Overview of creating and managing social engine accounts

A social engine account in Search Ads 360 contains reporting data for visits, Floodlight conversions, and social performance and engagement metrics generated by social ads. It also contains settings for remarketing to interested audiences across social, search, and display channels.

The steps you follow to get started with a social engine account depend on the type of social engine, and on whether you use a Preferred Marketing Developer (PMD) to manage the account. For some types of social accounts, Search Ads 360 requires you to use a PMD, while a PMD is optional for other types of social accounts.

Before you start

Please keep the following in mind:

• Only one Search Ads 360 engine account can be active for each social engine account at any given time. For example, if you create an engine account that connects to Facebook account 123-456-7890, you can't launch that account if another Search Ads 360 engine account is currently active for 123-456-7890. Instead, you'll need to change the status of the other account to Removed.

• A social engine account onboarded to Search Ads 360 can only be managed by one PMD at a given time (but the PMD can be switched without having to create a new Search Ads 360 social engine account).

• Unlike a search engine account:

  • You don't sync data between Search Ads 360 and a social engine account. Search Ads 360 doesn't manage social engine accounts, so there aren't any settings, campaigns, or ads to sync.)
  • Search Ads 360 doesn't retrieve social performance and engagement metrics from the engine. Instead, you use the PMD to send metrics to Search Ads 360 or you export the metrics from the social engine itself and upload them into Search Ads 360 . 

• If you're currently using Campaign Manager 360 to report on social accounts, remove the Campaign Manager 360 clicktracker URLs from your ad's landing page URLs. After you finish setting up your social engines in Search Ads 360, use Paid Social metrics and attributes in your Campaign Manager 360 Report Builder and Attribution reports instead of the display metrics and attributes that you used before.

Special permissions required

Only an agency manager or advertiser manager can create an engine account. 

Steps for getting started

1. In Search Ads 360:
   1. Create a social engine account.
   2. (Optional) Create a secure FTP connection point.
      You can use this connection point to send social performance and engagement metrics to Search Ads 360.

      If you don't send social metrics to Search Ads 360, you won't be able to see the number of clicks, impressions, and cost associated with your social ads (but you'll still be able to see visits and Floodlight conversions).

2. Set up conversion tracking and performance import. The steps you follow depend on the type of social engine, and on whether you use a supported Preferred Marketing Developer (PMD) to manage the account. View the help center articles later in this section for your specific combination of social engine and PMD.
    
3. Report on your social campaigns.
4. Optionally set up cross-channel remarketing to re-engage audiences who have a expressed an interest in your products or services.