Managing campaigns with XLS and XLSX files

You can manage ad campaigns for Yandex Direct not only via the web interface, but also using XLS and XLSX files. The latter feature allows you to save time when working with a large quantity of ads, as well as work on campaigns and ads when you don't have access to the internet.

For example, you can download a file with data from an ad campaign, make changes while you are offline, and then upload that file back to Yandex Direct. After this, ads in the interface will be automatically updated in accordance with changes in the file. You can edit existing ad campaigns and create new ones, as well as copy ad groups or keywords from one campaign to another.

Attention. When you copy a campaign using XLS or XLSX files, the strategy settings aren't saved. By default, the Manual bid management strategy will be set in the new campaign without a budget limit and with impressions on all ad platforms. Make sure to edit strategy settings after copying.

Points and restrictions

You can manage campaigns using XLS/XLSX files for free, but there are certain limitations due to the technical peculiarities of Yandex Direct. The number and type of operations available during a 24-hour period depend on how many points are on your account. Your balance is recalculated every 24 hours. All points not used up in the past day are removed.

Several factors affect how many points are available to use: the number of ads rejected during moderation, number of keywords with low CTR, average ad campaign CTR, and average ad campaign budget.

Points are debited for the following operations:

Adding a new ad 12 points
Editing an ad 4 points
Adding a new keyword 2 points
Editing a keyword 1 point

The number of points used for one loading is displayed on the loading confirmation page. The points are deducted only if data is successfully imported. If there are errors during loading, the points are not deducted.

Attention.

Yandex reserves the right to suspend the option to manage campaigns using XLS/XLSX for certain users without explanation.

How to use XLS/XLSX files

You can use XLS/XLSX files to edit existing ad campaigns and create new ones. To edit an existing campaign, you need to download the campaign as a file, make changes to it and then upload the updated file back to the original campaign. To create a new campaign, use a template file.

In the menu, select Tools → Managing campaigns with XLS/XLSX, then in the window that opens, switch to the desired tab.

In the drop-down list, select the campaign where you want to make changes and then specify the file format (XLS or XLSX). You can temporarily block a campaign to prevent adjustments being made to it at the same time. Check the relevant box to do this before clicking "Download". The ability to edit ads, settings and upload other files will not be possible. Please note that you will still be able to change bids. You can remove the block on the campaign settings page.

File format and fields to fill

Your file consists of several tabs:

  • Texts — the main tab for making changes. Here you will find ad campaign data and all ad settings. Several fields in this tab cannot be edited. Learn more about filling out these fields.

  • Contact information: the contact data of a company, the address and phone number for all ads.

  • Regions — contains the list of values for Region field. This data is of an informational nature, you do not need to make changes in this tab.

  • Dictionary of Field Values — contains the list of values for the fields Campaign type, Ad type, Device type, Connection type and OS version. This data is of an informational nature, you do not need to make changes in this tab.

The selection of fields for the Texts tab depends on the campaign type. A description for filling in the fields is given in the table.

Field Specifics and limitations

Campaign type

Filled in only when creating a new campaign.

A list of values can be found in the Dictionary of Field Values tab.

Order №

Not filled in and not edited.

Negative keywords in a campaign

Separated with commas. Up to 20,000 characters.

Read more about negative keywords.

Currency

Not filled in and not edited.

Additional group ad

Required field.

- indicates it is the main ad of group.

+ indicates other ads of the group.

Ad type

Filled in only when creating a new campaign.

A list of values can be found in the Dictionary of Field Values tab.

Mobile ad

Required field.

+ — mobile ad.

- — desktop ad.

Read more about mobile ads.

Group ID

Not filled in and not edited.

Group name

Required field.

Group number

Only numbers are allowed.

“Rarely served” Not filled in and not edited.

Phrase ID

Not filled in and not edited.

Phrase (including negative keywords)

Filled in only for main ad of group.

Up to 4096 characters in length (including negative keywords), no more than 35 characters per word.

Ad ID

Not filled in and not edited.

Attention.

If you delete the value in this field, then new ads will be created in the existing campaign and the old ones will be deleted.

Title 1

Required field.

Up to 56 characters including spaces and punctuation. The maximum length for one word is 22 characters.

Title 2

Up to 30 characters including spaces, and up to 15 punctuation marks. The maximum length for one word is 22 characters.

Text

Required field.

Up to 81 characters including spaces, and up to 15 punctuation marks. The maximum length for one word is 23 characters.

Title/Text length

Not filled in and not edited.

Link to website

Required field.

Address of site or offer page.

Display link

Up to 20 characters. Letters, numbers, and the characters -, , /, %, # are allowed. You do not need to specify the domain.

More details about link that displayss.

Region

Filled in only for main ad of group.

The Regions tab contains the list of regions. Priority is given to the regions, which are provided on the file loading page (check Select region for all uploaded ads).

Yandex Business company

Unique digital ID of your organization in Yandex Business.

To find out the organization ID:
  1. Find the organization on Yandex Maps and click the link in the title.
  2. Copy the ID from the address bar. For example, on the page https://yandex.ru/maps/org/gum_katok/1008627065/, the unique ID is 1008627065.

Bid

Filled in only for main ad of group.

Bids for ads on search. The field value is ignored if:
  • an automatic strategy is enabled
  • a manual strategy is enabled with only impressions on search selected

Bid in ad networks

Filled in only for main ad of group.

Bids for ads in networks (YAN and ad exchanges). The field value is ignored if:
  • an automatic strategy is enabled
  • a manual strategy is enabled with only impressions in search selected
  • a manual strategy is enabled, impressions "On all sites" is selected, and bid management for search and ad networks are not separated

If the field is empty, the value from the Bid field is used.

Contact

+ — ad with vCard (data is filled in on the Contact information tab).

- — ad without vCard.

Learn more about vCards.

Ad status

Not filled in and not edited.

Phrase status

Not filled in and not edited.

Sitelink titles

Up to 30 characters including spaces. The maximum length for one word is 23 characters. Titles must be separated with “||”. The total length of the title can not exceed 66 characters.

Learn more about sitelinks.

Sitelink descriptions

Up to 60 characters including spaces. The maximum length for one word is 23 characters. Sitelink descriptions must be separated using “||”.

Sitelink URLs

Must be separated with “||”.

Parameter 1 and Parameter 2

Values will be pasted into the link instead of {param1} and {param2}.

Read more about parameters.

Labels

Filled in only for main ad of group.

Separated with commas. Up to 25 characters per tag.

Learn more about tags.

Image

Required field for image ads.

Link to an image (for Text & Image ads) and to a creative (for image ads).

Creative

Video ID.

Moderation status of creative Not filled in and not edited.

Callouts

Must be separated with “||”. Up to 25 characters in each callout.

Learn more about callouts.

Negative keywords in a group

Separated with commas. Up to 4096 characters.

Note. If different negative keywords are specified in different rows of the same group, then they will be merged when the file is uploaded.

Read more about negative keywords.

Age restrictions Not filled in and not edited.

Link to app in store

Not filled in and not edited.

Device type

Not filled in and not edited.

Connection type

Not filled in and not edited.

OS version

Not filled in and not edited.

Tracking link

Not filled in and not edited.

Icon

Not filled in and not edited.

Rating

Not filled in and not edited.

Number of ratings

Not filled in and not edited.

Price

Not filled in and not edited.

How to find out the video ID

On the ad editing page, click under Video. In the window that opens, go to My creatives, hover over the desired video, and click .

Have questions?

Attention. Our customer service department can only help you with the campaigns created under the same username you use to contact us. You can see your current login in the upper-right corner of the screen. Our team can access your data only when processing your request.

You can contact us from 10:00 to 19:00 (UTC+3) by phone:

Moscow: +7(495)780-65-20

Toll-free within Russia: 8(800)234-24-80, ext. 9

Attention.

To access campaigns, a customer service specialist will need your PIN.