Revenue Upload Methods

What Is Revenue Upload? 

Marin offers an in-depth revenue upload feature that allows you to attribute conversion events to specific objects (like keywords) for specific dates. You can either add to existing revenue data or overwrite it completely.

Revenue upload is the most accurate means of recording revenue because it eliminates any discrepancies between your internal systems and Marin. It's also a great way to track offline conversions, such as calls to 800 numbers. 

Upload Options 

Our application supports three techniques to upload revenue data into the application.

  1. Copy/paste directly into the interface.
  2. Manually select a tab-delimited file.
  3. Drop the revenue file onto the FTP server.

A Note About Third-Party Revenue 

Marin is compatible with a number of different revenue integrations, including Atlas, Google Ads 360, Omniture, and Google Analytics. Please speak with your Marin account representative to learn more about how each of these interacts with our revenue upload feature. 

Note 

  • When performing bulk edits, please delete any unused column headers prior to uploading or copy/pasting. Blank columns will result in the corresponding field data being overwritten with blanks.
  • Make sure your revenue upload file only contains revenue information for one account. If you have multiple accounts to update, make a separate upload document for each account. An exception to this is if you are enabled for Cross Client Attribution. Please contact your Marin account representative for more information on this.
  • The application supports either a tab-delimited (TSV) or comma-separated (CSV) revenue files.

Creating And Naming Your Revenue Upload File 

In order to add your revenue data to Marin, you'll need to upload a revenue file. These are similar in nature to the bulk sheets you might use with Marin's bulk upload feature. Below we'll explain how to structure and name your revenue upload file so that it'll be processed correctly by Marin. 

Please keep in mind that your revenue file will need to include at least one valid row; it can be attributed to the object or the group successfully in the revenue file to have revenue processing working since the date is part of the mandatory condition to clear or update the revenue data. If nothing is attributed throughout the revenue file, the job would fail directly without touching the data.

Structuring Your Revenue File (File Format & Columns) 

The accepted file formats are .txt and .csv. These should either be comma-separated or tab-delimited.

The following example represents the columns that comprise a revenue upload file. In order for Marin to process your revenue file correctly, it must include the header row containing the applicable column headers. For a full list of possible headers, please see the Revenue Upload pane as explained in the How To section below. 

Note: Column headers in [brackets] are optional. 

Date [Keyword ID] [Creative ID] [Keyword] [Match Type] [Placement] [Device] [Product ID] [Conversions] [Revenue] [Currency] [SL ID] [Conversion Type] [Comments] [Group ID] [Target IDs] [Audience Target ID]

For more information about the [Keyword_ID] and [Creative_ID] headers please refer to the article Understanding The platform Creative ID, Publisher ID, and Unique ID.

Naming Your Revenue File 

Marin’s revenue platform offers great flexibility with how you can load your data by offering different modes. This enables Marin to support multiple revenue sources for reporting and optimization. This means we can support a mix of revenue from the publishers, Marin’s own native solution, as well as third party measurement tools for your account if required.

Below we'll explain the different modes and how to make use of them. The prefix of the filename (uploaded via FTP) will control how the revenue data is loaded into Marin's reporting. Note that if this is difficult to implement, you can request Marin select the mode on the platform side by reaching out to our customer support team.

Marin will perform different operations depending on how you name the revenue upload file. Below we'll explain all revenue upload methods, but the top three, Add, Overwrite, and Clear and Overwrite are the most popular and the most useful.

Add Revenue 

This option adds the revenue and conversion values to the existing data for that date. 

To use this method, your file name should follow this structure:

bulkrevenueadd_FILENAME.txt

Additionally, if you need to credit an order, you could upload a negative conversion and a negative revenue value in Add mode. This would, in effect, remove the sale from your numbers, however, we recommend removing the sale in Negate mode instead.

Overwrite Revenue 

This option overwrites any existing values for the data you've included in this revenue upload file. When using this option, revenue for a keyword on a given day will be overwritten with the newly-uploaded data. This method works well if you are consistently re-uploading all your revenue data over a period of time.

bulkrevenueoverwrite_FILENAME.txt

Please note that the Overwrite mode will only modify keyword IDs that are included in the Overwrite upload sheet. It will not change or zero out any keywords that were not included. In most ecommerce scenarios, you may prefer to use the Add mode, rather than the Overwrite mode.

Clear And Overwrite Revenue 

Important Note

This option will clear all existing revenue and conversion data for the specified date and replace it with the new values in your revenue upload file. This mode should be used with extreme caution.

To use this method, your file name should follow this structure:

bulkrevenueclearandoverwrite_FILENAME.txt

You should use this mode if you are uploading all revenue/conversion information for the selected dates. Note that the overwrite will only occur for dates that are included in the upload file. For example, if the file includes conversions on January 1st and January 3rd, but not January 2nd, the data on January 2nd will not be affected.

With this mode, if revenue is attributed across clients, the action of clearing the object's revenue data will only happen in the upload clients, while the action of overwriting revenue data will happen both in upload clients and Cross-Client Attribution-associated clients. 

Negate Revenue 

This mode subtracts the revenue and conversion values from the existing data for that date, down to 0.

bulkrevenuenegate_FILENAME.txt

If you need to credit an order you could upload a positive conversion and positive revenue value in Negate mode. This mode would clear the value down to zero instead of a negative value.

Clear By Conversion Type And Overwrite Revenue 

This mode clears all revenue or conversion data for all object types which match the below conditions and replace with the new values. Conditions:

  • Date range mentioned in the revenue file AND
  • Conversion types* (CT) mentioned in the revenue file headers

*If the Marin “total” conversion type is included (i.e. Conversions, Revenue columns), or if any of the Conversion Types included is set to add to total, “totals” data will also be cleared

bulkrevenueclearbyconvtypedateandoverwrite_FILENAME.txt

The difference between this mode and Clear and Overwrite is limiting the 'zero out' of data to only the conversion types included in the revenue upload file. For example, if the file includes conversion type 123, but does not include conversion type 456, the data of conversion type 456 will not be affected.

This mode should be used if you are uploading all Marin account revenue/conversion information specific to some of the conversion types for the selected dates. For example, you are using different types of publisher tracking and want to compare them in different conversion events.

If revenue is attributed across clients, both the action of clearing the objects' revenue data and the action of overwriting revenue data will happen both in upload clients and CCA-associated clients. 

Clear By Conversion Type & PCA And Overwrite Revenue 

This mode clears all revenue or conversion data for all object types which match the below and replace with the new values). Conditions:

  • Date range mentioned in the revenue file AND
  • Conversion type** (CT) mentioned in the revenue file headers AND
  • PCA ID (single) mentioned in the revenue file name (replace the xxx)

**if the Marin “total” conversion type is included (i.e. Conversions, Revenue column’s), or if any of the Conversion Types included is set to add to total, “totals” data will also be cleared.

This mode does not support Cross Client Attribution (CCA).

bulkrevenueclearbypcaconvtypedateandoverwrite_PCAEXTIDS_xxx_SDITXEACP_FILENAME.txt

The difference between this mode and the Clear By Conversion Type and Overwrite mode is limiting the 'zero out' of data under a single publisher client account, provided in the revenue upload file name.

This mode should be used if you are uploading all revenue/conversion information specific to some of your conversion types for the selected dates for a single publisher client account, and don’t want to impact other publisher client account data that shares the same conversion types. For example, if you are using publisher tracking for multiple publisher client accounts and in each one data results come in at a different time.

Important Notes 

  • The file name can be anything you want, but it must come after the first "_" character. This example demonstrates an acceptable file name: bulkrevenuadd_marin_data_011508.txt
  • During “Clear by Conversion Type & PCA and Overwrite” revenue modes, PCA ID in the revenue file name is MANDATORY. The PCA should be linked in the uploaded client, so cross-client upload is not supported. The publisher client account ID is usually the publisher account id that will identify the unique account. We suggest trying this ahead of time before use at scale for every PCA. We'll list some example PCA IDs below.
    • Google: 721-300-4232
    • Microsoft: F09871FB
    • Amazon: 4299345230893267

If uploading Revenue Upload by Order ID (RUBOID) files into FTP directory there is usually additional automation logic within Marin to process the file and upload in an add/overwrite mode rather than using the file naming convention. Please consult with your account representative to confirm further details.

If your job is successful, the mode you use will display in the Activity Log for this job.

How To 

Once your revenue file is named correctly and ready for upload, use one of the following three methods to upload it to Marin. Once you've uploaded your revenue data, you can check on its progress anytime from the Activity Log

In order to begin uploading revenue, first navigate to the Revenue Upload page by following these steps:

  1. From any object-level tab, click on the Upload button to the top-right of the grid.
  2. From the drop-down in the top-left of the upload pane, select Revenue

Pasting Directly Into Marin 

To paste your new revenue data into Marin, follow the steps below. 

Note: We recommend that you do not use the copy/paste method if you have more than 1000 rows.

  1. Using a tab-delimited text file, or CSV file, as a source, you can copy and paste data into Marin directly. The first step is to copy your data from your file using either CTRL/CMD + C, or the Copy context menu option (right-click on a Windows PC).
  2. Next, click into the text box and paste the content in your clipboard using CTRL/CMD + V or right-click and select Paste
  3. Click Submitat the bottom of the upload pane to submit your revenue data.

Uploading A File Directly To Marin 

To upload your tab-delimited revenue file directly to Marin, follow these steps:

  1. First, prepare your revenue upload file as described above.
  2. In the Upload File section of the upload pane, click the Select File button. Next, browse your computer to locate your prepared revenue file. Remember that your file must be either a tab-delimited .txt. file or a .csv file. Any other file formats will cause the revenue upload to fail. 
  3. Once it's uploaded, click Submit at the bottom of the upload pane to submit your revenue file.

Uploading Revenue By FTP 

You can also deliver your revenue upload file directly to Marin by using FTP. If you're planning to use the FTP option, we recommend that you initially test your upload manually with a file. Once you're comfortable that the revenue is uploading correctly (see Verifying Revenue), you're all set to go ahead with an FTP upload.

Marin's FTP server can be used to perform periodic drops of your revenue files. You can use the same revenue files and naming structure as discussed above, and the credentials to use the FTP server are as follows:

  • Server:integration.marinsoftware.com
  • Username: Your Marin username
  • Password: Your Marin password

We recommend creating a specific FTP user account for uploading revenue via FTP. This can be created by clicking into the Admin section and then clicking on the Users sub-tab. You can then click the Create button to create a new user. Be sure to check the radio box for FTP-only user. When all settings are in place, go ahead and click Save. If you try to upload revenue without having an FTP-only user, you will get an error pertaining to invalid credentials and can lock your username and password out from Marin.

Once you have successfully connected to the FTP server, each client you have access to will be listed as a separate folder represented by their Tracker ID. Your revenue files should be transferred to the top-level folder for the relevant client account and will begin processing in the Activity Logof the client immediately.

To learn more, check out the relevant articles below. 

Date Format Support 

When uploading revenue, you can specify the dates both in your local format and in a locale-independent ISO format. For example, July 8 2025 can be 7/8/2025 in US locale, or 2025-07-08 in ISO format. For ISO dates, both YYYY-MM-DD and YYYYMMDD formats are allowed.

Match Type Support 

The application supports a Match Type column in the revenue upload files that maps directly to the specific keyword match type as reported by the publisher.

Here's an example of a revenue upload file with all the known match types:

Date Keyword ID Creative ID Match Type Conversions Revenue Keyword
2025-06-01 kwid1234 crid5678 exact 1 10 keyword 1
2025-06-01 kwid1234 crid5679 broad 2 11 keyword 2
2025-06-01 kwid1234 crid5680 phrase 3 12 keyword 3
2025-06-01 kwid1234 crid5681 e 4 13 keyword 4
2025-06-01 kwid1234 crid5682 b 5 14 keyword 5
2025-06-01 kwid1234 crid5683 p 6 15 keyword 6
2025-06-01 kwid1234 crid5684 std 7 16 keyword 7
2025-06-01 kwid1234 crid5685 adv 8 17 keyword 8
2025-06-01 kwid1234 crid5686 standard 9 18 keyword 9
2025-06-01 kwid1234 crid5687 advanced 10 19 keyword 10

This allows you to use the data coming directly from the publishers with creative-level URLs in your setup in the application.

Text Insertion Support By Publisher 

Insertion using ValueTrack parameters varies by publisher. Accepted values are specified below:

Match Types - {Matchtype} 

  • Marin internal insertion using [matchtype]
    • exact
    • broad
    • phrase
  • Google, Yahoo Japan and Yahoo Gemini
    • e (exact)
    • b (broad)
    • p (phrase)
  • Microsoft - Marin supports Microsoft's {BidMatchType} values in the Match Type column as listed below. {BidMatchType} should be used whenever possible in Microsoft URLs (as opposed to {MatchType} which returns delivered Match Type).
    • bb (broad)
    • bp (phrase)
    • be (exact)
    • bc (content)
  • Baidu
    • 1 (exact)
    • 2 (broad)
    • 3 (phrase)

Device - {Device} 

  • Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo Japan
    • m (mobile)
    • t (tablet)
    • c (computer)
  • Specific to Gemini
    • p (mobile)

Network - {Network} 

  • Google
    • s (search)
    • c (content)
  • Baidu
    • 1 (search)
    • 2 (content)

Other Marin Valuetrack Parameters 

Marin expects publisher macros to be used for a number of the revenue upload files:

  • [Group ID] : The ad group ID
    • Google {adgroupid}
    • Microsoft {AdGroupId}…
    • Marin has an macro [ext_group_id] but advise to always use publisher macros where possible.
  • [Target IDs] : The ID of the keyword ("kwd"), remarketing or audience list ("aud"), product partition ("pla") that triggered the ad.
    • Google {targetid}
    • Microsoft …{TargetId}
  • [Keyword] : The keyword that matches the search query
    • Google {keyword}
    • Microsoft {keyword}
  • [Creative ID] : A unique ID for your ad
    • Google {creative}
    • Microsoft {AdId}

Concurrent Revenue Uploads 

If you submit multiple revenue files per day, their processing can overlap and potentially lead to unexpected results. Files are processed as they are received and multiple files can be processed simultaneously. As a result, if two revenue files are loading data for the same keyword, creative, or placement during concurrent processing, the file processed second can end up overwriting or clearing data loaded by the first file. For example, if you submit two files, one in Add mode and one in Overwrite Mode (e.g. from different revenue integrations), and the add file is processed first, the overwrite file could then end up overwriting the revenue data added by the first file.

Example Of A Valid Revenue File 

  • Revenue for pair Creative by pub id and Keyword by keyword text + match type

Date Creative ID Keyword Match Type Revenue Conversions Currency Group ID

2025/12/23 1456 key1 broad 12.00 1 USD 87654123

2025/12/24 1456 key2 phrase 2.62 1 GBP 87654123

  • Revenue for pair Creative by pub id and Keyword / Product Target by pub id

Date Creative ID Target IDs Revenue Conversions Currency Group ID

2025/12/23 1456 kwd-1234 12.00 1 USD 87654123

2025/12/24 3321 pla-431433 2.62 1 GBP 87653142

  • Revenue for pair Creative by pub id and objects by tracking value

Date Creative ID Keyword ID Revenue Conversions Currency Group ID

2025/12/23 1456 53a381d 12.00 1 USD 87654123

2025/12/24 1455 53a381d 2.62 1 GBP 87654123

Note the following in the above example:

  • We recommend the date format to be ISO date format (yyyy-mm-dd), but it can also be specific to your locale setting.
  • Group ID is always recommended to be included and value provided in Revenue File.
  • Revenue is optional if simply uploading conversions. Do not include a revenue column in the header or the data set.
  • Either tab delimited text files or CSV files can be used.
  • Currency is the 3 letter ISO code which denotes the currency of the revenue captured.
  • For details on multi-conversion revenue upload, see multi-conversion type section.

Uploading To A Specific Conversion Type

To upload revenue and conversions to a specified Conversion Type, the [Name Conv] and [Name Rev] can be added to the uploads. Once a conversion type is created, you can see the exact naming convention for your column headers by navigating to the Upload Revenue page here: https://app.marinsoftware.com/keywords/addRevenue and finding the conversion type name in the box.

Below is a sample revenue file for uploading to a conversion type:

Date [Keyword ID] [Conversions] [Revenue] [Conversion1 Conv] [Conversion2 Rev]
2025-03-01 abcdef 35 2456 35 2456

Additional Information

For more information on understanding the attribution logic of loaded revenue files (which may also provide details on why your revenue uploads are not processing correctly), please see the following Help article: An Overview of Revenue and Conversion Tracking

Written by Marketing @ Marin Software

Last published at: January 18th, 2024