27 June 2022

SA360 New Experience changes its platform IDs

The migration to the new SA360 Experience is well underway with all advertisers gaining access to the new UI. However, the migration doesn’t stop at the just transferring all the advertisers to the new UI, the next endeavour is migrating the bid strategies to the new SA360 experience which we recommend all of our advertisers to start sooner rather than later since your accounts are already eligible.

For more information about those changes, please take a look in the Experience Hub of your SA360 account. However, one change that has not been advertised is the change of the IDs that SA360 uses.

What are SA360 IDs?

SA360 IDs are the unique IDs that SA360 attributes to each element of the structure, from the agency level (now renamed Manager accounts), to the Keywords and ads. Each element of the structure has a unique ID that identifies it and allows SA360 to keep track of, even when faced with major changes (e.g. renaming of a campaign, complete change of a keyword or an ad, etc.).

Those unique IDs are used in SA360 to create or modify elements of a paid search structure when using bulk uploads via spreadsheets or API.

Those changes can include keyword creation, ad modification, offline conversion upload, etc.

What is happening to the SA360 IDs?

The SA360 IDs have changed with the transition to the new SA360 Experience. The IDs available in the legacy SA360 interface will no longer apply to the new SA360 Experience.

From our observation, in the new SA360 Experience users will now see:

• Google Ads: SA360 will now use the Google Ads IDs as its own.

• Microsoft Advertising: SA360 will create new IDs in the same format as Google Ads.

Below is a table showing examples of changing IDs:

Note: In the previous SA360 UI, users could add columns for both Engine and SA360 IDs at any level in their structure. So far, it seems this is only limited to certain hierarchy levels in the new SA360 experience.

What is the effect? Who does this change effect?

The use of IDs is widely used by search marketers to refer to a certain entity, edit elements, or even upload offline conversions to specific keywords or ads. The truth is, there is an unlimited number of use cases for those IDs and this change may impact many advertisers whether it is for the day-to-day routines or for more complex integrations.

Advertisers who have developed tools and routines are most likely the ones who are going to be impacted.

Louder recommends reviewing whether SA360 IDs are used in any way, and create a lookup table whilst marketers still have access to the legacy platform.

If you need help with the migration to the new SA360 Experience Louder is here to help.

About Arthur Hascoet

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Arthur Hascoet specialises in performance media strategies and automation opportunities. In his spare time he enjoys the great outdoors and discovering the unsealed tracks of the backcountry.