How It Works
Clone the Google Sheets Template
Start by making a copy of the Outbrain Excel template into your own Google account:Clone the Outbrain Google Sheets Template →The template contains:
- A main sheet with one row per ad (campaign settings + creative in each row)
- Auxiliary sheets with reference data: Countries, Locations, Browsers, IAB Categories, and more
- Column notes on every column header — hover over the column name to see the accepted values and format
Fill in Your Campaigns
Each row in the main sheet represents one ad. To create a campaign with multiple ads, add one row per ad keeping all campaign-level columns identical, and vary only the ad-level columns (image URL, headline, CTA, etc.).Key things to note:
- Columns marked 🚩 REQUIRED must be filled in — the upload will fail if they’re missing
- Columns marked 🟡 are conditionally required (e.g. End Date is only needed if Run Forever is set to FALSE)
- Use the auxiliary sheets to look up valid values for locations, languages, IAB categories, etc.
Export to Excel and Upload
Once your sheet is ready:
- In Google Sheets, go to File → Download → Microsoft Excel (.xlsx)
- Open Campaign Creator in TheOptimizer
- From the menu, select Create from Excel
- Follow the on-screen steps and submit your file
Check Your Email for Confirmation
After submitting, TheOptimizer processes the file and sends you an email:
- ✅ Successful upload — your campaigns are queued and being created on Outbrain. Track progress from the Campaign Creator page.
- ⚠️ Upload failed — the email will include a new Excel file with all error cells highlighted. Download it, fix the issues, and re-upload.
Column Reference
The table below describes every column in the Outbrain Excel template.| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Traffic Source Account ID | 🚩 REQUIRED. The Outbrain account ID from TheOptimizer where campaigns will be uploaded. Find it under Traffic Sources in the left menu. |
| Campaign Name | 🚩 REQUIRED. The name of the campaign. |
| Objective | 🚩 REQUIRED. Awareness, Traffic, AppInstall, or Conversions. |
| Budget | 🚩 REQUIRED. Minimum budget is $20. The maximum you want to spend per day, month, or campaign. |
| Budget Type | 🚩 REQUIRED. DAILY, MONTHLY, or CAMPAIGN. |
| Budget Pacing | 🚩 REQUIRED. AUTOMATIC — even pacing. SPEND_ASAP — spend as fast as possible. DAILY_TARGET — fixed daily amount from monthly/campaign budget. |
| Budget Daily Target | 🟡 Required if Budget Pacing is DAILY_TARGET. Daily spend target. |
| Start Date | 🚩 REQUIRED. Campaign start date in YYYY-MM-DD format. |
| Start Hour | 🚩 REQUIRED. Campaign start hour (e.g., 7 or 22). |
| Run Forever | 🚩 REQUIRED. Whether the campaign runs continuously (TRUE or FALSE). |
| End Date | 🟡 Required if Run Forever is FALSE. |
| Selected Locations | Comma-separated locations to target (e.g. Italy, France, United States). See Locations sheet. |
| Excluded Locations | Locations to exclude from targeting. Comma-separated. See Locations sheet. |
| Platform | 🚩 REQUIRED. Platforms to target. Values: DESKTOP, MOBILE, TABLET. Comma-separated for multiple. |
| Operating System | 🚩 REQUIRED. OS to target. Values: Android, Ios, MacOs, Windows. Comma-separated for multiple. |
| Browsers | Browser targeting. Leave empty to target all browsers. |
| Exclude Ad Block Users | 🚩 REQUIRED. Whether to exclude adblock users. Values: TRUE or FALSE. |
| Msn Exclusive | 🚩 REQUIRED. Run on Microsoft News (MSN) only. TRUE or FALSE. |
| High Impact Placements | 🚩 REQUIRED. Whether to include high-impact MSN placements. Values: TRUE, FALSE. |
| Optimization Type | 🚩 REQUIRED. TARGET_CPA_FULLY_AUTOMATED or TARGET_ROAS_FULLY_AUTOMATED. |
| Creative Format | 🚩 REQUIRED. Standard, Clip, or Carousel. |
| Scheduling on air days | Day/hour schedule if you want the campaign to run only at specific times. Example: FRI-0-23,SAT-0-23. |
| Target CPA | 🟡 Required if Optimization Type is TARGET_CPA_FULLY_AUTOMATED. |
| Target ROAS | 🟡 Required if Optimization Type is TARGET_ROAS_FULLY_AUTOMATED. |
| Conversions | 🟡 Required if Objective is Conversions or AppInstalls, or if Optimization Type is CPA/ROAS automated. Enter conversion name as shown in Outbrain. |
| Audience Targeting | 🚩 REQUIRED. ALL, IAB, or INTERESTS. |
| IAB or Interests Categories | 🟡 Required if Audience Targeting is IAB or INTERESTS. See IAB Categories sheet. |
| IAB or Interests Operation | 🟡 Required if Audience Targeting is IAB or INTERESTS. include or exclude. |
| Suffix Tracking Code | URL parameters appended to landing page URLs for external tracking. |
| CPC | 🚩 REQUIRED. Default cost per click at campaign level. |
| Language | 🚩 REQUIRED. Language targeting. |
| Target URL | Target URL of the ad (leave empty if using Media Manager Ads). |
| Image URL | 🚩 REQUIRED (unless using Media Manager Ads). Ad image URL. |
| Headline | 🚩 REQUIRED (unless using Media Manager Ads). Max 100 characters (90 recommended). |
| Description | Optional ad description. Max 150 characters. |
| Site Name | 🚩 REQUIRED. Your brand or website name displayed below the ad. |
| Call to Action | 🚩 REQUIRED. Call-to-action for the ad. |
| Media Manager Ads | Reference a saved Ad group from Outbrain’s Media Manager instead of providing individual image/headline/URL fields. |
| Rules | Comma-separated Rule IDs from TheOptimizer to attach to the campaign after creation. |
| Rule Groups | Comma-separated rule group names from TheOptimizer to attach after creation. |