Use the Import Campaigns page to create, edit, or delete multiple campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads at once. You can download a template file and insert the campaign information that you would like to create, edit, or delete. You may then upload the completed file into your account. If you have third party campaigns, you can also convert them into the Yahoo! format.
Importing New Campaigns, Ad Groups, Ads, and Keywords
The template file is a spreadsheet that you can download and fill out with campaign, ad group, keyword, and ad information.
To import new campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords:
Click the Campaigns tab > Import subtab. The Import Campaigns page opens. (Note that the Import tab will not appear if the Import Campaign feature is not supported by your account.)
In the Import Campaigns panel, click either the XML link or the CSV link to download a new template file to your computer. This template file is a spreadsheet you can use to record your campaign, ad group, keyword, and ad information. Both the XML template and the CSV template contain the same columns; however the XML version is better structured to help you enter your data.
Read the Understanding the Template File section to become familiar with the template.
Continue on to the procedures below.
In the first blank row of the template file, enter your new campaign information. This row should contain only campaign specific information.
To complete row one of the template:
In the Component Type column, enter Campaign.
In the Component Status column, enter On or Off. This will create your campaign with campaign status of On or Off. Note that if you set Component Status to On and enter a Campaign Start Date in the future, your campaign status will appear as Scheduled when you log in to your account.
Enter a Campaign Name and Campaign Description to identify your campaign.
Enter the Campaign Start Date and Campaign End Date in the form mm/dd/yyyy to define the campaign schedule. For instance, a Campaign Start Date of 01/31/2003 would have started the campaign on January 31, 2003. Note that if you leave the Campaign Start Date field empty, the campaign will default to begin the same day of the import. If you leave the Campaign End Date field empty, the campaign will run continuously.
In the Watch Flag column, enter On or Off. This specifies whether or not to add your campaign to your campaign watch list.
In the Sponsored Search Status and Content Match Status columns, enter On or Off to select the distribution tactics to use in this campaign.
In the Match Type column, enter Standard or Advanced to specify which match type to use for this campaign.
Leave the Campaign ID column blank. A unique Campaign ID will be created when your campaign is imported into your account.
In the second blank row of the template file, enter your new ad group information. This row should contain only ad group-specific information.
To complete row two of the template:
In the Component Type column, enter Ad Group.
In the Component Status column, enter On or Off. This will create your ad group with ad group status of On or Off.
Enter an Ad Group Name to identify your ad group.
Enter the appropriate campaign information.
Enter the Campaign Name you entered in step 3 to identify a new campaign as the campaign that you would like to create this ad group in.
Enter the Campaign Name and the Campaign ID of a pre-existing campaign if you would like to create this ad group in a campaign that already exists in your account. Note that to find out the Campaign ID of a pre-existing campaign, open its Campaign Details page and click the Download Campaign link. The Campaign ID will be visible in the download campaign file.
In the Ad Group: Optimize Ad Display column, enter On or Off. This specifies whether or not to optimize ad display based on click-through rate.
In the Watch Flag column, enter On or Off. This specifies whether or not to add your ad group to your ad group watch list.
In the Sponsored Search Status and Content Match Status columns, enter On or Off to select the distribution tactics to use in this ad group.
In the Match Type column, enter Standard or Advanced to specify which match type to use for this ad group.
If applicable, enter your bid. Bids are required if you have enabled the corresponding tactic. For instance, if you have enabled Sponsored Search, you must enter a Sponsored Search Bid.
You may enter a Sponsored Search ad group bid in the Sponsored Search Bid column.
You may enter a Content Match ad group bid in the Content Match Bid column.
Campaign optimization is not managed via the import campaigns process, so bid limits should never be set when creating new campaigns.
Leave the Ad Group ID column blank when you are creating a new ad group. A unique Ad Group ID will be created when your campaign is imported into your account.
In the third blank row of the template file, enter your keyword information. Note that each row should contain only 1 keyword. If you have multiple keywords to enter for the campaign, please enter one per row.
To complete row three of the template:
In the Component Type column, enter Keyword.
In the Component Status column, enter On or Off. This will create your keyword with keyword status of On or Off.
Enter the keyword in the Keyword column.
Enter the appropriate campaign information.
Enter the Campaign Name you entered in step 3 to identify a new campaign as the campaign that you would like to create this keyword in.
Enter the Campaign Name and the Campaign ID of a pre-existing campaign if you would like to create this keyword in a campaign that already exists in your account. Note that to find out the Campaign ID of a pre-existing campaign, open its Campaign Details page and click the Download Campaign link. The Campaign ID will be visible in the download campaign file.
Enter the appropriate ad group information.
Enter the Ad Group Name you entered in step 4 to identify a new ad group as the ad group that you would like to create this keyword in.
Enter the Ad Group name and Ad Group ID of a pre-existing ad group if you would like to create this keyword in an ad group that already exists in your account. Note that to find out the Ad Group ID of a pre-existing ad group, open the Campaign Details page of the campaign that the ad group exists in and click the Download Campaign link. The Ad Group ID will be visible in the download campaign file.
If applicable, enter your bid. Bids are required if you have enabled the corresponding tactic. For instance, if you have enabled Sponsored Search, you must enter a Sponsored Search Bid.
You may enter a Sponsored Search keyword bid in the Sponsored Search Bid column. This bid would override any ad group bid that you may have entered.
You cannot enter a Content Match Bid for a keyword. Please leave this column blank for each of your keywords.
Campaign optimization is not managed via the import campaigns process, so bid limits should never be set when creating new campaigns.
Optionally, enter any keyword alternate text in the Keyword Alt Text column.
Optionally, enter a keyword custom URL in the Keyword Custom URL column.
In the fourth blank row of the template file, enter your ad information. Note that each row should contain only one ad. If you have multiple ads to enter for the campaign, please enter one per row.
To complete row four of the template:
In the Component Type column, enter Ad.
In the Component Status column, enter On or Off. This will create your ad with ad status of On or Off.
Enter the Ad Name in the Ad Name column to uniquely identify your ad.
Enter the appropriate campaign information.
Enter the Campaign Name you entered in step 3 to identify a new campaign as the campaign that you would like to create this ad in.
Enter the Campaign Name and the Campaign ID of a pre-existing campaign if you would like to create this ad in a campaign that already exists in your account. Note that to find out the Campaign ID of a pre-existing campaign, open its Campaign Details page and click the Download Campaign link. The Campaign ID will be visible in the download campaign file.
Enter the appropriate ad group information.
Enter the Ad Group Name you entered in step 4 to identify a new ad group as the ad group that you would like to create this ad in.
Enter the Ad Group name and Ad Group ID of a pre-existing ad group if you would like to create this ad in an ad group that already exists in your account. Note that to find out the Ad Group ID of a pre-existing ad group, open the Campaign Details page of the campaign that the ad group exists in and click the Download Campaign link. The Ad Group ID will be visible in the download campaign file.
Enter the Ad Title that should appear in your ad.
Enter either an Ad Short Description, Ad Long Description, or both.
Enter the Display URL and the Destination URL of your ad. If they are the same URL, enter the same URL in each column.
The fifth and final rows of the template are used for optional and/or additional information.
To complete the template:
In the fifth blank row of the template, you may optionally add excluded words to your ad group.
Please do not enter values in the Checksum or Error Message columns. Those will be populated with system information after your import.
You may create additional campaigns, ad groups, ads and keywords in the template file, each represented by a single row.
When you have finished creating your campaign in your template file, save the file on your computer. Note that you may want to compress the file size of your template file by zipping it prior to import.
After you have saved (and compressed) your template file, you can complete the import process.
To complete the import process:
In the Import Campaigns page, click the Browse button to locate the template file on your computer. The Choose File dialog box opens.
Select your completed template file and click Open.
Enter a name for your upload in the Import Name field and click Upload. The campaign information in your template file will be imported into your account. If there are any errors in your template file, a comment file will be created in the Import History table.
Editing Existing Campaigns, Ad Groups, Ads, and Keywords
To edit existing campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords:
Click the Campaigns tab. The Campaigns page opens.
Identify the campaign that you would like to edit and click the campaign name link. The Campaign Details page opens.
In the Campaign Details page, click the Download Campaign link in the upper right corner of the page and save the campaign file to your computer.
Open the campaign file using a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel. The campaign file contains one row for the campaign, each ad group, each ad, and each keyword.
Identify which part of the campaign you would like to edit and find its corresponding row in the spreadsheet.
Please do not modify the values in the Checksum, Error Message, or ID columns.
When you have finished editing the appropriate rows in the campaign file, save the file on your computer. Note that to improve the performance of your import, you may want to compress the file size of your template file by zipping it prior to import. You can also improve performance by deleting any rows from the spreadsheet prior to import.
In the Import Campaigns page, click the Browse button to locate the campaign file on your computer. The Choose File dialog box opens.
Select your completed campaign file and click Open.
Enter a name for your upload in the Import Name field and click Upload. Any edited rows of information in your campaign file will be imported into your account. If there are any errors in your template file, a comment file will be created in the Import History table.
Deleting Existing Campaigns, Ad Groups, Ads, and Keywords
To delete existing campaigns, ad groups, ads, and keywords:
Click the Campaigns tab. The Campaigns page opens.
Identify the campaign that you would like to edit and click the campaign name link. The Campaign Details page opens.
In the Campaign Details page, click the Download Campaign link in the upper right corner of the page and save the campaign file to your computer.
Open the campaign file using a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel. The campaign file contains one row for the campaign, each ad group, each ad, and each keyword.
Identify which part of the campaign you would like to delete and find its corresponding row in the spreadsheet.
In the Component Status column of each row you would like to delete, enter the value deleted.
Please do not modify the values in the Checksum, Error Message, or ID columns.
When you have finished editing the appropriate rows in the campaign file, save the file on your computer. Note that to improve the performance of your import, you may want to compress the file size of your template file by zipping it prior to import. You can also improve performance by deleting any rows from the spreadsheet prior to import.
In the Import Campaigns page, click the Browse button to locate the campaign file on your computer. The Choose File dialog box opens.
Select your completed campaign file and click Open.
Enter a name for your upload in the Import Name field and click Upload. Any rows of information in your campaign file in which you changed the status to "deleted" will be deleted. If there are any errors in your template file, a comment file will be created in the Import History table.
Viewing the Import History for Your Account
To view past import information:
Click the Campaigns tab > Import subtab. The Import Campaigns page opens.
In the Import History section, view the imports that have been submitted for your account. If there are any errors in your template, a comment file will be created. Select the comment file link in the Comments column to view detailed information about the errors.
Converting Third-Party Campaigns
To convert a third-party campaign to a Yahoo! Search Marketing campaign:
Export your Google AdWords account. You can either export your Google AdWords account to a .csv file from the Google AdWords Editor or download a Google Bulkpost file from your Google AdWords account. Do not edit the file prior to conversion. After the file is converted, you can edit the information.
Convert the file and import it into Yahoo! Search Marketing. The instructions are listed below.
To convert and import a third-party campaign into a Yahoo! Search Marketing campaign:
Log in to your Yahoo! Search Marketing account.
Click the Campaigns tab > Import subtab. The Import Campaigns page opens.
In the Import Campaigns page, click the Convert Third Party Campaigns tab.
Click the Browse button. The Choose File dialog box opens.
Select the file you downloaded that contains your third party campaigns.
In the Name field, enter a name for the Conversion.
Click the Convert button.
In the Converted Campaigns History table, you can track the progress of your converted spreadsheet.
When the upload is completed, check the Comments column in the Converted Campaigns History table.
If the uploaded file contained an error, click the link in the Comments column to open the file and check the error listed in the Suggested Changes column. If necessary, update the file and repeat steps 4-7 above.
If the Comments column is blank, the file was uploaded without error, and the Converted Campaign File column contains a link to the converted file.
When the converted campaign file is available, download and review the file. Note that once you download your converted campaign file, you may need to change the destination URL of your ads to ensure that they are passing the correct click source information. The source of the click is passed in your URLs for reporting and analytics purposes.
In the Import Campaigns page, click the Import Campaigns tab.
Click the Browse button to locate the converted campaign file on your computer. The Choose File dialog box opens.
Select your converted campaign file and click Open.
Enter a name for your upload in the Import Name field and click Upload. The campaign information in your converted campaign file will be imported into your account. If there are any errors in your template file, a comment file will be created in the Import History table.
Note: Currently, only Google Adwords files can be uploaded.
Understanding the Template File
The template file is a spreadsheet that you can download and fill out with campaign, ad group, keyword, and ad information. You can download the spreadsheet template as either an XML or a CSV file type. Both file types contain the same columns; however the XML version is better structured to help you enter your data. The columns that appear in the template file are listed below:
Table 1.
Column Name |
Definition |
|---|---|
Campaign Name |
The unique name that you create to identify a campaign. This column must be filled out for every row in the spreadsheet. |
Ad Group Name |
The unique name that you create to identify an ad group. This column must be filled out for every row in the spreadsheet, except for the Campaign rows. |
Component Type |
A component type can be a campaign, ad group, ad, keyword, or ad group excluded word. Complete this column to indicate the component type for a particular row. |
Component Status |
Indicates the status of the component type entered in a particular row. When a component status is enclosed in square brackets, one of its parent component types has a deleted status. For example, a keyword row with status indicated as "On" means the keyword’s ad group or campaign is deleted. This column must be filled out for every row in the spreadsheet, except for rows with the component type specified as ad group excluded word. |
Display Status |
A brief description that shows whether or not a component (Campaign, Ad Group, Keyword, or Ad) are active, as described in the Statuses topic. |
Keyword |
The keyword you are creating, editing or deleting. This column must be filled out for each row in the spreadsheet with the component type specified as keyword. |
Keyword Alt Text |
Alternate text defined for a keyword, which allows you to reword the keyword to better fit within the sentence structure of the title or description when using the Keyword Insertion feature for Sponsored Search and Content Match. This column must be filled out for each row in the spreadsheet with the component type specified as keyword. |
Keyword Custom URL |
Custom URL specified for a Sponsored Search keyword. This column may be filled out for rows where the component type is specified as keyword. |
Sponsored Search Bid (USD) |
This column is used when campaign optimization is OFF and will be blank if optimization is ON. The values include Default and {BID VALUE}.
This column may be filled out for rows with the component type specified as either ad group or keyword. |
Sponsored Search Bid Limit (USD) |
This column is used when campaign optimization is ON and will be blank if optimization is OFF. The values include Default and {BID LIMIT VALUE}.
The campaign bid limit will not appear in this column. This column may be filled out for rows with the component type specified as either ad group or keyword. |
Sponsored Search Min Bid (USD) |
The minimum bid required to keep all of the ads in the Sponsored Search ad group active through the ad group default bid. Please do not edit this value. |
Sponsored Search Status |
Indicates whether Sponsored Search is on or off. This field may be filled out for rows with the component type specified as either campaign or ad group. |
Match Type |
Indicates whether the Standard match type or Advanced match type for Sponsored Search is on.
This column may be filled out for rows with the component type specified as campaign, ad group, or keyword. |
Content Match Bid (USD) |
This column is used when campaign optimization is OFF and will be blank if optimization is ON. The values include Default, {BID VALUE}.
This column may be filled out for rows with the component type specified as ad group. |
Content Match Bid Limit (USD) |
This column is used when campaign optimization is ON and will be blank if optimization is OFF. The values include Default and {BID LIMIT VALUE}.
The campaign bid limit will not appear in this column. This column may be filled out for rows with the component type specified as ad group. |
Content Match Min Bid (USD) |
The minimum bid required to keep the Content Match ad group active, if the ad group is enabled for Content Match. Please do not edit this value. |
Content Match Status |
Indicates whether Content Match is On or Off. This field may be used in rows with the component type specified as either campaign or ad group. |
Ad Name |
Unique name that identifies an ad, for use in rows with the component type specified as ad. |
Ad Title |
Title that appears in the ad. Maximum length is 40 characters. This field may be filled out for rows with component type specified as ad. |
Ad Short Description |
Short description of the ad used in certain ad formats. Maximum length is 70 characters. This field may be used for rows with the component type specified as ad. |
Ad Long Description |
Long description of the ad used in certain ad formats. Maximum length is 190 characters. This field may be used for rows with the component type specified as ad. |
Ad Display URL |
The Display URL designated to appear with the ad, instead of the destination URL. Maximum length is 1024 characters. This field may be used for rows with the component type specified as ad. |
Ad Destination URL |
The Destination URL is the landing page that is accessed when the ad is clicked. Maximum length is 1024 characters. This field may be used for rows with the component type specified as ad. |
Watch List |
A list of campaigns, ad groups, and keywords that are of particular interest to you. The Watch List can be viewed from the Dashboard page. Values include On and Off. |
Campaign ID |
A number that uniquely identifies a campaign. Please do not edit this value, as it is used when editing an existing campaign, ad group, ad or keyword. |
Campaign Description |
Brief summary of the campaign. This appears in rows with the component type specified as campaign. |
Campaign Start Date |
The first date that a campaign is scheduled to run, formatted depending on your market (e.g. MM/DD/YYYY). |
Campaign End Date |
The last date that a campaign is scheduled to run, formatted depending on your market (e.g. MM/DD/YYYY). |
Ad Group ID |
A number that uniquely identifies an ad group, included in rows with the component type specified as ad group and its associated ad and keyword rows. This column must be filled out for every row except those with the component type specified as campaign. Please do not edit this value. |
Ad Group: Optimize Ad Display |
Indicates whether Optimize Ad Display is On or Off. |
Ad ID |
A number that uniquely identifies an ad, for use when editing or deleting rows with the component type specified as ad. Please do not edit this value. |
Keyword ID |
A number that uniquely identifies a keyword, used when editing or deleting rows with the component type specified as keyword. Please do not edit this value. |
Checksum |
Internal value used to determine whether a row has been updated. Please do not edit this value. |
Error Message |
This column may contain a system message returned in the Feedback File after an import is processed. Please do not edit this value. |
To learn more about campaigns and downloading data, see: