Google Ads Destination

MessageGears publishes audiences directly to Google Ads via Customer Match. This allows you to take CRM-derived segments built in MessageGears and use them to target users across Google-owned properties — including Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Display Network — enabling retargeting, lookalike modeling, and suppression lists.

Prerequisites

Before setting up the Google Ads destination, make sure the following are in place:

• A valid Google Ads account with Customer Match enabled
  • Customer Match eligibility requires a good account history and compliance with Google's policies
• Admin-level access to the Google Ads account
• A MessageGears audience or Blueprint ready to publish — see Creating and Editing Audiences and Blueprints for Campaign Segmentation

Step 1: Authorize MessageGears to access your Google Ads account

MessageGears connects to Google Ads via OAuth 2.0. You must authorize the connection once before any audiences can be published.

1. MessageGears will provide you with a Google authorization link. Click the link to begin.
2. Sign in to your Google account when prompted.
3. Review the permissions requested by MessageGears and click Allow to approve access.
4. After approval, you will be redirected to a MessageGears confirmation page.

Once authorization is complete, MessageGears will configure the destination using your Google Ads Customer ID on your behalf.

info

If you manage multiple Google Ads accounts under a manager (MCC) account, make sure you authorize with the correct client account, not the manager account.

Step 2: Data requirements and hashing

Google Customer Match requires at least one of the following identifier types. Providing multiple types increases match rates.

Supported identifier types

Identifier	Format Before Hashing
Email address	Lowercase, whitespace trimmed
Phone number	E.164 format (e.g., +14045551234)
First name + Last name + Postal code + Country	Lowercase, no punctuation

Hashing

All PII is hashed using SHA-256 before being sent to Google. MessageGears applies normalization and hashing automatically if the Apply Vendor Obfuscation option is enabled on your destination.

EU User Consent (GDPR)

If your audience includes users in the European Union, Google requires explicit consent signals to be passed along with the audience upload. MessageGears supports passing EU consent status (Consent Granted or Unspecified) as required by Google's EU User Consent Policy.

Contact MessageGears Support to confirm your EU consent configuration before activating audiences that include EU-based users.

Step 3: Build your audience in MessageGears

Use the MessageGears audience builder or a Blueprint to define the segment you want to send to Google Ads.

Your audience data should include at least one supported identifier field. Providing email addresses, phone numbers, or name and address data improves match rates. Ensure the data is clean and properly formatted before publishing.

For guidance on building audiences and Blueprints, see:

• Creating and Editing Audiences
• Blueprints for Campaign Segmentation

Step 4: Create an External Campaign targeting the Google Ads destination

Once your audience is defined and the Google Ads destination is configured, create an External Campaign to publish the audience:

1. Navigate to Campaigns > External.
2. Under Settings, select your audience or Blueprint.
3. In the Destination dropdown, select your Google Ads destination.
4. Set your schedule (one-time or recurring) and click Save or Launch.

For a full walkthrough of the External Campaign workflow, see External Campaigns.

Managing your connection

Token validity

The OAuth access token issued during authorization may become invalid if:

• You remove MessageGears' access from your Google account settings
• Your Google Ads account permissions change

If your Google Ads destination stops publishing successfully, contact MessageGears Support to initiate a reauthorization.

Reauthorizing

If your token is revoked or expires, MessageGears will provide a new authorization link. Follow the same authorization steps to reconnect your account.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Resolution
Audience not appearing in Google Ads	Authorization incomplete or account not Customer Match eligible	Contact MessageGears Support to verify the connection and account eligibility
Match rate is unexpectedly low	Data not normalized correctly before hashing	Confirm emails are lowercase and Apply Vendor Obfuscation is enabled
Campaign fails to publish	Expired token or invalid Customer ID	Contact MessageGears Support to verify account configuration
EU consent errors	EU consent configuration not set	Contact MessageGears Support to configure EU consent status

For additional help, contact MessageGears Support.