Google Ads Setup for Data Manager Audiences

This guide covers the Google-side setup required before onboarding a client to the Data Manager API - Audiences integration. It walks through creating a service account, enabling the API, granting Google Ads access, and creating a Customer Match audience, and it lists the values MetaRouter requires to complete the configuration.

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Setup Steps

1. Create a Service Account

Follow Google's guide: Set up access — Service Account

On Step 4 of that guide, set the scopes to:

scopes="https://www.googleapis.com/auth/datamanager"

Once the Service Account is created, go to Keys → Add Key → JSON and download the key file.

2. Enable the Data Manager API

• Open the Google Cloud Console left-side menu → APIs & Services → Library
• Search for Data Manager API
• Click it, then click Enable API

3. Add the Service Account to Google Ads

• Sign in to Google Ads as an admin
• Admin → Access and security
• Users → blue + button to add a new user
• Enter the Service Account's full email address in the Email field
• Set Access level to Standard
• Click Add account

Note: Google Ads Help states that only account owners and administrators may add or remove customer data from Customer Match segments. If uploads fail at Standard access, raise the Service Account to Admin.

4. Create a Customer Match Audience

Repeat once per audience needed.

• In your Google Ads account, click the Tools icon.
• Click the Shared library drop down in the section menu.
• Click Audience manager, then open the Your data segments tab.
• Click the plus button to create a new segment.
• Select Customer list from the drop-down menu.
• Under Data source, select the option to skip this step and set up a data source later.
• Enter a name for the segment, adjust the remaining settings as needed, then click Save and continue.
• Open the new segment and copy the numeric value following &userListId= in the URL — that is the audience list ID (productDestinationId).

These steps create a contact information audience. Mobile ID and user ID audiences must be created through the API: Create a Customer Match audience.

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What MetaRouter Needs