What is Microsoft Ads?

Microsoft Ads is a digital advertising platform that enables businesses to create and manage search, shopping, and audience-based ad campaigns. It provides advanced targeting options, including keyword-based bidding, remarketing, and automated optimizations to improve ad performance. The platform includes tools for budget management, performance tracking, and conversion measurement to help advertisers maximize their return on investment.

Product Type: Advertising

Integration Type: Starter Kit & ID Sync

Capabilities

• Captures msclkid from URLs and stores it for tracking conversions.
• Syncs user identifiers using a match pixel request to Microsoft Ads.
• Generates a session ID (mid) for linking events to a page view.
• Adds identifiers to server-side events for attribution.

Sync Details

• IDs:
  • msclkid - A unique identifier appended to ad URLs in Microsoft Ads to track and attribute conversions back to specific ad clicks.
  • mid - Page load id that links to 0+ custom events from the same page. This parameter is used to group events to a session.
• Description:
  • The sync captures all URL parameters related to msclkid and stores them for a set duration, based on the URL Params Time To Live setting in the UI.
  • A URL pixel is triggered to send data to the provider’s match table, helping with identity resolution. Additional syncs are temporarily paused until the ID Sync Time To Live period expires to prevent redundant requests.
    • The Client ID and Anonymous ID are included in the URL pixel request to assist with user matching.
  • A unique ID (UUID) is generated if the session contains the mid parameter.
• Server-side Event Payload: Upon completion of all vendor's sync, the server-side events will incorporate all resolved identifiers as described above. The following object will be appended to the context.providers property within the event's JSON payload.

{
   "microsoftAds": {
     "msclkid": String
     "mid": String
   }
}

• Cookie Name:
  • Cookie: _meta_microsoftAds_msclkid, _meta_microsoftAds_beaconFired
  • IndexedDB: [your storage prefix]_microsoftAds_msclkid, [your storage prefix]_microsoftAds_beaconFired
  • For a general guide on ID Sync validation, see here.

Sync Setup Guide

1. Gather Credentials

• Client ID
  • To find your Microsoft Ads Customer ID (CID), log into your Microsoft Ads account, then locate the CID in the URL of the address bar, which appears after the tag "cid=".
  • If your account has multiple CIDs, please use the primary CID.

2. Add a Microsoft Ads Sync in MetaRouter

1. From the Pipelines page, find the pipeline associated with the web property you’d like to add a sync to. Hover over the three dot dropdown and select “Build AJS File.”
2. In the Identity Syncs section, select the Microsoft Ads sync.
3. Fill out the following fields:
   1. URL Params Time to Live (in days) - Specifies how long a stored URL parameter (msclkid) remains before being deleted unless renewed.
   2. ID Sync Time to Live (in days) - Specifies how often an ID sync request is triggered before its storage marker expires.
   3. Client ID - Defines the Microsoft's assigned customer ID. If your account has multiple Client IDs, please use the primary Client ID.
   4. Fire on ReSync - Defines whether the ID sync should be triggered again when an identify() event occurs.
4. Scroll down and click the Save and Build File button.
5. Deploy your AJS file to propagate changes to your web property.