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Beginning on March 23, 2015, Microsoft Advertising Ads began unifying device targets, essentially removing the option to target mobile vs. desktop/tablet.
The {device} ValueTrack parameter should be added to Microsoft Advertising URLs in support of Microsoft Advertising Enhanced Campaigns (a.k.a. Unified Device Targeting).
Below are the step-by step instructions for updating your Microsoft Advertising URLs with this dynamic value.
If your revenue integration method is Publisher Tracking and/or you have no tracking parameters set in the URL Builder, then you do not need to update your Microsoft Advertising URLs.
In addition, if the URL Builder is set to Use Same Settings for All Publishers and the dynamic insertion value of[device] or {device} is present (as shown in the image below), then you may not need to update your Microsoft Advertising URLs.
In order to ensure that your account is fully synced in Marin, a manual sync must be performed before updating URLs.
To run a manual sync, click on the Manage Accounts button from the Channels tab. Then follow the steps outlined in the diagram below.
1a. Select your Microsoft Advertising Publisher Account
1b. Select Linked from the drop-down
1c. Super-select all linked-in Campaigns
1d. Click on Sync
1e. (Repeat Steps 1a-1d for each Microsoft Advertising account)
1f. Click on the Finish button or close the overlay
Note: Depending on the size of your Microsoft Advertising account, manual syncs may take hours or days. Please consider this when determining when to begin the syncing process.
While the syncing of your account is in progress, any updates to the Microsoft Advertising campaigns, bids, keywords, creatives, etc. must be managed in the Marin Platform directly. Syncing errors may occur if updates are made outside of the Platform during this time.
In order to remain aligned with the tracking structure required for your integration method, the format used for your Google URL builder should also be applied to your Microsoft Advertising URL builder.
Navigate to the URL Builder (Admin > Revenue > URL Builder) and follow the steps outlined below.
The screenshots and examples below show both redirect and non-redirect URLs. In either case, be sure to copy and paste the device tracking value to the same field in the Microsoft Advertising URL builder as it is found in the Google URL builder.
There are two ways that the URL builder may be tagged with {device}. These are classified as “separate” or “combined”, and instructions for each are shown below as “Option A” and “Option B”, respectively.
This option has a separate parameter name/value pair. (Example: &pdv={device} or &device=[device])
Step 2a (Option A): Copy the device parameter name and value from the Google tab:
Step 2b (Option A): Paste the device parameter name and value to the Microsoft Advertising tab:
Step 2c (Option A): Once the device parameter name and value is pasted in the Microsoft Advertising tab, expand the Advanced Options link to ensure that Auto-correct is On, and Click Save:
This option does not utilize a separate device parameter name/value pair. Instead, the “{device}” value track parameter is combined with unique tracking ID and separated by a delimiter such as and underscore “_” or pipe “|”. (Example: “mkwid=[uniq_id]|d{device}” or “utm_content=[uniq_id]_d{device}”)
Step 2a (Option B): Copy the appended device value next to the [uniq_id] from the Google tab:
Step 2b (Option B): Paste the appended device value to the Microsoft Advertising tab:
Step 2c (Option B): Once the device delimiter and value is pasted in the Microsoft Advertising tab, expand the “Advanced Options” link to ensure that Auto-correct is “On”, and click “Save”:
Now that the Microsoft Advertising URL Builder is configured with the device tracking parameter, the Microsoft Advertising URLs can be updated.
The URL builder will behave differently depending on the “separate” or “combined” approach. Therefore, instructions for each option are listed below.
Step 3a (Option A): Navigate to the Keyword tab and filter for Microsoft Advertising keywords with the status of “All but Deleted”. Then, select the following headers from the View Builder:
• Keyword (automatically selected)
• Account
• Campaign
• Group
• Match Type
• Unique ID
• Destination URL (or Click Through URL if using redirects)
Step 3b (Option A): click on the “Create Report” link, select “Include items with zero clicks”, and click “Continue”:
Step 3c (Option A): Download and edit your bulksheet.
Go to the Reports page to download your bulksheet. Then delete the first 6 rows, which contain the report information. The headers will now be in the first now. If opened in Excel be sure to resolve any "#NAME?" values that may have appeared in they Keyword column due to broad match modified terms. Save the updated bulksheet in .csv or .txt format.
Step 3d (Option A): Upload Bulksheet
Go to the Activity Log, click on the “Keyword” link in the left navigation, and upload your bulksheet:
Step 3e (Option A): Post URLs Go to Activity Log, filter for “Publisher = Microsoft Advertising” and “Status = “To be sent” (or “Status = Held”). Super-select the checkboxes and click on “Post now”:
Step 3a (Option B): Navigate to the Keyword tab and filter for Microsoft Advertising keywords with the status of “All but Deleted”. Then, select the following headers from the View Builder:
• Keyword (automatically selected)
• Account
• Campaign
• Group
• Match Type
• Unique ID
• Destination URL (or Click Through URL if using redirects)
Step 3b (Option B): Click on the “Create Report” link, select “Include items with zero clicks”, and click “Continue”:
Step 3c (Option B): Download and edit your bulksheet.
Go to the Reports page to download your bulksheet. Then delete the first 6 rows, which contain the report information. The headers will now be in the first now. If opened in Excel be sure to resolve any "#NAME?" values that may have appeared in they Keyword column due to broad match modified terms. Save the updated bulksheet in .csv or .txt format.
Step 3d (Option B): Edit Bulksheet
Because the URL Builder will not edit/overwrite existing URL parameters, the parameter containing the unique ID will need to be removed from the URLs in the bulk sheet. (For most integrations, this parameter is named "mkwid", or "utm_content".) Upon upload in Step 3e, the tracking parameter will be rebuilt with the device value "combined" with the unique ID.
In most cases, the removal of this parameter can be managed by running a search and replace in the excel on the Destination URL column. However, more complicated URL formats may need to be manually edited.
The screenshots below show how a Search and Replace function can be used to remove the tracking parameter. However, this pattern may vary based on your specific URL structure.
Before Replacement:
After Replacement:
Step 3e (Option B): Upload Bulksheet
Go to the Activity Log, click on the “Keyword” link in the left navigation, and upload your bulksheet:
Step 3f (Option B): Post URLs Go to Activity Log, filter for “Publisher = Microsoft Advertising” and “Status = “To be sent” (or “Status = Held”). Super-select the checkboxes and click on “Post now”: