7 min article

Bulk campaign management

Bulk campaign management is a spreadsheet-based tool for creating and updating multiple priority campaigns at once. Campaigns created and updated via bulk management can also be viewed and managed from the Advertising dashboard.

Bulk campaign management is currently only available to a selection of sellers promoting their listings with priority campaigns. However, we will be opening up access to all priority campaign users soon.

To start managing your campaigns in bulk select the button below:

Go to Bulk campaign management

You can also find bulk campaign management by following these steps:

  1. Go to the Advertising tab in Seller Hub.
  2. Select Bulk manage, from the left navigation.
  3. Select Create a report, to use a combined report template, or download a blank template, to start from scratch.

Using a combined report

The easiest way to get started with bulk management is to download a combined report for your existing priority campaigns. This report includes all campaign, ad group, listing, and keyword data for the selected campaigns, along with performance data for the specified time period. 

To download a combined report:

  1. Select Create report on the bulk campaign management page - opens in new window or tab
  2. Select the time period for the included performance data.
  3. Select the priority campaigns you'd like included in the combined report.
    • Note: There is a limit of one million cells for downloaded files. If your selected campaigns exceed this limit, consider downloading multiple combined reports
  4. Select Create report to initiate processing. While your report is processing, you may navigate away from the bulk management page
  5. When your report has finished processing, select Download to download the file to your device.

Using a blank template

If you're looking to create a new file, you can download the blank bulk management template. This template comes with the column headers and examples of the information required for each campaign aspect you'd like to manage.

To download a blank template:

  1. Select Download a blank template on the Bulk campaign management page - opens in new window or tab.
  2. Make edits to the downloaded template and save. (Note, there will be example data in the spreadsheet, which you should overwrite)

Uploading files

  1. Select Choose file at the bottom of the Bulk campaign management page - opens in new window or tab.
  2. Find the file you want to use and select Upload.
    • Downloaded templates will be an .XLSX file type and you can upload your spreadsheet as an .XLSX file type
Once you upload the file, all changes will begin to populate through your priority campaigns. Processing times vary based on file size. You may navigate away from this page while your campaign is processing.

Should any errors or warnings arise in your uploaded file, you’ll be able to download an error report. Use the error report to identify and correct the errors in your bulk campaign management file and re-upload the document.

Getting to know your column headers

View column headers table

Column Header Definition Input guidelines
Entity The campaign aspect you'd like to manage in this row

Note:  Each entity requires its own row, even if you're updating multiple instances of the same type. For example, to create 10 distinct keywords, you would need 10 separate rows with "Keyword" in the "Entity" column.
Valid values: Campaign, Ad Group, Listing Ad, Keyword, Negative Keyword
Operation The operation you'd like to take in this row. Valid values: Create, Update, Remove
Campaign ID The unique campaign identifier of the campaign you'd like to manage in this row. Campaigns being created by this row will not have a campaign ID yet and will use the plain text campaign name for the campaign. Provide plain text campaign name for new campaigns; provide existing Campaign ID for updates
Ad Group ID The unique ad group identifier of the campaign you'd like to manage in this row. Provide plain text ad group name for new ad groups; provide existing Ad Group ID for updates
Listing Ad ID The unique ad identifier of the campaign you'd like to manage in this row. Note: this is different from an item ID. Leave blank for new ads; provide existing Ad ID for updates
Keyword ID The unique keyword identifier of the campaign you'd like to manage in this row. Leave blank for new keywords; provide existing Keyword ID for updates
Campaign name The name of your campaign. Maximum of 80 characters; Cannot use < or >.
Ad group name The name of an ad within the specified campaign. Ad groups help you build more effective campaigns by organizing your listings to a common goal or category. Maximum of 80 characters; Cannot use < or >.
Campaign start date Date your campaign will start running. If your campaign is already launched, you won't be able to update the start date. Format: MM/DD/YYYY (for scheduled campaigns). For campaigns to start immediately, input today's date as the start date.
Campaign end date The date your campaign will end. You can set a specific date or set a continuous end date. Format: MM/DD/YYYY (for campaigns with a set end date). When creating a campaign, leave blank for a continuous end date. When updating an existing campaign, input "Continuous".
Status The status of the campaign entity you are managing in this row. Valid values: Active, Paused (removed entities cannot be reactivated)
Target daily budget The target daily budget is the average daily amount you'd like your campaign to spend throughout a week. Do not add currency symbol. Range: 3-1,000,000.00
Targeting strategy A targeting strategy is a method used to determine how your ads will reach potential buyers. Valid values: Smart, Manual
Item ID The listings you'd like to manage within your campaign Provide item ID for listing you'd like added to a campaign; Listing must belong to the seller and be on the same site as the campaign
Keyword text Keywords are words or phrases used to target buyers with your priority ads using manual targeting. Maximum of 80 characters or 10 words; Cannot include special characters !=?@%^*;~`,(){}<>|
Keyword match type Keyword match types determine how closely a buyer's shopping journey must match your keyword in order for your ad to appear. Valid values for keyword match types: Exact, Phrase, Broad
Keyword bid The maximum amount you're willing to pay for each click on your ad set for each keyword and keyword match type combination in a priority campaign using manual targeting. Do not add currency symbol. Range: Manual targeting: 0.10-100
Negative keyword text Negative keywords prevent your ads from being matched to shopping journeys that include your negative keyword. Maximum of 80 characters or 10 words; Cannot include special characters !=?@%^*;~`,(){}<>|
Negative keyword match type Negative keyword match types determine how closely a buyer's shopping journey must match your keyword in order for your ad not to appear. Valid values for negative keyword match types: Exact, Phrase
Max CPC The max CPC (cost-per-click) is the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay for each click on your ad. Available only for campaigns using smart targeting. Do not add currency symbol. Range: 0.20-1,000,000 for campaigns using smart targeting
Bidding strategy Available when updating and creating a campaign using manual targeting. Valid values: Dynamic, Fixed

How to create and manage entities

Campaign entities

To create a top-level campaign entity, the required fields are: Entity, Operation, Campaign ID, Campaign Name, Campaign Start Date, Campaign End Date, Targeting strategy, and Daily budget. Use the guidelines below to define the campaign entity in your bulk spreadsheet file.

Updating your campaign name:

  1. Find the entity row for the Campaign you'd like to rename and update the Operation column to say "Update."
  2. Update the campaign name with a new name in the Campaign name column.

Updating your campaign end date:

  1. Find the Entity row for the Campaign and update the Operation column to say "Update."
  2. Update the end date in the Campaign end date column. To set an end date, enter the date in MM/DD/YYYY format, or for a continuous end date, input "continuous."

Updating your target daily budget:

  1. Find the Entity row for the Campaign and update the Operation column to say "Update."
  2. Update the target daily budget in the Target daily budget column.

Updating your campaign's maximum CPC (cost-per-click):

The max CPC is the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay for each click on your ad. It is only available for campaigns using smart targeting.

  1. Find the Entity row for the Campaign you'd like and update the Operation column to say "Update." 
  2. Update the target daily budget in the Target daily budget column.

Updating your campaign's bidding strategy:

  1. Find the Entity row for the manual targeting campaign you'd like to update and update the Operation column to say "Update."
  2. Update the bidding strategy in the Bidding strategy column.

Ending an existing campaign:

  1. Find the Entity row for the campaign you'd like to end
  2. Update the Operation column to say "Remove."

Ad group entities

Only campaigns using manual targeting use ad groups. If you're using smart targeting, do not include this entity. To create an ad group, the required fields are: Entity, Operation, Campaign ID, Ad Group ID, and Ad Group Name.

Updating an ad group name:

  1. Find the entity row for the Ad group you'd like to rename and update the Operation column to say "Update."
  2. Update the Ad group name with a new name in the Ad group name column.

Removing ad groups:

  1. Find the Entity row for the ad group you'd like to remove
  2. Update the Operation column to say "Remove."

Pausing an existing ad group:

  1. Find the Entity row for the ad group you'd like to pause and set the status to "Paused."
  2. Then, update the Operation column to say "Update".

Listing ad entities

To add listings to your campaign, you'll create listing ad entities.

  • To create listing ads in a smart targeting campaign, the required fields are: Entity, Operation, Campaign ID, Campaign name, and Item ID
  • To create listing ads in a manual targeting campaign, the required fields are: Entity, Operation, Campaign ID, Ad group ID, and Item ID

Removing listing ads:

  1. Find the Entity row for the listing ad you'd like to remove
  2. Update the Operation column to say "Remove".

Pausing an existing listing ad:

  1. Find the Entity row for the listing ad you'd like to pause and set the status to "Paused."
  2. Update the Operation column to say "Update."

Keyword and negative keyword entities

Creating a keyword entity:
  • To target your manual targeting campaign, you'll create keyword entities. If using smart targeting, do not include this entity
  • To add keywords to your manual targeting campaign, the required fields are: Entity, Operation, Campaign ID, Ad group ID, Keyword, Keyword bid, and Keyword match type
Creating a negative keyword entity:
  • To prevent ads in your manual targeting campaign from showing for specific keywords, you'll create negative keyword entities. If using smart targeting, do not include this entity
  • To add negative keywords to your manual targeting campaign, the required fields are: Entity, Operation, Campaign ID, Ad group ID, Negative keyword text, and Negative keyword match type

Pausing an existing keyword:

  1. Find the Entity row for the keyword or negative keyword you'd like to update and update the Operation column to say "Update."
  2. Update the Status column to "Paused."

Removing a keyword:

  1. Find the Entity row for the keyword or negative keyword you'd like to update.
  2. Update the Operation column to say "Remove."

Changing keyword match types:

To change the match type of one of your keywords, you will need to remove the original keyword and match type combination from your campaign and add a new keyword with the desired match type. To remove and add a keyword:

  1. Find the Entity row for the keyword or negative keyword you'd like to replace and update the Operation column to say "Remove."
  2. Create a new keyword or negative keyword entity with your desired match type following the steps above.

Updating keyword bids:

  1. Find the Entity row for the keyword you'd like to update and update the Operation column to say "Update."
  2. Update the Keyword bid column to your desired bid.

Campaign entity limits

Validation Category Element Limitations / Requirements
Ad Group (Manual Targeting Only) Number of Ad Groups per Campaign 500 ad groups
Listings Number of Listings per Ad Group 1000 listings (manual targeting)
Listings Number of Listings per Campaign 50,000 listings (smart targeting)
Listings Listing ownership Listing must belong to the seller
Listings Listing site Listing site must be the same as campaign site
Keywords Number of total Keywords per Ad Group 1000 keywords
Negative keywords Number of total Negative keywords per Ad Group 1000 negative keywords

How to resolve error messages

When uploading a spreadsheet to bulk campaign management, any warnings and errors will be identified in an error report. After downloading the error report, you can make changes to resolve the errors in the report and reupload the file to resolve any issues.

Your error report can include three types of errors:

  • Warning - warnings are not blocking and are provided when you add an unnecessary input in an entity row
  • System error - these errors are the result of a system failure and your row was not processed. Try uploading your file again
  • Input error - these errors are caused by incorrect inputs in an entity row. Please resolve the error before trying again

Campaigns created and updated using Bulk campaign management can also be viewed and managed from the Advertising dashboard.

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