Google Data Manager API

Overview

The Google Data Manager API is Google's unified ingestion API for sending first-party data to multiple Google advertising products. It offers enhanced conversion capabilities, comprehensive data payloads, and improved match rates compared to standard Google Ads conversion tracking.

Unlike traditional Google Ads conversion tracking where you must choose between web conversions or offline conversions, the Data Manager API supports both through a single integration. This makes it easier to track the full customer journey from online ad click to offline purchase or lead conversion.

The Ours Privacy integration with the Google Data Manager API uses server-side tracking to send conversion data. Ours Privacy proxies all events through the server, so Google does not directly interact with your clients' browsers or receive their IP addresses. This architecture is designed to support organizations with strict privacy requirements, including those in healthcare.

Supported Google Products

This destination sends conversion events to the following Google advertising products:

Google Ads

• Search Ads: Text-based advertisements in Google search results
• Display Ads: Visual advertisements across Google's display network
• Shopping Ads: Product listings in Google Shopping
• Performance Max: Automated campaigns across all Google properties
• YouTube Ads: Video advertisements on YouTube
• Discovery Ads: Visual ads across Google's discovery surfaces
• App Campaigns: Mobile app promotion across Google's network

Not Supported

This destination does not support the Google Marketing Platform 360 suite. For Campaign Manager 360, Search 360, Display & Video 360, and Floodlight, use the Google Campaign Manager 360 destination.

When to Use the Data Manager API

The Google Data Manager API destination is ideal when you need:

• Unified web and offline conversions: Send both online website conversions and offline conversions (like CRM or point-of-sale data) through a single destination—no need to choose between conversion types
• Higher match rates: Multiple identifier types (email, phone, full address) increase the probability of conversion matching
• Enhanced conversions for leads: Full address matching improves attribution for lead generation campaigns
• Comprehensive data payloads: Cart data, user properties, and custom variables provide richer conversion context

For basic conversion tracking needs, the standard Google Ads destination may be sufficient.

Comparison: Data Manager API vs Google Ads Upload

Supported Data Types

User Identifiers

The Data Manager API supports multiple identifier types for improved matching:

• Email address: Hashed email for conversion matching
• Phone number: Hashed phone number with country code
• Full address: First name, last name, street address, city, state, postal code, and country

Using multiple identifiers significantly increases match rates, especially for offline conversions and lead generation campaigns.

Cart Data

Send detailed cart information with your conversions:

• Cart items: Individual products with IDs, quantities, and prices
• Transaction discounts: Promotional discounts applied to the order
• Merchant information: Store or merchant identifiers

User Properties

Enrich conversions with customer context:

• Customer type: NEW, RETURNING, or REENGAGED
• Customer value bucket: LOW, MEDIUM, or HIGH
• Custom properties: Additional user attributes specific to your business

Custom Variables

Define flexible conversion variables specific to your Floodlight or Google Ads configuration.

Setup and Configuration

Prerequisites

Before setting up this destination, ensure you have:

• A Google Ads account with conversion actions configured
• A user with appropriate permissions to manage conversion actions
• (Optional) A Google Ads Manager account if managing multiple client accounts

Initial Setup

1. Navigate to Destinations in your Ours Privacy platform
2. Click Add destination and select Google Data Manager API
3. Click Authenticate with Google and sign into your Google account
4. Select your Google Ads Account from the dropdown
5. Configure your conversion action mappings

Manager Account Support

If you manage multiple Google Ads accounts through a Manager account:

1. Authenticate using your Manager account credentials
2. Enter your Manager Account ID in the configuration
3. Select the client account you want to send conversions to
4. Ours Privacy will handle the account hierarchy automatically

Conversion Action Configuration

You can configure conversion actions in two ways:

Automatic Sync: Ours Privacy can automatically sync your allowed events with Google Ads conversion actions. Click the Sync button after configuring your events.

Manual Entry: If you prefer to manage conversion actions directly in Google Ads, you can manually enter the Conversion Action ID for each event mapping.

Event Mapping Options

When configuring event mappings, you can specify the following fields:

Required Fields

• Event Name: The event name in your Ours Privacy platform
• Conversion Action: The Google Ads conversion action to map to

User Identifiers

• Email: User's email address (automatically hashed)
• Phone: User's phone number with country code (automatically hashed)
• First Name: User's first name (automatically hashed)
• Last Name: User's last name (automatically hashed)
• Street Address: Street address (automatically hashed)
• City: City name (automatically hashed)
• State: State or region code
• Postal Code: ZIP or postal code
• Country: Two-letter country code (e.g., US, CA, GB)

Ad Identifiers

• GCLID: Google Click Identifier
• GBRAID: Google App Click Identifier (iOS)
• WBRAID: Google Web-to-App Click Identifier

Conversion Data

• Value: Monetary value of the conversion
• Currency: Three-letter currency code (e.g., USD, EUR)
• Transaction ID: Unique transaction identifier
• Order ID: Order identifier for purchase events

Cart Data

• Cart Items: Array of products with item details
• Transaction Discount: Discount amount applied
• Merchant ID: Store or merchant identifier

User Properties

• Customer Type: NEW, RETURNING, or REENGAGED
• Customer Value Bucket: LOW, MEDIUM, or HIGH
• Custom Properties: Additional key-value pairs

Consent Fields

• Ad User Data Consent: Whether the user consented to ad data usage
• Ad Personalization Consent: Whether the user consented to ad personalization

Implementation

Basic Event Tracking

After configuring your destination, track conversion events using the Ours Privacy SDK:

ours('track', 'Purchase', {
  value: 150.00,
  currency: 'USD',
  transaction_id: 'TXN-12345'
});

Enhanced Conversions with User Data

For enhanced conversions, include user identifiers:

ours('track', 'Submit Lead Form', {
  value: 50.00,
  email: 'user@example.com',
  phone: '+15551234567',
  first_name: 'Jane',
  last_name: 'Smith',
  street_address: '123 Main St',
  city: 'San Francisco',
  state: 'CA',
  postal_code: '94105',
  country: 'US'
});

Including Cart Data

For e-commerce conversions, include cart details:

ours('track', 'Purchase', {
  value: 299.99,
  currency: 'USD',
  transaction_id: 'ORD-78901',
  cart_items: [
    { item_id: 'SKU-001', quantity: 2, price: 99.99 },
    { item_id: 'SKU-002', quantity: 1, price: 100.01 }
  ],
  transaction_discount: 0
});

User Properties for Customer Insights

Enrich conversions with customer context:

ours('track', 'Purchase', {
  value: 500.00,
  currency: 'USD',
  transaction_id: 'ORD-45678',
  customer_type: 'RETURNING',
  customer_value_bucket: 'HIGH'
});

Privacy Features

Server-Side Architecture

For organizations with HIPAA or other privacy requirements, Ours Privacy provides a server-side architecture with the following features:

• Server-side proxying: All events are sent through Ours Privacy servers, so Google does not directly interact with your users' browsers
• IP address exclusion: User IP addresses are not sent to Google
• Automatic data hashing: PII (email, phone, address components) is automatically hashed before transmission
• Consent management: Built-in support for ad user data and ad personalization consent flags

US Privacy Support

The integration includes consent handling features for US privacy requirements:

• State Privacy Laws: Supports consent signal passthrough for CCPA, CPRA, and other state privacy regulations
• Healthcare: Server-side architecture designed to support organizations with HIPAA considerations
• Ad Personalization: Built-in controls for ad user data and personalization consent flags

Consent Handling

You can pass consent signals with your events:

ours('track', 'Purchase', {
  value: 100.00,
  currency: 'USD',
  ad_user_data_consent: 'GRANTED',
  ad_personalization_consent: 'GRANTED'
});

Technical Details

When Events Dispatch

Events are dispatched to the Google Data Manager API when:

1. Valid Configuration: The destination is properly authenticated and configured
2. Allowed Event: The event name matches an allowed event on your destination
3. Required Identifiers: At least one valid identifier is present (gclid, gbraid, wbraid, or user identifiers)

Automatic Retry

If the Google Data Manager API returns a retriable error (such as a temporary API issue or rate limiting), Ours Privacy will automatically attempt to re-dispatch the event.

Related Destinations

• Google Ads: Standard Google Ads conversion tracking for basic needs
• Google Campaign Manager 360: Conversion tracking for the Google Marketing Platform 360 suite

Additional Resources

For more information about the Google Data Manager API, visit the official Google documentation.

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