Connecting External Data in Rule Engine
Geetanjali Tyagi avatar
Written by Geetanjali Tyagi
Updated over a week ago

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By connecting external data in the Rule Engine you can upload any data (like conversion type or phone calls) from any source (like a CRM or any 3rd party tool), and use it to apply changes in your Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or Amazon Ads account. 

You can use metrics that are not available in your ad platform to change bids or change the status of your keywords.

How it works

The Rule Engine will give you the option of linking an external Google spreadsheet to a specific strategy. While building the strategy you can access the data columns from the spreadsheet and use them in rules. 

Setting up the Spreadsheet

To begin, you'll need to generate the data (e.g., conversion types) you'd like to use for bidding and put it on a Google spreadsheet. You can download our sample data spreadsheet to get a better idea.

Spreadsheet Configuration

To make sure the spreadsheet is accessible, it should have the correct sharing settings. The sharing settings should be set to Anyone with the link or be shared with the email rule-engine@optmyzr-automation.iam.gserviceaccount.com.

There are mandatory columns you need to add to the spreadsheet. These columns depend on the level you will apply changes:

  • Changes at the Keyword level: Include keyword ID and Ad Group ID (or Ad Group Name and Campaign Name)

  • Changes at Ad Group level: include Ad Group ID or (Ad Group Name and Campaign Name)

  • Changes at Product Level: include Product Group ID and Ad Group ID (or Ad Group Name and Campaign Name)

There shouldn't be duplicate IDs (at the ad group and keyword/product group level) in the spreadsheet. The mandatory columns are required to enable the rule engine to match the data in the spreadsheet with the correct entity in Google Ads.

Adding External Data to the Rule Engine

You can add external data to your Rule Engine strategy by pressing the "settings" dropdown on the right of the screen, under "suggestions". This will display various options, and you'll need to select the one that says "External Data".

This will prompt a sidebar to open where you'll need to fill in all the details; what the data is for, the spreadsheet URL, and if you'd like to specify a sheet name. When you are done, press save and you'll be taken back to the strategy screen.

You can get a spreadsheet with all the data and mandatory information required using the "Get Sample Data For Your Account" option.

After linking the spreadsheet, the system will pull all the columns and provide you an option to classify them as "number" or "text".

It is important to classify each field correctly because it will define the operations you can perform on them. For example, if a numerical field is wrongly classified as a text field, it can't be used in a formula.

To understand how to use the Rule Engine to create custom strategies, watch this short video, or read the help article.

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