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Tutorial: Getting started with Certified Datasources

Overview

This tutorial walks you through creating Certified Datasources in Alli, ensuring your data is clean, consistent, and ready for action. You’ll learn how to add platforms, align data, and certify a datasource to create a single source of truth for your insights.

Why it matters

Certified Datasources form the foundation of actionable insights in Alli. Without them, teams struggle with fragmented data, inconsistent reporting, and manual workflows. By building a Certified Datasource, you give your team a reliable, validated data source—ready to fuel features like Ask Alli and custom reporting, so you can move from insights to action faster.

What you’ll learn

This tutorial provides step-by-step guidance on:

  1. Onboarding a platform: Connect platforms like Google Ads or Facebook Ads to begin ingesting data.

  2. Backfilling data: Align historical data for accuracy and consistency across your reports.

  3. Building and refreshing your Certified Datasource: Validate and enable your datasource for use in Data Explorer and advanced features like Ask Alli.

Next steps

  • Tutorial: Backfilling Data for a Platform

    This tutorial explains how to backfill platform data used in Certified Datasources.

  • Core Categorizations
  • Tutorial: Onboarding a Platform

    This tutorial explains how to onboard a platform to Certified Datasources using pre-built apps from Marketplace.

  • Tutorial: Building and Refreshing Certified Datasources

    This tutorial explains how to build and/or refresh data for your Certified Datasources.

  • How-To: Enable Product Feed Reporting

    Product Feed reporting is supported in Certified Datasources Certified Datasources support product reporting for Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Pinterest Ads. These reports are as follows: Google Ads googleads__productfeed_performance Facebook Ads facebookads__productfeed_performance Pinterest Ads pinterestads__productfeed_performance Cross-channel productfeed_performance This guide explains how to onboard productfeed datasources and build productfeed report within ADL.

  • Data Library Field Mapping - Demographic Performance
  • How-To: Include Custom DSP Cost in Display Reporting

    Alli supports most major DSPs (demand-side platforms) used in programmatic and display advertising. However, some smaller platforms aren’t supported due to the lack of a public API or other technical limitations. This guide explains how to manually associate ad spend from these unsupported DSPs with corresponding CM360 placements or creatives in a Certified Datasource—enabling more accurate programmatic and display reporting.

  • Onboarding CM360
  • Certified Datasource References
  • How-To: Categorize CM360 Conversions

    By default, Campaign Manager 360 (CM360) returns all conversions regardless of the assigned activity type. This guide explains how to use Categorizations to classify these conversion activity types and exclude non-essential conversions.

  • Placement ID methodology

    The ad_performance report combines (1) ad-level data from DSPs on which customer serves media, and (2) placement-level data from CM360 using a join on cm_placement_id and date. This guide walks through where Placement ID comes from and how it is parsed from the respective DSPs.

  • Onboarding Bidtellect
  • Onboarding Vistar DSP
  • Report Field Mappings
  • How-To: Identify Which Platforms and Report Types are Enabled for Reporting

    Use this guide to identify which platforms and report types are active in your Certified Datasource for reporting purposes.

  • ADL FAQs

    This Document provides detailed answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding ADL 2.0. This guide aims to offer clarity and assistance to users encountering common issues below.

  • Data Library Field Mapping - AdGroup Hourly Performance
  • How-To: Enable Device and Demographic Reporting

    Device and Demographic reporting is now supported in Certified Datasources Certified Datasources support this reporting for Facebook Ads only currently. These reports are as follows: Facebook Ads facebookads__demographic_performance facebookads__platform_device_performance Cross-channel platform_device_performance demographic_performance This guide explains how to onboard and build the Device and Demographic reports within ADL.

  • Creative ID methodology

    The creative_performance report consists of creative-level data tied to an ad from platforms on which customers serve media. This guide walks through where the Creative ID comes from and how it is parsed from the respective platforms.

  • Certified Datasources

    Alli Certified Datasources simplify access to clean, cross-channel data that’s ready for action. Acting as a single source of truth, they empower teams to move faster by uncovering performance insights, identifying trends, and making smarter decisions.

  • Data Library Field Mapping - Ad Hourly Performance
  • How-To: Enable Hourly Reporting

    Hourly reporting (segmented and refreshed by hour) is supported in Certified Datasources Certified Datasources support hourly reporting for Google Ads, DV360, Microsoft Ads, Facebook Ads, Snapchat Ads, Pinterest Ads, Reddit Ads and TikTok Ads. These reports are as follows: Google Ads googleads__adgroup_hourly_performance DV360 dv360__ad_hourly_performance dv360__adgroup_trueview_hourly_performance Microsoft Ads microsoftads__adgroup_hourly_performance Facebook Ads facebookads__adgroup_hourly_performance facebookads__ad_hourly_performance TikTok Ads tiktokads__adgroup_hourly_performance tiktokads__ad_hourly_performance Snapchat Ads snapchatads__adgroup_hourly_performance snapchatads__ad_hourly_performance Reddit Ads redditads__ad_hourly_performance redditads__adgroup_hourly_performance Pinterest Ads pinterestads__ad_hourly_performance pinterestads__adgroup_hourly_performance Cross-platform adgroup_hourly_performance ad_hourly_performance (Excludes Google Ads and Microsoft Ads) Data within these reports will be refreshed hourly with the most up-to-date and recent performance metrics. This guide explains how to onboard hourly datasources and build hourly report within ADL.

  • How-To: Reclassify Media Channel

    This guide explains how use to Categorizations to reclassify the media channel for your campaigns/ad groups in Certified Datasources

  • Data Library Field Mapping - Platform Device Performance
  • Onboarding The Trade Desk
  • Tutorial: Getting started with Certified Datasources
  • How-To: Add New Accounts for an Existing Platform

    This guide explains how to add new ad accounts for existing platforms in Certified Datasources.

  • How-To: Locate Source Data Used in Reporting

    This guide shows how to identify the raw datasources in Alli Data that power a Certified Datasource. This is helpful when you need to modify the source – such as adding accounts, duplicating sources for QA, or troubleshooting data issues.