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Getting Started with Conversions API Feed Distribution for Retail Media Networks

Retail media networks use Conversions API (CAPI) programs to measure how ad campaigns drive customer actions across brands. With LiveRamp’s CAPI integration, you can connect conversion data, create brand-specific feeds, and share them with brand partners or send them to destination platforms through Connect. Filter each feed by SKU or other attributes so it includes only the data relevant to that brand’s campaigns.

Caution

This program is currently in limited availability. If you don't have access, you can still leverage other LiveRamp Conversions API integrations. For more information, see "Offline Conversions API Programs".

Overall Steps

There are two workflow options, which affect who performs the distribution step in Connect:

  • Retailer-managed distribution: The retailer handles the distribution of conversion data in Connect and manages the resulting attribution reports on the brand's behalf.

  • Brand-managed distribution: The brand partner distributes the conversion data in Connect and manages their own attribution report at the destination platform.

For retailer-managed distribution, the overall steps are:

  1. Upload your conversion file to LiveRamp.

  2. Create a conversion event feed table in Connect.

  3. Distribute the event feed to configured destination accounts.

For brand-managed distribution, the overall steps are:

  1. In addition to your conversion file, upload a mapping file to LiveRamp.

  2. Create a mapping table in Connect.

  3. Create a filtered conversion event feed view.

  4. Share the event feed view with brand partners.

Note

To enable event filtering under either workflow, complete the additional steps listed under brand-managed distribution. You can then distribute the resulting filtered event view yourself or share it with brand partners for them to distribute.

Prepare Source Files for Ingestion

Follow the formatting instructions below for each file type before uploading to LiveRamp.

Conversion or Transaction File

Your conversion feed data should be formatted based on the guidelines of the universal file for multiple conversions API programs. In most cases, you will only need to use one universal file for all of your conversion programs. See "Situations That Require Additional Files" for more info.

Procedure. To create a universal file:

  1. Download the file template by clicking here.

  2. If desired, you can remove any non-required columns that aren't utilized by one of your conversion programs, but you can also leave those columns in the file and not populate them with values.

  3. Transfer your data into the template.

  4. After transferring your data into the file template, delete the second row with the formatting instructions.

  5. Save the file as one of our allowed file types (.csv, .tsv, .psv, or .txt).

See “Using a Universal File for Multiple Conversions API Programs” for more information.

Mapping File (Optional)

For brand-managed distributions or to enable filtering of your conversion events, you must prepare a file that maps product-level data to ad campaign attributes. You can use the table attribute columns to define the rules that determine which products (SKUs), brands, or other attributes are included in each conversion feed.

Your source file must contain the following columns:

  • Product category

  • Product brand

  • Product SKU/ID

If available, we recommend including the additional columns below to easily enable per-campaign filtering and reporting in your conversion feeds:

  • Campaign ID

  • Campaign start date

  • Campaign end date

To download a file template with example values, click here.

Upload the Files to LiveRamp

Upload conversion data files using LiveRamp’s SFTP server or your SFTP server.

You can also have us pull files from an AWS S3 bucket or GCS bucket. See “Getting Your Data Into LiveRamp” for more information.

Caution

Files for this program cannot be uploaded via Connect. We recommend either uploading via our SFTP server or having us pull files from an S3 bucket.

To learn more about the Online Conversions API connectors, see "Online Conversions API Connectors".

Note

For future uploads, you do not have to email LiveRamp to confirm that you have uploaded data assuming headers have not changed or additional columns have not been added.

Create an Offline CAPI Event Feed Table

During the table creation process, you will map the fields you want to include and configure how input identifiers should be resolved.

Note

Event feed tables for online events are automatically generated once LiveRamp has enabled the Online CAPI connectors for you. Talk to a LiveRamp representative to help with the setup.

Procedure. To create a CAPI event feed table:

  1. From the navigation pane, select Data Management → Tables and Views.

  2. Click Create and select Create Table.

  3. On the Select Intended Use step, select CAPI Event Feed. Then, select the workflow type based on which identifier type in the file you want LiveRamp to process:

    • PII Matching: Match online or offline identifiers to a RampID.

    • Online Matching: Match custom online identifiers (CID) to a RampID.

    • Transcoding: Transcode online identifiers to a different partner encoding, in addition to resolving other identifiers to RampID.

    • No Identity Matching (Passthrough): Select this workflow to pass identifiers without matching, transcoding, or any leveraging of LiveRamp's Identity Graph.

      If No Identity Matching is selected, select whether the input contains raw or hashed identifiers via the Input PII Type dropdown.

  4. Enter an import configuration name and an optional description.

  5. Click Next.

  6. From the Select Data Source step, fill out the following fields:

    1. GCS Bucket or Data Source: The Google Cloud Storage (GCS) bucket where the data source is located.

    2. File or Folder Path: The file path within the above-specified GCS bucket (for example, “/input/liveramp-test-file.csv”).

    3. Files are encrypted: If your files are encrypted, select this option and enter the path to the non-encrypted files in the Schema File field.

    4. Format: CSV or Parquet.

    5. Delimiter Configuration: If you are using a CSV file, select Auto Detect or Manual to manually specify delimiters.

    6. Number of Rows to Exclude: Enter the number of rows (such as header rows) to exclude. Enter "0" if your file doesn't contain a header.

    7. Files to Process: Select which files to scan and process:

      • All Files: All files in the directory will be processed regardless of whether they were already processed.

      • Only Process New Files: Only new files added to the directory from this point onward will be processed.

        Note

        If the table is configured to process only new files, ingestion will begin only after a new file is added to the source location. The table won’t be available for distribution until a new file is detected and ingestion is complete.

      • Backlog and New Files: New files and existing files in the directory which have not been processed will be processed.

  7. Click Next.

  8. Enter a name for the table and an optional description. Click Next.

  9. For passthrough (No Identity Matching) workflows, select the input field that contains the PII to pass, and the hashing method to apply.

    Click Next. You may skip step 10.

  10. The Configure Identity Resolution step lets you define which input fields to match or transcode on. The Import Optimizer generates a list identifiers to match on based on the identifiers in your input file and the selected workflow type.

    Note

    • If the Import Optimizer failed to create suggestions, click Configure an Identifier and select the identifier type and the field in your input file you'd like to match or transcode on.

    • To accept all suggested identifiers and include them for matching, click Import Optimizer Actions  → Accept Suggestions. 

    To review the suggestions: 

    1. Confirm each identifier maps to the correct field. Click the arrow on an identifier's row to view its field and make necessary changes.

      ImportOptimizer_arrow.png

    2. For online matching and transcoding workflow, you must provide the relevant Ad Network Account (ANA) ID for the configured identifier.

    3. All detected identifiers are included for matching by default. To exclude an identifier, click the More Options menu (the three dots) and select “Delete Identifier”.

      ImportOptimizer_deleteid.png

    4. Select the identifier to use to for creating Enterprise IDs.

    5. For suggestions that require attention, you must select the identifier field manually, or exclude it from matching.

    6. Once the above steps are completed, click Import Optimizer Actions  → Accept Suggestions.

      ImportOptimizer_AcceptSuggestion.png

    Note

    If Import Optimizer has not been enabled, follow the instructions below to configure the identity resolution manually:

    • If you selected the “PII Matching” workflow:

      1. Identifier Type 1: Select the type of identifier available in your input file.

        CAPIRMN_Matching_IDType1.png

      2. Identifier 1 Field: Select the column in your file that contains the selected identifier type.

        CAPIRMN_evENTfeed_Dfield1.png

      3. To resolve multiple identifier types, click Add Input Identifiers and repeat the steps above.

    • For "Online Matching" workflow:

      1. Identifier 1 Field: Select the column in your file that contains the Custom ID (CID).

      2. Ad Network Account ID (ANA): Select the identity space the input identifiers belong to from the list of identity spaces associated with your account.

    • For “Transcoding” workflow:

      1. Identifier Type 1: Select the type of online identifier in your input file you want to transcode.

      2. Identifier 1 Field: Select the column in your file that contains the selected identifier type.

      3. Ad Network Account ID (ANA): Select the identity space the input identifiers belong to from the list of identity spaces associated with your account. This option is set to RampID by default.

      4. Input Encoding Partner ID: The 4-digit encoding ID of your organization that appears after the first two letters of your RampIDs.

      5. Output Encoding Partner ID: The 4-digit encoding ID of the LiveRamp partner that you want to transcode to. 

        Tip

        Encoding id is a 4-digit number unique to the partner using them that appears as part of each RampID’s value after the two-character prefix.

        For example, in the RampID "XY1005wXyWPB1SgpMUKIpzA0I3UaLEz-2lg0wFAr1PWK7FMhs", the partner encoding is “1005”.

      6. To resolve multiple identifier types, click Add Input Identifiers and repeat the steps above.

  11. In the Data Hygiene and Privacy Transformations step, perform the following actions:

    Note

    Any identifier fields you've configured to be used for matching in the Configure Identity Resolution step are excluded from this step.

    If a field has an asterisk at the beginning of its row, you must configure certain advanced settings by clicking on the row and then completing the applicable steps below. Once the required configurations have been completed, the asterisk will no longer display.

    1. Include or exclude a field: To include or exclude a field in your event feed table, slide the toggle under “Include” for that field. If needed, you can use the search bar to find the desired field.

    2. Adjust the field type: For each field, confirm or adjust the field type that was detected from the file.

    3. Rename the field: If necessary, click the field’s row and then enter a new field name in the Field Name in Table field.

    4. Apply privacy transformations: For each field included in the table, click Truncate, Encrypt, or Hashing to apply your desired privacy transformation. The following hashing options are available:

      • No Salt: Applies standard MD5 directly, without a salt.

      • Default Salt: Applies MD5 with LiveRamp’s hardcoded universal salt.

      • Custom Salt: Applies MD5 with a salt that you provide.

    5. Add a field description: To add a field description, click the field’s row and in the side panel that opens, enter a description in the Description field.

  12. Click Next.

  13. Review your table configuration, and click Create Table.

The table you’ve created displays on the Tables and Views page at the top of the list. You can view its details by double-clicking on the row to open the full detail page. To learn more, see "View Details for Tables and Views".

Note

When you distribute a CAPI event feed table, LiveRamp automatically creates an unfiltered CAPI event feed view based on that table.

Distribute the Conversion Event Feed to Destination Platforms (Retailer-Managed Distribution)

Conversion events are delivered to destination platforms by way of distributing them to destination accounts in Connect. For information on all available CAPI destination accounts, see "Conversions API Destinations and Distribution Information".

During the distribution process, LiveRamp will perform a validation check to ensure all fields required by the selected destination platforms are included. To avoid a failed validation check, make sure to:

  • Check your event feed source file against our universal file format to see if all required columns are present. See “Using a Universal File for Multiple Conversions API Programs” for more information.

  • If you are sending item-level/product array data, check for additional field requirements in the universal file for sending those data.

  • Make sure to select the correct destination account that matches your file format (i.e., product array or non-product array).

Activate the Desired Destination Accounts

When activating a Conversions API destination account, you are required to provide the relevant ad account ID you want the data to be delivered to at the destination platform. Some of our destinations require that an authorization using OAuth be performed by a user with the appropriate permission level before any distributions can be made to that destination.

For instructions on activating CAPI destination accounts, see "Conversions API Destinations and Distribution Information".

Distribute the Event Feed View

Once the desired destination accounts have been activated, you can now distribute your event feed.

Procedure. To distribute event feed views:

  1. On the Tables and Views page, click the More Options menu (more-options-icon.png) of an event feed table or view and select "Distribute Event-Feeds".

    CAPIRMN_MoreOptions__DistributeEvent.png

  2. (Optional) Click Previous and select any additional views you want to distribute.

    Click Next.

  3. From the Select Destinations step, check one or more boxes for the CAPI destination accounts you want to distribute the views to.

  4. Click Validate. LiveRamp checks whether your file is missing any fields required by the selected destination platform.

    Click_validate.png

  5. If a row's validation status displays “Incompatible”, click “View Details” to view the missing requirements on the side panel that opens.

    validationcapi.png

    Warning

    If your file is missing a field, you must reupload the file, making sure the required field is included.

  6. When all selected platforms show a validation status of “Compatible”, click Distribute Event-Feeds.

Once you've distributed your data, it typically takes 1-3 days for the data to arrive at the destination platform. Once delivered, your platform partner can then create an attribution report that can be viewed on their ad manager platforms or send the report to you directly.

Create a Mapping Table for Conversions API

A mapping table lists the products, brands, and campaigns that you use to filter a conversion event feed. Unlike a transaction file, which includes transaction details in each row, a mapping file maps product-level data to campaign attributes. The source file for a mapping table must contain the following columns:

  • Product category

  • Product brand

  • Product SKU/ID

Campaign ID, Campaign start date, and Campaign end date columns are optional but recommended for per-campaign filtering and reporting. Follow the instructions below to configure your product mapping file in Connect.

  1. From the navigation pane, select Data Management → Tables and Views.

  2. Click Create then select Create Table.

    Create_table.png

  3. Enter an import configuration name and an optional description.

  4. Click Next.

  5. From the Select Data Source step, configure the following details:

    1. GCS Bucket or Data Source: The Google Cloud Storage (GCS) bucket where the data source is located.

    2. File or Folder Path: The file path within the above-specified GCS bucket (for example, “/input/liveramp-test-file.csv”).

    3. Files are encrypted: If your files are encrypted, select this option and enter the path to the non-encrypted files in the Schema File field.

    4. Format: CSV or Parquet.

    5. Delimiter Configuration: If you are using a CSV file, select Auto Detect or Manual to manually specify delimiters.

    6. Number of Rows to Exclude: Enter the number of rows (such as header rows) to exclude. Enter "0" if your file doesn't contain a header.

    7. Files to Process: Select which files to scan and process:

      • All Files: All files in the directory will be processed regardless of whether they were already processed.

      • Only Process New Files: Only new files added to the directory from this point onward will be processed.

        Note

        If the table is configured to process only new files, ingestion will begin only after a new file is added to the source location.

      • Backlog and New Files: New files and existing files in the directory which have not been processed will be processed.

  6. Click Next.

  7. Enter a table name and an optional description. The update method the table is set to Full Refresh by default. Click Next.

  8. The Map Fields step displays all the columns detected in your source file. You can perform the following actions:

    1. Select which columns from your source file that you want to include in the table.

    2. Hover over the Filter Unlocked value to see the applicable filter operators for each column.

      Screenshot_2026-11-02_at_2_57_55_PM.png

    3. Use the Field Type dropdown to change the field type of a column.

    4. To specify date formatting, click on a row of a column that contains date values and make your desired adjustment on the side panel that opens.

      Mapppingtable_date.png

  9. Click Next.

  10. Review your mapping table configuration, then click Create Table.

The table you've created displays on the Tables and Views page. You can now select it as a supporting table when creating a filtered event feed view.

Create a Filtered Conversion Event Feed View

Route conversion events based on the attributes associated with each event. You can then distribute the resulting views to destination platforms for more accurate and granular reporting, or share them with partners in Connect.

To apply filtering, you must have at least one of the following assets to join your event feed table with:

  • Product or mapping table: Used to filter events by SKU, brand, category, or campaign attributes.

  • Dataset: Used to filter events to users belonging to selected segments.

  • Exposure table: Used to filter events to users with qualifying ad exposures, such as exposure to a specified campaign during a defined period.

Leveraging multiple assets together produces more granular views. For example, joining a dataset, an exposure table, and a product mapping table lets you build a view that includes only members who were targeted by a campaign, exposed to it, and who transacted on the campaign's products.

Procedure. To create a conversion event feed view:

  1. On the Tables and Views page, click the More Options menu (more-options-icon.png) of an event feed table, and select "Create Event Feed View".

    Tip

    You can also open the view creation workflow by clicking Create and selecting "Create Event Feed" from the Tables and Views page.

  2. Confirm the pre-selected conversion event feed table. Click Next.

  3. Select the assets (mapping tables, exposure tables, or datasets) available in your organization that you want to join with your event feed table. You can specify the columns or attributes to include in the next step.

    If no additional assets are selected, the resulting view includes all conversions from the event feed table.

  4. Click Next.

  5. From the Define Filter Rules step, apply the desired filtering based on the attributes (columns) of the selected assets.

    Caution

    You must set a date range for web event feeds.

    From the “Include all of the following rules” area:

    1. Click Add Rule.

      CAPIRMN_AddRuleButton.png

    2. Use the dropdown option to select the type of data you want to filter on.

    3. From the dropdown option that appears, select the asset that contains the desired attributes.

      If you selected Segment in the previous step, select the desired segments.

    4. Enter or select a column from the list of available columns detected in the asset (entered values can contain spaces).

      Note

      • You cannot select a column that does not exist in your event feed table.

      • Column-based filtering is not available for segments. You can only include or exclude entire segments from your event feed.

      • To create views split by brand, you must include a rule against the ‘brand’ column and specify the brands you want to create individual views for.

    5. Select an operator. For columns with text values, the following operators are available:

      • Is

      • Contains

      • Starts with

      • Ends with

      • Not empty

      For columns with numerical values:

      • Is equal to

      • Is less than

      • Is greater than

      • Is greater than or equal to

      • Is less than or equal to

      • Has a value

      For columns with timestamps:

      • Is before

      • Is after

      • Is on or after

      • Is on or before

      • Is between

      • Has a value

    6. Specify which values from the selected column the operator should apply to.

    7. To add multiple rules joined by the 'And' conjunction, click Add Rule and repeat the steps above until you have added all the rules you need.

      CAPIRMN_MUltipleRules.png

  6. Click Next.

  7. From the Configure Delivery step, you can perform the following actions:

    1. Enter a name for the event feed view, or keep the auto-generated one.

    2. If you have included a rule for the brand column, toggle ‘Split Event Feed Views by Brand’ to create an individual view for each brand. If not enabled, one consolidated view will be generated.

  8. Click Next.

  9. Review your configuration, and click Create.

Once the event feed view is created successfully, a pop-up displays that gives you options to create another event feed or distribute the event feed you’ve just created.

CAPIRMN_ViewCreated_PopUP.png

To share the resulting event feed view with partners, see "Share Conversion Event Feeds" section below.

To return to the Tables and Views page, click the X button on the pop-up.

Share the Conversion Event Feed with Brand Partners (Brand-Managed Distribution)

Grant your brand partners in LiveRamp access to your filtered conversion event feed views so they can distribute the views on their own, or create child views from them.

Before you begin, contact your LiveRamp representative to allowlist your brand partners so that they are available to select from the Sharing and Permissions wizard.

Procedure. To share an event feed view:

  1. On the Tables and Views page, click the More Options menu (more-options-icon.png) of the view you want to share and select "Sharing and Permissions".

    Sharing_permissions_moreoptions.png

  2. Select the partner organizations you want to share the view with from the allowlisted list.

  3. Using the Set Permissions dropdown, define what your partner is allowed to do with the view.

    Choose_platform_capipermission.png

    • Allow Filtering: Allow organizations to create child views and apply filtering rules to those views.

    • Allow Distribution: Allow organizations to distribute the view to destination platforms of your choosing. If this option is selected, use the Select Platforms dropdown that displays to select the platforms you want to include in this permission set.

      Choose_platform_distribution.png

    • All Permissions: Allow organizations to create filtered child views and distribute those views to selected destination platforms.

  4. To add another permission set, for example, if you want to share the view to other partners, click Add Another Permission.

    Add_another_permission.png

  5. Click Next.

  6. Review your selection, and click Invite.

Your partner receives an email notifying them that your organization has shared the view. In your partner's account, the event feed view's Ownership column displays Partner Data (second-party-data-icon-01.png ) with your organization listed as the owner.

For more information on viewing asset details, see "View Details for Tables and Views".

Enable Online Conversions API Connectors in Console

To connect online conversion data, contact a LiveRamp representative to set up the Online CAPI connectors in Console and link them to your Connect account.

Once configured, LiveRamp will generate an 'Online Event Feed' table on the Tables and Views page. If you have a product mapping table, you can create a filtered online event feed so that only relevant events are delivered to your preferred platforms.

To learn more about the Online Conversions API connectors, see "Online Conversions API Connectors".

In this section: