Import campaigns directly from Google Ads

If you already are using Google Ads to advertise on Google, you can import these campaigns into Microsoft Advertising so that you can run the same ads on Bing. This is an easy way to expand your online advertising reach.

Note

• To import one Google Ads account at a time, follow the steps in the Import from Google Ads section below. To import multiple Google Ads accounts into Microsoft Advertising, follow the steps in the Import multiple accounts from Google Ads section further below.
• Some items and settings require special attention during import, so make sure to review What gets imported from Google Ads.
• If you select Quick import but you have more than one Google Ads account or a Google Merchant Center account under the manager account you use to sign in, you’ll automatically be taken to the Smart import flow.

Import from Google Ads

1. From the navigation menu on the left, hover over Import and select Import from Google Ads.
2. Select Quick import if you want to immediately set up Google import with Microsoft Advertising's default settings, or Customize if you want to modify these settings, such as making changes to your budgets or campaign statuses on import.
3. Select Sign in to Google and follow the prompts to give Microsoft Advertising permission to import campaigns from your Google Ads account.
4. If you selected Quick import, you're all set! After your import completes, you can view its results on the Import schedule & history page.

Smart import

If you selected Customize in the steps above, you can modify your import settings before it runs.

1. Under Choose accounts, select the account that you want to import from Google Ads > Next.

Select Advanced import if you want to choose which items are imported, associate UET tags, and more.

If you don't require customizations, then you can enter the import name, set the schedule, adjust bids, budgets, and entity status if desired, and then select Start import to finish the setup. We'll fine-tune the import settings and automate the schedule so that your campaigns do their best on Microsoft Advertising.

Advanced import

If you selected Advanced import in the steps above, you can choose which items are imported, adjust bids, bid strategies, and budgets, associate UET tags, and more.

1.

Under Which campaigns and ad groups do you want to import?, select the campaigns and ad groups that you wish to import from Google Ads and then select Next. If you select all ad groups in a campaign, but the Show paused ad groups check box is not selected, we will only import active ad groups in the campaign. Select Show paused ad groups to import all active and paused ad groups in the campaign.

If the currencies you set for your Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising account do not match, you can either convert your currency data to match Microsoft Advertising or opt out. If you choose to opt out, you can manually adjust your bids and budgets using the import options or after your import is complete. 1.

Under Choose which items to import and the options to set for them, choose the items that you want to import and customize. You can delete items that have been removed from your Google Ads account by selecting What to import and selecting Delete items that have been removed from your Google Ads account. Then select Next. 1.

Enter the import name, set the schedule, and then select Save to finish the setup.

If you set to Automatic schedule, we'll automatically run your imports on a regular basis to ensure changes you make on Google Ads are synced with your Microsoft Advertising campaigns.

Note

On Import schedule & history page, you can run the import again, modify the import schedule, and review logs to see what entities were newly added, updated, or couldn’t be imported. From the global menu, select Import**>** Import schedule & history.

Import multiple accounts from Google Ads

Note

• At this time, you can import up to 10 Google Ads accounts at once.
• This feature is only available if you have multiple accounts in Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising. Learn more about creating additional accounts.

1. From the global menu, navigate to your manager account.
2. From the navigation menu on the left, hover over Import and select Import from Google Ads.
3. Choose the Microsoft Advertising accounts that you want your Google Ads accounts to be imported to. Then, select Continue.
4. Select Sign in to Google and follow the prompts to give Microsoft Advertising permission to import campaigns from your Google Ads account.
5. Under Google Ads account name, select the accounts that you want to import. Then select the dropdown menu under Microsoft Advertising account name and choose which Microsoft Advertising accounts they are imported to. Then, select Continue.
6. Under Choose Google Ads campaigns, select the campaigns that you want to import from Google Ads and then select Continue.

Under Choose import options, choose the items that you want to import and customize. You can delete items that have been removed from your Google Ads account by selecting What to import and selecting Delete items that have been removed from your Google Ads account. Then, select Continue. 1.

Enter the import name, set the schedule and then select Schedule or Import to finish the setup.

1. Optional: Under Choose import options, select View import schedule.

Note

On the Import schedule & history page, you can run the import again, modify the import schedule, and review logs to see what entities were newly added, updated, or couldn't be imported. From the global menu, select Import**>** Import schedule & history.

A few key items to check after import

Most items from Google Ads import seamlessly into Microsoft Advertising. However, there are items that we recommend you review after your import to make sure your campaigns are set up the way you want.

FAQ

• Bids and budgets

  Both Microsoft Advertising and Google Ads offer you the ability to limit your campaign spend on a daily basis.

  Microsoft Advertising has different minimum bid and budget requirements than Google Ads. To help you import all of your data quickly, by default, we will raise any bids and budgets that are too low to meet our minimums. During import setup, you can opt out of these increases, but we won't import campaigns that are below the default minimums.

• Targeting options

  Targeting options, such as location targeting and time of day targeting, are significantly different in each platform. You will definitely want to review your targeting settings in each platform. The settings used in one product will very likely not be appropriate for the other product. To learn more, see How can I get my ads in front of my customers?

• Negative keywords

  Microsoft Advertising does not use broad match negative keywords. If you have set up broad match negative keywords in Google Ads, those will be treated as phrase match negative keywords when importing to Microsoft Advertising. To find out where you can review the location options, see How to add keywords that won't trigger my ads (negative keywords).

• Videos

  Due to limitations imposed by YouTube's Terms of Service, Microsoft Advertising cannot import the video file used in your Google Ads Video campaigns. In order for these campaigns to serve, you'll need to upload the video you'd like to use yourself.

Quality score is another area that can be different. The means of determining your quality score and how it is used in determining the performance of your keywords and ads are different between the products. As you examine your quality score in one product and determine ways to optimize, realize those same optimization strategies might not be applicable in the other product. To learn more about the Microsoft Advertising quality score, take a look at Quality score and quality impact in depth.

For a full list of what does and doesn't get imported from Google Ads, see What gets imported from Google Ads

Note

• Microsoft Advertising does not use your Google Ads sign-in information for any purpose other than the import process.
• If you exceed the limits when importing your campaigns from Google Ads, try importing your campaigns in groups. This will ensure that you don't exceed the maximum limits for import.
• If you want to learn the limits for accounts, campaigns, and ad groups, see How should I organize my accounts and campaigns?
• Some Microsoft Advertising users are currently unable to import campaigns directly from Google Ads. If you have Google 2-step verification, you need to create an application-specific password for Microsoft Advertising. If you're still unable to import directly after several attempts, follow the steps to import campaigns using an import file.
• The update count reports, all existing items that are fetched from Google Ads. It may be higher than the actual number of updates, because it includes items that may not have been updated since the previous import.
• Change history reports the actual number of updates in Microsoft Advertising. It may be lower than the update count, as it excludes items that do not have updates.
• Scheduled imports will fetch items that have changed in Google Ads since your last import. To re-import items that haven’t changed in Google Ads but have changed in Microsoft Advertising, select Import campaigns > Import schedule and history > Run now.
• It is highly recommended that you import a single Google Ads account to a single Microsoft Advertising account. Importing multiple accounts to a single one increases the risk of maxing out your account-level keyword limits.
• If you notice unwanted changes to campaign status, budget, bids, etc., check if you are running scheduled imports and edit/pause these as required.

Troubleshooting errors in Google Ads Import

To troubleshoot errors for Google Ads imports, please follow these steps:

1. Review the import summary to see which items failed.
2. Download the import error file.
3. Open the import error file and review the entries. Determine which entries are applicable for the items under investigation.
4. First, focus on resolving any higher-level errors (e.g. campaign errors). Then, look at lower-level errors (e.g. errors within the ad group for the same campaign which had a campaign error).

Paused Google Ads campaigns still running

If you've paused Google Ads imports that continue to run, it may be due to an automated import that's still running. Automated imports keep importing your Google Ads campaigns at the frequency you set, reactivating the campaigns and modifying the settings back to what they are on Google Ads (including the budget).

To resolve this issue:

1. From the navigation menu on the left, hover over Import and select Import schedule & history.

2. Under Scheduled imports, review the table.

   Note

   If the table is empty, no schedule is set.

   • To change an existing import schedule, from the Action column, select Edit.
   • To pause a scheduled import, select the import > Edit > Pause.
   • To delete a scheduled import, select the import > Edit > Delete.

Contact Support for further assistance.