Sizmek (SEM Connect) Integration Advanced Guide

Introduction

This document describes the onboarding approach for customers using Sizmek’s SEM Connect solution with the Marin Software platform.

About Sizmek SEM Connect

Sizmek is an open ad management company that fuels digital advertising campaigns for advertisers and agencies around the world with the most innovative technology. Sizmek's suite of tools allow for the optimization of media creative and data for enhanced campaign performance. The Sizmek platform incorporates display ad serving, search, rich media, video, dynamic ads, mobile and emerging media – providing marketers with a cross-channel view of ad campaigns.

Sizmek’s SEM Connect enables you to track and analyze search engine campaigns. You can use Sizmek to analyze your search and display campaigns and the users’ path to conversion in one place. SEM Connect provides a seamless bridge between Sizmek and the Marin Enterprise platform.

Integration Scope and Requirements

  • The client must invite a Sizmek representative to the Marin kick-off call.
  • The customer must be covered by a Sizmek Statement of Work (SoW) prior to implementing this integration with Marin
  • The client must complete their Sizmek integration setup before Marin can implement this integration; this includes deploying all Sizmek Conversion Tags.
  • This integration uses a bi-directional synch between platforms, in which Marin provides Sizmek with full entities hierarchy data and metrics (Cost data), and Sizmek provides Marin with attributed conversion data. The client must sign the data-sharing agreement form, before both platforms are able to enable this synch.
  • Sizmek’s SEM Connect integration supports URL tracking of the following objects: Keyword, Creatives, Placements, Product Groups, Placements, and Sitelinks.
  • Sizmek manages click & conversion event capture, de-duplication, and attribution, based on configurable settings in the Sizmek platform, and sends a conversion feed to the Marin platform for ingestion.
  • Sizmek compatible URLs can be built directly in Marin and do not require trafficking through Sizmek
  • Marin Enterprise has limits on the number of conversion tags (conversion types) it can ingest from Sizmek, however, Marin’s conversion mapping tool allows multiple Sizmek Conversion Tags to be aggregated into a single Marin Conversion Type, Please consult with your Marin onboarding team for more details.
  • On an hourly basis, Marin will sync any publisher account entities or metrics that have been added or updated, to the Sizmek platform, this intra-day synch will allow Sizmek’s reporting system to match Marin’s platform.
  • Clients can run any Marin enterprise-supported search publisher with this integration. Social & Display channels are not supported with this integration.

Implementation Checklist

Phase Step Task Dependencies Owner platform Details
Approval 1 Sizmek and Marin both approve project   Sizmek, Marin   Sizmek & Marin Review Clients Requirements
Client Commitment 2 Sign the Marin-Sizmek Data Sharing agreement, to allow activation of cost and revenue feeds across platforms.   Customer, Sizmek, Marin    
Integration Prep 3 Customer to execute the following setup steps in Sizmek   Customer, Sizmek Sizmek  
Part 1. Confirm that Sizmek conversion tags are already set up in Sizmek. Only if tags haven’t been setup is part 2 required.
Part 2. Embed the Sizmek conversion tag code on the advertiser’s website
4 Complete Account mapping table between Marin and Sizmek (Link Here) 1, 2, 3 Customer, Sizmek, Marin    
5 Send Sizmek Conversion Tag Report to Marin (Link Here) 1, 2, 3 Customer, Sizmek, Marin    
6 Scope and map Sizmek tags to Marin conversion types 5 Customer, Marin Marin  
Implementation 7 Create Marin client account(s) or confirm accounts are setup (This step should include activating required client configuration flags for all Marin Client Accounts) 4 Marin Marin Client Configuration Flags activated via Marin Internal App.
8 Setup Sizmek Redirects in Marin URL builder 7 Marin Marin  
9 Set up Marin platform ID parser for tracking IDs 7 Marin Marin  
10 Set up Marin Revenue Connect 7 Marin Marin Internal Marin Step (empty mapping fine)
11 Link in publisher accounts or confirm accounts are already linked 7 Marin Marin  
12 Set up conversion types in Marin 5, 6, 7 Marin Marin  
13 Step 13 is only required for clients migrating from Sizmek CC4S / Search Connect product 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,12 Customer, Sizmek, Marin   Only required for clients migrating away from Sizmek’s CC4S / Search Connect product

Part 1 – agree a migration date.

If advertiser is currently using Sizmek's CC4S / Search Connect product then Sizmek, Marin and the Customer must mutually agree upon date to disable CC4S / Search Connect

Part 2 – Sizmek disable Sizmek CC4S / Search Connect on agreed date.

If Sizmek's CC4S / Search Connect product is being used Sizmek will disable this product on all Publisher Client Accounts on the agreed date. Disabling will revert all URLs to their previous state, before they were wrapped, and push original URLs to the publisher. Note: this means Sizmek tracking will be removed from this point, and tracking will only resume when the new SEM Connect tracking is added by the Marin platform (Step 16).

13 - Part 1. Sizmek Sizmek  
14 Sizmek enables SEM Connect in Sizmek platform in preparation for launch, informing Marin and the customer that it is complete, and is safe to push updated URLs. 13 if client is using CC4S today Sizmek Sizmek For clients migrating from Sizmek CC4S / Search Connect this step can only be completed once step 13 has completed.
15 Marin enables SEM Connect in Marin platform in preparation for launch 14 Marin Marin

Marin must wait for Sizmek confirmation before completing this step.

This step involves setting up all required client tags for this integration for all Marin accounts.

16 Marin sync and traffic the newly wrapped URLS to the publisher 15 Marin Marin  
17 Confirm with Marin that Marin Data Passback & Integrity Data is processing successfully 14 Sizmek, Marin Sizmek, Marin Integrity Data powers Sizmek Monitoring Reports
18 Confirm that Sizmek Conversion Data is processing successfully into Marin platform (via Marin Revenue Connect) 14,15,16 Sizmek, Marin Sizmek, Marin  
19 QA conversion and revenue data (3 days) 18 Customer, Marin, Sizmek Sizmek, Marin  
20 Transition account to Client Services Teams 19 Marin/Sizmek Marin, Sizmek  
21 Optional: Request Sizmek to add contacts to SEM.External.Notifications@sizmek.com to receive Sizmek alerts when data delays are occurring 20 Sizmek Sizmek Optional Step

MARIN-SIZMEK DATA SHARING AGREEMENT (STEP 2)

In order to begin the onboarding process both Marin and Sizmek must receive separate authorization requests for data sharing from the customer to enable the integration:

  1. Data integration authorization request to Sizmek
    This will have already been satisfied if the Sizmek SoW has been signed.
  2. Data Integration authorization request to Marin
    To enable Marin to share publisher entity, and metric information with a customer’s Sizmek account, Marin must receive an authorization from the Advertiser. Once authorized by the advertiser, Marin will give Sizmek access to an advertiser’s search data managed in Marin. 

If you have any questions on what data Marin and Sizmek will be sharing please ask your Marin & Sizmek representatives.

ACCOUNT & CONVERSION TYPE MAPPING (STEPS 4 & 5)

Marin requires a mapping of Sizmek advertisers & publisher accounts by name and ID in order to build a complimentary Marin account structure. Your Marin onboarding team will work with you to determine the appropriate mapping.

The table below is for example purposes only.

Additionally you will have to request a Conversion Tag report from your Sizmek rep so Marin can map conversion Tags to Marin Conversion Types. Instructions for requesting this report are in the document link below.

CONVERSION TYPE SETUP

Your Marin onboarding team will work with you to determine which Sizmek conversion tags to map to Marin conversion types using the conversion type information you include in the Account & Conversion Mapping Document you return (link to form in above section). 

The Sizmek conversion data reported in Marin for this integration is available in either date of click or date of conversion (not both), but Marin recommends you use date of conversion to match Sizmek reporting – this is explained in more detail the Account & Conversion Mapping Document. Note: Regardless of the actual attribution you choose Sizmek Conversion Types setup in the Marin UI must be set to Marin Application date of click setting to ensure the data can be used for bidding optimization (this Marin setting will only be visible on the Marin Conversion Types Setup page; it won’t be visible in reporting).

Marin has a soft limit of 50 conversion types per Marin Client Account, however, Sizmek conversion tags can be aggregated to a Marin conversion type, if needed, using the Conversion Type Mapping Tool. 

Example of a Marin conversion type setup in Marin below:

Important: Marin Conversion Type column will be prefixed with “[SZMK]” (aka Admin > Revenue > Conversion Types: Conversion Type Column) to ensure these conversion types appear in Sizmek monitoring reports.

Marin Client Account ID Marin Reporting Col. Header (i.e. Sizmek Tag Name) Marin (Internal) Conversion Type
*prefix value with “[SZMK]” for monitoring reports 
Conversion Type ID 
(Sizmek Tag ID)
*Date of Click/Conv (Marin Setting – does not reflect actual attribution you choose) 1/Many Conv. Per Click Conv. used in Bidding? Rev. used in Bidding?
12345 Order [SZMK] Order 123456 Click Many Y Y
12345 Registration [SZMK] Registration 123452 Click Many N N

Sizmek provides Marin with supplemental data points about each conversion which can be used to populate additional conversion types within the Marin platform. The data will vary based on client setup with Sizmek. Please speak with your Marin Solutions Architect for further information.

MARIN URL BUILDER SETTINGS

In order for Sizmek and Marin to track and report on your search activity, Marin’s URL tagging product will be enabled; this is the recommended approach and ensures reporting accuracy in both systems.

Sample URL (Google Example)

http://bs.serving-sys.com/Serving/?cn=search&semdid=789-049-0902_160812114_2935604580_wU8HRhfe&semid=1&seid=1&semuserid=&advid=12324&mmx=$$sekwid=&seadid=60055676451&sekwtxt=sizmek&matchtype=e$$&semdata=$$mkwid=swU8HRhfe_60055676451_sizmek_e_c&mtid=24l339123&slid=&product_id=&targetids=groupid=$$&urtu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sizmek.com

How Marin URL Builder Works

URL Builder is a Marin platform feature that helps ensure all objects that have a URL attribute have the correct tracking included in their destination URLs. It appends tracking when keywords, creatives, placements, sitelinks or product targets are created or edited via the Marin platform.

The following is the default setup for the Marin URL Builder with this integration by Publisher (As Publishers have specific URL building requirements and/or supported parameters):

If setting up the platform URL Builder please download this document and copy settings into platform (ensure you copy over no spaces into platform url builder)

 
URL Builder (Structured URL)
Tracking Templates
Level Settings
Account Redirect Settings Single
  URL Connector Encoding
Redirect 1 [Redirect 1] http://bs.serving-sys.com/Serving/?cn=search&semdid=[ext_pca_id]_{campaignid}_{adgroupid}_{_mkwid}&semid=1&seid=1&semuserid=&advid=[SizmekIntegration_ID]&mmx=$$sekwid=&seadid={creative}&sekwtxt={keyword}&matchtype={matchtype}$$&semdata=$$mkwid={ifsearch:s}{ifcontent:c}{_mkwid}_{creative}_{keyword}_{matchtype}_{device}&mtid=[tracker_id]&slid={_slid}&product_id={product_id}&targetids={targetid}&groupid={adgroupid}$$& urtu=  
Landing Page {escapedlpurl}    
Structure [Redirect 1]urtu=[LandingPage]
URL Parameters 
Location Name Value (2048 max chars) End Stop Char Append To
Marin        
Google Custom Parameters 
Level Name Value (2048 max chars) Stop Char Append To
Keyword {_mkwid} [uniq_id] None None
Creative {_mkwid} [uniq_id] None None
Placement {_mkwid} [uniq_id] None None
Sitelink* {_slid} [uniq_id] None None
Product Group {_mkwid} [uniq_id] None None

*Google Sitelinks Ad Extensions Reporting will need to be activated by an internal Marin user, please ask your Marin rep. about this.

URL Builder (Structured URL)
Tracking Templates
Level Settings
Account

Redirect Settings
 

 

 

Single
  URL Connector Encoding
Redirect 1 [Redirect 1] http://bs.serving-sys.com/Serving/?cn=search&semdid=[ext_pca_id]_{CampaignId}_{AdGroupId}_{_mkwid}&semid=1&seid=3&semuserid=&advid=[SizmekIntegration_ID]&mmx=$$sekwid=&seadid={adid}&sekwtxt={keyword}&matchtype={bidMatchType}$$&semdata=$$mkwid={_mkwid}_{adid}_{keyword}_{bidMatchType}_{device}&mtid=[tracker_id]&slid={_slid}&product_id={ProductId}&targetids={targetid}&groupid={adgroupid}$$& urtu=  
Landing Page {escapedlpurl}  
 
Structure [Redirect 1]urtu=[LandingPage]    
URL Parameters 
Location Name Value (2048 max chars) End Stop Char Append To
Marin        
Bing Custom Parameters 
Level Name Value (2048 max chars) Stop Char Append To
Keyword {_mkwid} [uniq_id] None None
Creative {_mkwid} [uniq_id] None None
Placement {_mkwid} [uniq_id] None None
Sitelink* {_slid} [uniq_id] None None
Product Group {_mkwid} [uniq_id] None None

*Bing Sitelinks URL Builder & Reporting will need to be activated by an internal Marin user, please ask your Marin rep. about this.

URL Builder Settings
Tracking Templates
Template Settings
Account
Redirect Settings ON
  URL
Redirect 1 [Redirect 1] http://bs.serving-sys.com/Serving/?cn=search&semdid=7_[ext_campaign_id]_[ext_group_id]_[uniq_id]&semid=1&seid=7&semuserid=&advid=[SizmekIntegration_ID]&mmx=$$sekwid=&seadid={creative}&sekwtxt={keyword}&matchtype={bidmatchtype}$$&semdata=$$mkwid=[uniq_id]_{creative}_{keyword}_{bidmatchtype}_{device}&mtid=[tracker_id]$$&urtu=[click_through_url]
Landing Page [click_through_url] or [landing_page_urls]
Sitelink*
Redirect Settings ON
Redirect 1 [Redirect 1] http://bs.serving-sys.com/Serving/?cn=search&{copy:semdid}&{copy:semid}&{copy:seid}&semuserid=&{copy:advid}&mmx=$$sekwid=&seadid={creative}&sekwtxt={keyword}&matchtype={bidMatchType}$$&semdata=$${copy:mkwid}&{copy:mtid}$$&urtu=[click_through_url]
Landing Page [click_through_url] or [landing_page_urls]

*The Marin platform does not have support to add/edit Yahoo Gemini Sitelinks. The above-suggested URL needs to be manually entered into the Yahoo Gemini ad management platform by the customer to track Yahoo Gemini Sitelink clicks with this integration.

Note: There is no url builder support for the Yahoo Gemini {ifphone:string} {ifnotphone:string} dynamic parameters.

URL Builder (Structured URL)
Tracking Templates
Level Settings
Account
Redirect Settings Single
  URL Connector Encoding
Redirect 1 [Redirect 1] http://bs.serving-sys.com/Serving/?cn=search&semdid=[ext_pca_id]_{_extcampaignid}_{_extgroupid}_{_mkwid}&semid=1&seid=4&semuserid=&advid=[SizmekIntegration_ID]&mmx=$$sekwid=&seadid=&sekwtxt={keyword}&matchtype={matchtype}$$&semdata=$$mkwid={_mkwid}__{keyword}_{matchtype}_{device}&mtid=[tracker_id]$$& urtu=  
Landing Page {escapedlpurl}    
URL Schema [Redirect 1]h=[LandingPage]
URL Parameters 
Location Name Value (2048 max chars) End Stop Char Append To
Marin        
Google Custom Parameters 
Level Name Value (2048 max chars) Stop Char Association
Keyword {_mkwid} [uniq_id] None None
Creative {_mkwid} [uniq_id] None None
Campaign {_extcampaignid} [ext_campaign_id] None None
Group {_extgroupid} [ext_group_id] None None

Other Considerations when implementing Yahoo Japan tracking: 

  • Yahoo Japan (YJP) sunset {copy} parameter in January 2016; Sitelinks will use the account level template and your trackables setup to attribute conversions back.
  • Marin does not leverage {creative} tracking so URLs are only tagged with a Marin unique ID and publisher value tracks for device, keyword and match type.
  • Marin does not support “editing” Yahoo! Japan creative’s. Clients should create the new ad, push it to Yahoo! Japan, wait for Yahoo! Japan approval, hard sync the approved ads back into Marin to update the ad status, and then delete the old ad.
URL Builder Settings
Tracking Templates
Levels Settings
Account
Redirect Settings ON
  URL
Redirect 1 [Redirect 1] http://bs.serving-sys.com/Serving/?cn=search&semdid=5_[ext_campaign_id]_[ext_group_id]_[uniq_id]&semid=1&seid=5&semuserid=&advid=[SizmekIntegration_ID]&mmx=$$sekwid=&seadid={creative}&sekwtxt=[urlencoded_keyword]&matchtype=[match]$$&semdata=$$mkwid={mediatype}[uniq_id]_{creative}_[urlencoded_keyword]_[match]_{device}&mtid=[tracker_id]&$$&urtu=[click_through_url]
Landing Page [click_through_url] or [landing_page_urls]

Other Considerations when implementing Baidu tracking: 

  • The Marin platform does not have support to add/edit sitelinks. The above-suggested URL needs to be manually entered into the Baidu ad management platform by the customer to track sitelink clicks with this integration.
  • Baidu does not have a {keyword} value track, so keyword-level URLs are required to get keyword attribution.
URL Builder Settings
Tracking Templates
Levels Settings
Account
Redirect Settings ON
  URL
Redirect 1 [Redirect 1] http://bs.serving-sys.com/Serving/?cn=search&semdid=6_{campaign_id}_[gbid]_[uniq_id]&semid=1&seid=6&semuserid=&advid=[SizmekIntegration_ID]&mmx=$$sekwid=&seadid={ad_id}&sekwtxt={keyword}&matchtype=$$&semdata=$$mkwid=yandex|{phrase_id}_{ad_id}___&mtid=[tracker_id]$$&urtu=[click_through_url]
Landing Page [click_through_url] or [landing_page_urls]
URL Builder Settings
Tracking Templates
Levels Settings
Account
Redirect Settings ON
  URL
Redirect 1 [Redirect 1] http://bs.serving-sys.com/Serving/?cn=search&semdid=[SizmekIntegration_SiteID]_[ext_campaign_id]_[ext_group_id]_[uniq_id]&semid=1&seid=[SizmekIntegration_SiteID]&semuserid=&advid=[SizmekIntegration_ID]&mmx=$$sekwid=&seadid=&sekwtxt=[urlencoded_keyword]&matchtype=[match]$$&semdata=$$mkwid=[uniq_id]____&mtid=[tracker_id]$$&urtu=[click_through_url]
Landing Page [click_through_url] or [landing_page_urls]

ID PARSER SETTINGS 

The following settings under keyword ID parsing will need to be configured in the Marin application. These settings are required for attribution of Sizmek conversion events in the Marin platform.

Parameter Type Parameter Name Stop Character Additional Options & Settings
Tracking ID mkwid _ Device Type Appended: [N]
Tracking ID > Sitelink ID slid & Value Separator: “=”

MARIN URL AUTOCORRECT

The Marin platform has advanced URL tagging features that fix URL issues on synchronization with the publisher; below details which ones are available to be activated with this integration by publisher. To find out more about these features please speak to a platform representative.

Publishers using Upgraded URLs (See help article here)

Publisher Keywords / Creatives / Product Groups / Sitelinks* (No Placement Support) Groups Campaigns Accounts Update Mode
Object Templates (T) Custom Parameters (CP) Templates Custom Parameters Templates Custom Parameters Templates n/a

Supported Supported Not Supported Not Supported Supported Supported Not Supported Not Supported

  download

Supported Supported Not Supported Not Supported Supported Supported Not Supported Not Supported

Supported Supported Not Supported Not Supported Supported Supported Not Supported Not Supported

Note: There is no platform URL autocorrect support for AdWords App Install Campaigns, or AdWords Dynamic Search Ads.

Autocorrect only runs on objects synced nightly, this means it only runs on objects with impressions.

Publishers not using Upgraded URLs:

Publisher Keywords / Creatives Sitelinks Update Mode

Supported Not Supported Supported

baidu

Supported Not Supported Supported

Supported Not Supported Supported

Supported Not Supported Supported

URL Building & Deployment Requirements (Must Read For Clients Migrating From CC4S)!

Please read the following information carefully as initial URL updates require coordination with Sizmek.

    • The disabling of CC4S happens on a publisher account level, so please indicate to Sizmek which publisher accounts are to be disabled, if not all at once.
    • Sizmek will revert all wrapped URLs to their previous state, before they were wrapped, and push the original URLS to the publisher. 
    • This process can take hours and must be fully completed, please coordinate with the customer and Sizmek rep to ensure this process happens when both parties are available.
    • During this process the customer will have a gap in tracking, it’s important that the customer is aware of this gap, and if they wish to they can pause their campaigns during the transition period.
    • Once CC4S has been fully disabled, the Sizmek rep should inform the customer and Marin that it is not safe for Marin to push the updated URLS on HOLD.
 

Reference Appendix A for technical details about the Sizmek URL Structure

 

DEPLOY MARIN DATA PASSBACK FEED TO SIZMEK

Marin performs a daily sync with Sizmek to ensure both platforms contain the same campaign entities and cost metrics. This intra-day cost Data Passback is delivered to a Sizmek S3 Cloud Storage location, and is automatically enabled when the SEM Connect integration is activated in the Marin platform.

Reference Appendix B for technical details about the Marin Data Passback Feed

 

DEPLOY MARIN INTEGRITY FEED

Marin generates a daily aggregation of clicks and conversions at the campaign and publisher level for Sizmek to be used as a validation process to confirm that the data integrity of the integration is preserved across both platforms. This data powers the Sizmek monitoring reports.

Reference Appendix C for technical details about the Marin Integrity Feed

 

IMPORTING SIZMEK CONVERSIONS INTO MARIN

Marin will begin importing conversion data from your Sizmek Advertiser account once the integration is enabled and URLs are tagged. Historical data before the integration won’t be included.

Key Information:

  • Marin will be reporting on the attribution model you have setup in the Sizmek platform. Modifications to this attribution model in Sizmek will only be reflected in both platforms from the date of the change (i.e. historical data will not be amended for the new setting.)
  • Sizmek conversion data will be available in Marin reports by 9am (local time of your Sizmek Advertiser).
  • Marin reporting of Sizmek conversion data can use either the date of the click that led to the successful action, or the date of the successful action itself. Marin recommends you use date of conversion in order to be able to compare data between platforms, and use Sizmek monitoring reports.
  • Marin can report Sizmek conversions attributed to keywords, creatives, sitelink ad extensions, placements, and product groups.
  • Marin can optimize bids using Sizmek conversion data.
  • Marin will automatically report any revenue an action records in Sizmek. Please ensure you are passing the currency value into the Sizmek tag to ensure do currency conversion discrepancies.
  • Marin currently does not report the Sizmek quantity metric.
  • There should be no discrepancy between the conversion data reported in either platforms (you can check this daily using the Sizmek SEM Connect monitoring reports!

Reference Appendix D for technical details about the Sizmek Conversion Feed

 
APPENDIX A Sizmek Redirect URL Structure & Attributes

The following table contains a legend of Sizmek parameters:

Sizmek Parameter  Definition Expected Values/Examples
cn Static value used to define the channel being tracked Static value: “search”
seid A predefined unique ID which Sizmek assigned for each integrated Search Engine. IF you don’t see a search engine that a customer wishes to track, please inform your onboarding team. 1 – Google, 3 – Bing, 4 - Yahoo Japan, 5 – Baidu, 6 – Yandex, 7 - Yahoo Gemini, 
9 – Facebook
semid A predefined unique ID which Sizmek provide for each integrated SEM provider. Static value for Marin: “1”
semuserid The user id as the SEM identifies him. It’s an optional tag NOT USED BY MARIN
semdata This parameter contains Marin’s MKWID parameter with tracking IDs, as well as a parameter for sitelink id, product id, and marin tracker id. 
LENGTH LIMIT: 1024 CHARS

mkwid=sQr08945s_{creative}_{keyword}_
{matchtype}_{device}&mtid=24l339123&slid=&product_id=&

targetids=&groupid=&

semdid This is a concatenation of the publisher account EXT ID, Campaign EXT ID, Group EXT ID, Marin object UNIQUE ID. These values are used to tie the click event back to the account hierarchy in the Data Passback provided to Sizmek. B015Q1S6_160670096_2929507485_DswlstGk
advid Sizmek advertiser id. Should be fetched by the client/Marin in the setup phase 9483504
sekwid Search Engine Keyword ID  NOT USED BY MARIN
seadid Search Engine Ad (creative) ID {creative} 
sekwtxt Search Engine Keyword Text {keyword}
matchtype Search Engine Match Type {matchtype}
urtu URL Encoded Click through URL http%3A%2F%2Fwww.domain.com%2F1
APPENDIX B Marin Data Passback Feed Specifications

Marin’s intra-day Data Passback offering will allow for metrics and campaign data synchs to occur on an hourly basis, ensuring that an Sizmek will be able stay in synch with Marin (with up to a 1-2 hour delay). This Data Passback will have the following specifications: 

Generic Specifications

  • A file should be created and sent per advertiser (if multiple Marin Client Accounts map to an advertiser, there will be separate files per Marin Client Account).
  • In the case where the client is directly making account changes in the search engine, and not in Marin, the update will show up in the data Passback feed after Marin performs the next synch with the publisher. If the account changes occur within Marin then the updates will show up in the following hourly data Passback output, to Sizmek.
  • Metrics reflect the date boundaries used by the publisher, which may be different from each other. Publishers will always send data adjusted to the time zone of the publisher account. Data Passback file data will match the Marin Enterprise User Interface.

Technical Specifications

Sizmek S3 Bucket semmarin
File Name Format Marin_{Sizmek Advertiser ID}_{YYYY-MM-DD_HH_MM_SS}_{Marin CID}_costdata.txt.gzip
Example Marin_310_2014-06-14_23_0500_3084232_costdata.txt.gzip
File Format GZIP → Text JSON file. 
Delivery Interval Hourly – Upon cost data download and readiness in the Marin system

Note: dimension=campaign/metadata, fact=publisher cost metrics

  • Initial Historical Data: previous 30 days of dimension & fact data (full data set)
  • Ongoing Delta Feed: Delta of Dimension & Fact data from the previous output file generated 
  • If there have been no changes in dimension or fact data since last feed, no file will be generated.
  • Marin only synchs with the client’s publisher accounts ONCE per day, but exceptions for a re-synch are made.
  • The Intraday Synch is between Marin and Sizmek and includes: automatic synch, manual synch, account campaign updates in Marin will be pushed back to Sizmek on an intraday basis (hourly – 24 hrs)
    • Automatic synch – daily synch Marin performs with the publisher to download entity/cost data
    • Manual synch – a custom request to re-synch cost/entity data from the publisher outside of the daily automated synch process. Used to resolve any discrepancies between Marin and publishers.
    • Campaign Updates – updates performed within Marin, which could also include linking in new publisher accounts and updates to any point in the hierarchy of the account. 
  • The feed should include JSON objects in sequential order and not in an array structure (i.e. with NO square brackets surrounding the list of the objects).
  • Each JSON object should appear in a new line with no delimiters (e.g. commas) between the objects.
  • The feed would be zipped with GZip format.
  • Entities which don’t have metric attributes, should be included only once in the whole feed, which will include the most updated metadata attributes (according to “SE_{EntityName}LastModified”) at feed generation timestamp for each of those entities.
  • Entities which have metric attributes, should be sent only once per day (according to “SE_MetricsLastModified”) for each of the last 30 days, which will include the most updated metadata attributes (according to “SE_{EntityName}LastModified”) and the most updated metric attributes (according to “SE_MetricsLastModified”) of that day for each of those entities.
  • In case keyword/creative has no fact data (e.g. A keyword that was just created but not trafficked to the publisher yet) the field ‘SE_MetrcisLastModified’ should contain the same value as ‘SE_KeywordLastModified’ if this is a KW entity or ‘SE_AdLastModified’ if this is an Ad entity. In addition, all metrics fields should be omitted.
  • Initial run should contain all entities down the hierarchy (campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads) even in case NO serving was done for them yet.
  • The feed should be encoded with UTF-8 without BOM (For more information, go here)
APPENDIX C Marin Integrity Feed Specifications

About the Sizmek Integrity Feed: this feed generates an aggregation of clicks and conversions at the campaign and publisher level and is used as a validation process to confirm that the data integrity of the integration is preserved across both platforms.

How is the feed activated: the integrity feed uses the same activation process as the Data Passback.

Technical Specifications

  • Click File: Aggregated clicks by the campaign entity should be sent for the last day (i.e. a record for each of the entities, which includes metadata & metrics attributes for the last day). Additionally, campaigns which have updated clicks for past days, should be sent only once per day for each day in the past (according to “SE_MetricsLastModified”) for which Sizmek should be updated for.
  • Conversion File: Aggregated conversions by the publisher entity should be sent for the last day (i.e. a record for each of the entities, which includes metadata & metrics attributes for the last day). Additionally, publishers which have updated conversions for past days, should be sent only once per day for each day in the past (according to “SE_MetricsLastModified”) for which Sizmek should be updated for.
  • Entities which don’t have metric attributes, should not be included in the whole feed 

Key Structure Notes

  • The feed should include JSON objects in sequential order and not in an array structure (i.e. with NO square brackets surrounding the list of the objects).
  • Each JSON object should appear in a new line with no delimiters (e.g. commas) between the objects.
  • Attributes that have NO values will be excluded from the feed.
  • The feed would be zipped with GZip format.
  • The feed should be encoded with UTF-8 without BOM (For more information, go here)
Sizmek S3 Bucket  semmarin
Directory ./
File Name Format Marin_2_YYYY-MM-DD_HH_MM_SS_[Marin CID]_[Type].txt.gz
Example (2 file types)

Marin_2_2015-05-27_15_00_265194_43518_integrityClick.txt.gz

Marin_2_2015-05-27_15_00_369404_43518_integrityConv.txt.gz

File Format Flat JSON Array, no nesting. 
Delivery Interval Daily – Upon cost data download and readiness in the Marin system
Delivery Time Zone Client Specific Time Zone (can run at same time as data Passback)
File Content
(sample)
Integrity Click File Integrity Conversion File

"SEM_ID":1,
"SI_AdvertiserID":92022,
"SEM_PublisherID":1,
"SE_AccountID":"759-370-1325",
"SE_CampaignID":11551837,
"SE_Clicks":38,
"SEM_MetricsLastModified":"2015-05-27",
"SI_ObjectType":2
}
{
"SEM_ID": 1,
"SI_AdvertiserID": 92022,
"SEM_PublisherID": 3,
"SEM_Conversions": 670,
"SEM_MetricsLastModified": "2015-05-26",
"SI_ObjectType": 1
}
APPENDIX D Sizmek Conversion Feed Specifications

File & Delivery Specifications

Folder Format /sizmek.[ Advertiser ID]_marin.[Client ID]/
INPUT File Name Format  [advertiserID]_[ClickCookieWindow]_[ImpressionCookieWindow]_[GMToffset]_[DataDate]_[FeedCreation_TimeStamp]_[Feed ID].zip 
OUTPUT File Name Format bulkrevenue_[advertiserID]_[ClickCookieWindow]_[ImpressionCookieWindow]_[GMToffset]_[DataDate]_[FeedCreation_TimeStamp]_[Feed ID].zip
Example 11254_15_30_-1_2014-07-09_2014-07-10_15-23-11.123_2dq0997lqwq.zip
File Format ZIP -> CSV
Delivery Interval Every hour, 24hrs for customers who fall within that time zone, after 2am local time
Delivery Time Zone Sizmek’s Advertiser Specific time zone.

Data & Processing Specifications (into Marin)

Upload Mode Overwrite - Date of Conversion. (Add – Date of Click)
Data Lifespan in File Previous Day (12am-11:59pm) of Conversion records and associated click records for the customer’s Sizmek cookie window.
Attribution Date Conversion Date Recommended (OR Click Date available if requested)
Attribution Lookback Attribution Lookback will be set by Sizmek Customer.
Attribution Model Sizmek attribution logic. 
Data Parity Data between systems should match
Currency Revenue reported in Marin will use the Marin Client Account Currency Setting. If revenue inserted into Sizmek tags uses a different currency, currency variable must be passed into the Sizmek tag for revenue to be corrected reported in Marin.

Sizmek Conversion Feed → mapping to Marin Revenue File
The following is just an example for click date logic, though conversion date is supported as well:

Source Transform Logic Output Header Output Example
WinningEventDate Transform from “YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm: ss.ms” to “YYYY-MM-DD” Date 2014-05-03
SEMData[#] Extract INDEX 1 value from “mkwid=” Keyword ID sK93r230
SEMData[#] Extract INDEX 2 value from “mkwid=” Creative ID 103857935
SEMData[#] Extract INDEX 3 value from “mkwid=” Keyword nike shoes
SEMData[#] Extract INDEX 4 value from “mkwid=” Match Type e
SEMData[#] Extract INDEX 5 value from “mkwid=” Device t
SEMData[#] If “mtid” exists as “mtid=[TRACKERID]” group all conversion records by [TRACKERID] and generate separate output file per [TRACKERID] and upload to “./[TRACKERID]/revenue-sizmek” account folder [N/A] [N/A]
SEMData[#] If “slid” exists as “slid=[UNIQ_ID]” EXTRACT value [UNIQ_ID] and generate column for Sitelink IDs SL ID 5693r230
SEMData[#] If “product_id” exists then populate the product ID column with the associated value. Product ID 1234567889
SEMData[#] If “targetids” exists then populate the Target IDs column with the associated value. Target IDs aud-456:kwd-123
SEMData[#] If “groupid” exists then populate the Group ID column with the associated value. Group ID 7891234567
ActivityTagID ActivityTagID  Conversion Type  102938 
Static value of “1” Conversions 1  
Value Revenue 90.58
Currency Currency USD
OrderID Order ID 5308904325
UserID UUID 1ACF450-BFD5489-EAF98504
AdvertiserID
ActivityTagName
Concatenate: Adv:”+ AdvertiserID +”Act:” + ActivityTagName Comments Adv: 5464, Act: Sale

Note: If the optional Client Tracker ID index value is defined, then all conversion data from the file will be grouped by Tracker ID and pushed to the respective FTP locations in individual files.

File Field Specifications 

The feed file will have the following Headers and Columns:

Header Date Keyword ID Creative ID Keyword Match Type Device SL ID Product ID Target IDs Group ID Conversion Type  Conversions Revenue Currency Order ID UUID Comments
Click Date Sample 5/3/2014 sK93r230 103857935 nike shoes e t 302ur3033 4577198187410307 aud-284602665765 36837736222 102938 1 90.58 USD 5308904325 1ACF450-BFD5489-EAF98504 Agn: 10923, Adv: 5464, Act: Sale
Conversion Date Sample 5/9/2014 sK93r230 103857935 nike shoes e t 302ur3033 4577198187410307 aud-284602665765 36837736222 102938 1 90.58 USD 5308904325 1ACF450-BFD5489-EAF98504 Agn: 10923, Adv: 5464, Act: Sale
Data Type Date String String String String String String String String String String Integer Double Char(3) String String String

Written by Marketing @ Marin Software

Last published at: June 12th, 2023