Introduction

This document describes the onboarding approach for customers using Sizmek’s SEM Connect solution with the Marin Software platform.

About Sizmek SEM Connect

Sizmek is an open ad management company that fuels digital advertising campaigns for advertisers and agencies around the world with the most innovative technology. Sizmek's suite of tools allow for the optimization of media creative and data for enhanced campaign performance. The Sizmek platform incorporates display ad serving, search, rich media, video, dynamic ads, mobile and emerging media – providing marketers with a cross-channel view of ad campaigns.

Sizmek’s SEM Connect enables you to track and analyze search engine campaigns. You can use Sizmek to analyze your search and display campaigns and the users’ path to conversion in one place. SEM Connect provides a seamless bridge between Sizmek and the Marin Enterprise platform.

Integration Scope and Requirements

• The client must invite a Sizmek representative to the Marin kick-off call.
• The customer must be covered by a Sizmek Statement of Work (SoW) prior to implementing this integration with Marin
• The client must complete their Sizmek integration setup before Marin can implement this integration; this includes deploying all Sizmek Conversion Tags.
• This integration uses a bi-directional synch between platforms, in which Marin provides Sizmek with full entities hierarchy data and metrics (Cost data), and Sizmek provides Marin with attributed conversion data. The client must sign the data-sharing agreement form, before both platforms are able to enable this synch.
• Sizmek’s SEM Connect integration supports URL tracking of the following objects: Keyword, Creatives, Placements, Product Groups, Placements, and Sitelinks.
• Sizmek manages click & conversion event capture, de-duplication, and attribution, based on configurable settings in the Sizmek platform, and sends a conversion feed to the Marin platform for ingestion.
• Sizmek compatible URLs can be built directly in Marin and do not require trafficking through Sizmek
• Marin Enterprise has limits on the number of conversion tags (conversion types) it can ingest from Sizmek, however, Marin’s conversion mapping tool allows multiple Sizmek Conversion Tags to be aggregated into a single Marin Conversion Type, Please consult with your Marin onboarding team for more details.
• On an hourly basis, Marin will sync any publisher account entities or metrics that have been added or updated, to the Sizmek platform, this intra-day synch will allow Sizmek’s reporting system to match Marin’s platform.
• Clients can run any Marin enterprise-supported search publisher with this integration. Social & Display channels are not supported with this integration.

Implementation Checklist

MARIN-SIZMEK DATA SHARING AGREEMENT (STEP 2)

In order to begin the onboarding process both Marin and Sizmek must receive separate authorization requests for data sharing from the customer to enable the integration:

1. Data integration authorization request to Sizmek
   This will have already been satisfied if the Sizmek SoW has been signed.
2. Data Integration authorization request to Marin
   To enable Marin to share publisher entity, and metric information with a customer’s Sizmek account, Marin must receive an authorization from the Advertiser. Once authorized by the advertiser, Marin will give Sizmek access to an advertiser’s search data managed in Marin. 

If you have any questions on what data Marin and Sizmek will be sharing please ask your Marin & Sizmek representatives.

ACCOUNT & CONVERSION TYPE MAPPING (STEPS 4 & 5)

Marin requires a mapping of Sizmek advertisers & publisher accounts by name and ID in order to build a complimentary Marin account structure. Your Marin onboarding team will work with you to determine the appropriate mapping.

The table below is for example purposes only.

Additionally you will have to request a Conversion Tag report from your Sizmek rep so Marin can map conversion Tags to Marin Conversion Types. Instructions for requesting this report are in the document link below.

CONVERSION TYPE SETUP

Your Marin onboarding team will work with you to determine which Sizmek conversion tags to map to Marin conversion types using the conversion type information you include in the Account & Conversion Mapping Document you return (link to form in above section). 

The Sizmek conversion data reported in Marin for this integration is available in either date of click or date of conversion (not both), but Marin recommends you use date of conversion to match Sizmek reporting – this is explained in more detail the Account & Conversion Mapping Document. Note: Regardless of the actual attribution you choose Sizmek Conversion Types setup in the Marin UI must be set to Marin Application date of click setting to ensure the data can be used for bidding optimization (this Marin setting will only be visible on the Marin Conversion Types Setup page; it won’t be visible in reporting).

Marin has a soft limit of 50 conversion types per Marin Client Account, however, Sizmek conversion tags can be aggregated to a Marin conversion type, if needed, using the Conversion Type Mapping Tool. 

Example of a Marin conversion type setup in Marin below:

Important: Marin Conversion Type column will be prefixed with “[SZMK]” (aka Admin > Revenue > Conversion Types: Conversion Type Column) to ensure these conversion types appear in Sizmek monitoring reports.

Sizmek provides Marin with supplemental data points about each conversion which can be used to populate additional conversion types within the Marin platform. The data will vary based on client setup with Sizmek. Please speak with your Marin Solutions Architect for further information.

MARIN URL BUILDER SETTINGS

In order for Sizmek and Marin to track and report on your search activity, Marin’s URL tagging product will be enabled; this is the recommended approach and ensures reporting accuracy in both systems.

Sample URL (Google Example)

http://bs.serving-sys.com/Serving/?cn=search&semdid=789-049-0902_160812114_2935604580_wU8HRhfe&semid=1&seid=1&semuserid=&advid=12324&mmx=$$sekwid=&seadid=60055676451&sekwtxt=sizmek&matchtype=e$$&semdata=$$mkwid=swU8HRhfe_60055676451_sizmek_e_c&mtid=24l339123&slid=&product_id=&targetids=groupid=$$&urtu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sizmek.com

How Marin URL Builder Works

URL Builder is a Marin platform feature that helps ensure all objects that have a URL attribute have the correct tracking included in their destination URLs. It appends tracking when keywords, creatives, placements, sitelinks or product targets are created or edited via the Marin platform.

The following is the default setup for the Marin URL Builder with this integration by Publisher (As Publishers have specific URL building requirements and/or supported parameters):

*Google Sitelinks Ad Extensions Reporting will need to be activated by an internal Marin user, please ask your Marin rep. about this.

*Bing Sitelinks URL Builder & Reporting will need to be activated by an internal Marin user, please ask your Marin rep. about this.

*The Marin platform does not have support to add/edit Yahoo Gemini Sitelinks. The above-suggested URL needs to be manually entered into the Yahoo Gemini ad management platform by the customer to track Yahoo Gemini Sitelink clicks with this integration.

Note: There is no url builder support for the Yahoo Gemini {ifphone:string} {ifnotphone:string} dynamic parameters.

Other Considerations when implementing Yahoo Japan tracking: 

• Yahoo Japan (YJP) sunset {copy} parameter in January 2016; Sitelinks will use the account level template and your trackables setup to attribute conversions back.
• Marin does not leverage {creative} tracking so URLs are only tagged with a Marin unique ID and publisher value tracks for device, keyword and match type.
• Marin does not support “editing” Yahoo! Japan creative’s. Clients should create the new ad, push it to Yahoo! Japan, wait for Yahoo! Japan approval, hard sync the approved ads back into Marin to update the ad status, and then delete the old ad.

Other Considerations when implementing Baidu tracking: 

• The Marin platform does not have support to add/edit sitelinks. The above-suggested URL needs to be manually entered into the Baidu ad management platform by the customer to track sitelink clicks with this integration.
• Baidu does not have a {keyword} value track, so keyword-level URLs are required to get keyword attribution.

ID PARSER SETTINGS 

The following settings under keyword ID parsing will need to be configured in the Marin application. These settings are required for attribution of Sizmek conversion events in the Marin platform.

MARIN URL AUTOCORRECT

The Marin platform has advanced URL tagging features that fix URL issues on synchronization with the publisher; below details which ones are available to be activated with this integration by publisher. To find out more about these features please speak to a platform representative.

Publishers using Upgraded URLs (See help article here)

Note: There is no platform URL autocorrect support for AdWords App Install Campaigns, or AdWords Dynamic Search Ads.

Autocorrect only runs on objects synced nightly, this means it only runs on objects with impressions.

Publishers not using Upgraded URLs:

DEPLOY MARIN DATA PASSBACK FEED TO SIZMEK

Marin performs a daily sync with Sizmek to ensure both platforms contain the same campaign entities and cost metrics. This intra-day cost Data Passback is delivered to a Sizmek S3 Cloud Storage location, and is automatically enabled when the SEM Connect integration is activated in the Marin platform.

DEPLOY MARIN INTEGRITY FEED

Marin generates a daily aggregation of clicks and conversions at the campaign and publisher level for Sizmek to be used as a validation process to confirm that the data integrity of the integration is preserved across both platforms. This data powers the Sizmek monitoring reports.

IMPORTING SIZMEK CONVERSIONS INTO MARIN

Marin will begin importing conversion data from your Sizmek Advertiser account once the integration is enabled and URLs are tagged. Historical data before the integration won’t be included.

Key Information:

• Marin will be reporting on the attribution model you have setup in the Sizmek platform. Modifications to this attribution model in Sizmek will only be reflected in both platforms from the date of the change (i.e. historical data will not be amended for the new setting.)
• Sizmek conversion data will be available in Marin reports by 9am (local time of your Sizmek Advertiser).
• Marin reporting of Sizmek conversion data can use either the date of the click that led to the successful action, or the date of the successful action itself. Marin recommends you use date of conversion in order to be able to compare data between platforms, and use Sizmek monitoring reports.
• Marin can report Sizmek conversions attributed to keywords, creatives, sitelink ad extensions, placements, and product groups.
• Marin can optimize bids using Sizmek conversion data.
• Marin will automatically report any revenue an action records in Sizmek. Please ensure you are passing the currency value into the Sizmek tag to ensure do currency conversion discrepancies.
• Marin currently does not report the Sizmek quantity metric.
• There should be no discrepancy between the conversion data reported in either platforms (you can check this daily using the Sizmek SEM Connect monitoring reports!

The following table contains a legend of Sizmek parameters:

Marin’s intra-day Data Passback offering will allow for metrics and campaign data synchs to occur on an hourly basis, ensuring that an Sizmek will be able stay in synch with Marin (with up to a 1-2 hour delay). This Data Passback will have the following specifications: 

Generic Specifications

• A file should be created and sent per advertiser (if multiple Marin Client Accounts map to an advertiser, there will be separate files per Marin Client Account).
• In the case where the client is directly making account changes in the search engine, and not in Marin, the update will show up in the data Passback feed after Marin performs the next synch with the publisher. If the account changes occur within Marin then the updates will show up in the following hourly data Passback output, to Sizmek.
• Metrics reflect the date boundaries used by the publisher, which may be different from each other. Publishers will always send data adjusted to the time zone of the publisher account. Data Passback file data will match the Marin Enterprise User Interface.

Technical Specifications

Note: dimension=campaign/metadata, fact=publisher cost metrics

• Initial Historical Data: previous 30 days of dimension & fact data (full data set)
• Ongoing Delta Feed: Delta of Dimension & Fact data from the previous output file generated 
• If there have been no changes in dimension or fact data since last feed, no file will be generated.
• Marin only synchs with the client’s publisher accounts ONCE per day, but exceptions for a re-synch are made.
• The Intraday Synch is between Marin and Sizmek and includes: automatic synch, manual synch, account campaign updates in Marin will be pushed back to Sizmek on an intraday basis (hourly – 24 hrs)
  • Automatic synch – daily synch Marin performs with the publisher to download entity/cost data
  • Manual synch – a custom request to re-synch cost/entity data from the publisher outside of the daily automated synch process. Used to resolve any discrepancies between Marin and publishers.
  • Campaign Updates – updates performed within Marin, which could also include linking in new publisher accounts and updates to any point in the hierarchy of the account. 
• The feed should include JSON objects in sequential order and not in an array structure (i.e. with NO square brackets surrounding the list of the objects).
• Each JSON object should appear in a new line with no delimiters (e.g. commas) between the objects.
• The feed would be zipped with GZip format.
• Entities which don’t have metric attributes, should be included only once in the whole feed, which will include the most updated metadata attributes (according to “SE_{EntityName}LastModified”) at feed generation timestamp for each of those entities.
• Entities which have metric attributes, should be sent only once per day (according to “SE_MetricsLastModified”) for each of the last 30 days, which will include the most updated metadata attributes (according to “SE_{EntityName}LastModified”) and the most updated metric attributes (according to “SE_MetricsLastModified”) of that day for each of those entities.
• In case keyword/creative has no fact data (e.g. A keyword that was just created but not trafficked to the publisher yet) the field ‘SE_MetrcisLastModified’ should contain the same value as ‘SE_KeywordLastModified’ if this is a KW entity or ‘SE_AdLastModified’ if this is an Ad entity. In addition, all metrics fields should be omitted.
• Initial run should contain all entities down the hierarchy (campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads) even in case NO serving was done for them yet.
• The feed should be encoded with UTF-8 without BOM (For more information, go here)

About the Sizmek Integrity Feed: this feed generates an aggregation of clicks and conversions at the campaign and publisher level and is used as a validation process to confirm that the data integrity of the integration is preserved across both platforms.

How is the feed activated: the integrity feed uses the same activation process as the Data Passback.

Technical Specifications

• Click File: Aggregated clicks by the campaign entity should be sent for the last day (i.e. a record for each of the entities, which includes metadata & metrics attributes for the last day). Additionally, campaigns which have updated clicks for past days, should be sent only once per day for each day in the past (according to “SE_MetricsLastModified”) for which Sizmek should be updated for.
• Conversion File: Aggregated conversions by the publisher entity should be sent for the last day (i.e. a record for each of the entities, which includes metadata & metrics attributes for the last day). Additionally, publishers which have updated conversions for past days, should be sent only once per day for each day in the past (according to “SE_MetricsLastModified”) for which Sizmek should be updated for.
• Entities which don’t have metric attributes, should not be included in the whole feed 

Key Structure Notes

• The feed should include JSON objects in sequential order and not in an array structure (i.e. with NO square brackets surrounding the list of the objects).
• Each JSON object should appear in a new line with no delimiters (e.g. commas) between the objects.
• Attributes that have NO values will be excluded from the feed.
• The feed would be zipped with GZip format.
• The feed should be encoded with UTF-8 without BOM (For more information, go here)

File & Delivery Specifications

Data & Processing Specifications (into Marin)

Sizmek Conversion Feed → mapping to Marin Revenue File
The following is just an example for click date logic, though conversion date is supported as well:

Note: If the optional Client Tracker ID index value is defined, then all conversion data from the file will be grouped by Tracker ID and pushed to the respective FTP locations in individual files.

File Field Specifications 

The feed file will have the following Headers and Columns: