dynamic		For further information about tracking templates, refer to the article Configure tracking URLs and URL templates. Example The following is an example of this template type's tracking template, if set: `{lpurl}?campaign=[Campaign]&keyword=[*KeywordID]&o_country= & f:"origin_country"&d_country= & f:"destination_country"` Here's how the output appears: https://example.com/albatrossflights/ us/france?campaign=1234&keyword=6789 &o_country=us&d_country=france https://example.com/goldeneagleflights/ france/uk?campaign=4321&keyword=9876&o _country=france&d_country=uk Another option is to simply leave this blank, leaving a tracking template set at a lower level in the template hierarchy to take precedence as the tracking URL. URLs must start with http:// or https://. This URL uses existing advertising platform parameters (in this case, for Google Ads). It also uses custom parameters based on feed columns. Custom settings based on advertising platforms or selected client accounts can be used. Refer to the article Apply custom settings.
	"Audience segments"		For all advertising platform/client accounts: You can select audience segments on the Audiences page after campaigns have been generated. "Targeting" Narrow the reach of your campaigns to audience segments, with the option to adjust the bids. "Observation (recommended)" Don’t narrow the reach of your campaigns, with the option to adjust the bids on audience segments. For specific advertising platforms/client accounts: Click "Account-specific audience segments" to configure these targeting settings based on selected advertising platforms or client accounts.
	"Sitelink extensions"		By default, sitelink extensions that are template-generated or created manually are allowed. If you want to disable both, click the option to Disable generated and manual sitelinks.

Stage 3: Confirmation

Stage	Panel	Applies to	Settings and descriptions
Stage 3 "Confirmation"	"Campaign preview"		A sample of the first 100 campaigns are generated for preview. Return to previous settings pages to make any changes you require. When you’re happy with all settings, click "Create template" to complete the campaign template creation process.

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