Google Cloud Storage

Learn how to enable Google Cloud Storage for supported destinations.

Requirements

Access to a GCP Role with write permissions on a GCS bucket.
Google Ads Administrative access to set up the initial connection between your GCS bucket and Google Ads.

Note: Admin permissions are only required during the initial setup process.

Set up Google Cloud Storage as a data source

Apply a use case now

The following sections walk you through a single procedure to link a data source to a use case. Click on your use case to expand the steps. To link the data source only, and apply a use case later, see Apply a use case later.

Customer Match

Through the “Audience manager” page

In Google Ads, open Tools > Shared library > Audience manager.
Click +Create remarketing list > +Customer list.
Under Data source, select Connect a new data source.
1. If you previously linked a data source from the Data manager screen that you want to use, select Select an existing source.
Search and select Google Cloud Storage from the list of data sources, then click Continue.
Select the data type, then click Next.
Enter the path to the file you want to upload, then click Next. Learn how to format your data for Customer Match.
If this is the first time you have connected this resource, an alert appears. Click Apply to grant access, then click Next. Note: you must have a role with permission to delegate storage.buckets.setIamPolicy for the relevant bucket.
Optional: You can apply filters to define the audience segment that you’ll import. Learn more about using filters.
To map fields, select the data source fields from the dropdown lists that match the destination fields.
Optional: Apply transformations to your data.
Click Next.
Enter a name for this connection.
Optional: Edit connection details.
Click Finish.
Enter a name for the segment, confirm policy compliance, then click Save and continue.

Learn more about Customer Match and audience segments.

Offline conversion import and enhanced conversions for leads

Through the “Conversions” page

Tip: Upgrade from offline conversion import to enhanced conversions for leads for more accurate reporting, easier data import, and engaged-view and cross-device conversion attribution.

To set up enhanced conversions for leads, you can either use an existing offline conversion import conversion action or create a new conversion action (recommended if you are switching to a new upload method like Data Manager).

In Google Ads, click Goals > Summary > + New conversion action.
Click Import.
Select CRMs, files, or other data sources.
Select a tracking method.
Under Data source, select Connect a new data source.
1. If you previously linked a data source from the Data manager screen that you want to use, select Select an existing source.
Search and select Google Cloud Storage from the list of data sources.
Read and accept the customer data policy, then click Continue.
Select a category from the conversion goal list, then click Set up.
Enter the path to the file you want to upload, then click Next.
If this is the first time you have connected this resource, an alert appears. Click Apply to grant access, then click Next. Note: you must have a role with permission to delegate storage.buckets.setIamPolicy for the relevant bucket.
Optional: You can apply filters to define the conversion events that you’ll import. This is important especially if you have multiple different conversion goals in the file you will be importing. Learn more about using filters.
To map fields, select the data source fields from the dropdown lists that match the destination fields.
Optional: Apply transformations to your data.
Click Next.
Enter a name for this connection.
Optional: Edit connection details.
Click Finish.
Click Save and continue.

If you’re using offline conversion imports, we highly recommend upgrading to enhanced conversions for leads using the Google Ads Data Manager. Offline conversion import is a legacy feature, and it doesn’t have the durability features that enhanced conversions for leads offers.

Implementation varies depending on what you're measuring and your capabilities. Follow our guide to upgrading offline conversion imports to determine the method that best fits your needs.

Apply a use case later

In this type of setup, you complete each part of the connection at different times. This can be useful when you are ready to link a data source, but you are not ready to set up your use case–for example, you aren’t ready to create a customer list.

Consider the following scenario:

Step 1: Dana is an engineer who manages data for your company. Dana sets up the data source to be used for activation in Google Ads. The data source is ready to be associated with a use case.
Step 2: Mahan is a media specialist who needs to measure audience activation. Mahan creates a customer list and then associates it to the data source that Dana has previously set up, to use that data for Customer Match.

Step 1. Initiate the connection to the data source

Note: It’s recommended that you add an audience segment or conversion action to a connection that you created. You can either set up an audience segment or conversion action before you link a data source or you can create an audience segment or conversion action in the final step of setting up a data source.

Open Tools > Data manager. Select the connection you just made from “Connected products” and under “Usage”, click + Add audience segment or + Add conversion action.

Set up a data source and create a connection to be associated with a use case later.

In Google Ads, click Tools > Data manager > + Connect Product.
Under Data source, search and select a data source from the list of products.
If prompted, select Direct connection.
Select your use case, read and accept the customer data policy, then click Continue. If you select Audiences, you are prompted to select the data type at this step.
Enter your data source location and credentials*, then click Next.
To map fields, select the data source fields from the dropdown lists that match the destination fields.
Optional: Apply transformations to your data.
Click Next.
Enter a name for this connection.
Optional: Edit connection details.
Click Finish.

Note: If you already completed the instructions for initiating the data source connection, including the optional step, you can skip the remaining instructions for completing the connection.

* Use the same credentials and location details for this data source as described in the first part of this article.

Step 2. Complete the connection by applying a use case

Open the destination you intend to use–for example, begin to create a new customer list or conversion action using the steps from the previous sections. Return to these steps before completing the data source step.
Under Data source, select Select an existing source.
Select the data source that was initiated in Step 1 from the list of data sources.
Continue to follow the remaining steps for your use case in the first part of this article. Note that you will skip further data source-related steps, such as entering credentials, because you completed these previously.

Understand permissions

Why am I asked to share access to an entire bucket when I only want to share a single file?

Google Ads only supports access controls at the object level if Uniform Bucket Access is enabled, and the IAM policy governing access to the bucket is v3 or higher. If you’d like to grant permission only to a single object in a bucket, please enable Uniform Bucket Access and add the condition for the Data Manager service account. For more information, see Uniform bucket-level access.

Note: To ingest your data, only read permission is required. Learn more about IAM permissions for Cloud Storage.

Troubleshoot errors

Error - Failed to load the list of imported fields

The object you selected may be an unsupported format, or may contain data that is not readable. Please review and update the object.
Ensure that your conversion action has successfully connected to the chosen connection. Otherwise, no data will come in.

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