Data Connectors FAQ and Troubleshooting

Data connectors are integrations that pull your campaign data from an ad network or another media source into Singular. There are data connectors that pull campaign reporting data as well as connectors for pulling ad monetization data.

To analyze your campaign data in Singular, you first have to add a data connector for each of your partner networks in the Data Connectors page (Settings > Data Connectors). Use this article

 

Troubleshooting

Why can't I find the data connector I'm looking for in the list?

1. Check if it's a less active connector

By default, the Data Connectors page only shows data connectors from which data has been pulled in the last 30 days.

To show the full list of connectors, toggle Show connectors without data in the last 30 days:

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2. Check if it's available for your account type

File-based data connectors (based on report files emailed to Singular by the network partner or shared through S3 etc.) are only available to enterprise-level customers. Encourage your partners to help Singular build an API-based data connector.

Why does it say "The data connector already exists"?

You can't create multiple connectors to the same ad network with the same credentials.

If you don't find the existing connector in the list, try toggling Show connectors without data in the last 30 days:

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Why do I have a row called "Singular Tracker"?

When you've integrated the Singular SDK and have started sending SDK events, a new data connector called "Singular Tracker" will be added automatically. This is so that you can track whether your Singular attribution data is pulled successfully.

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Why am I not seeing data for yesterday when I run a report, even though the “Latest Date Queried” is yesterday?

This is probably because there was no data for yesterday in the ad network.

The “Latest Date Queried” means that Singular pulled data from the network for that date without encountering an error. However, sometimes the data pulled from the network is simply empty. This can happen, for example, if you did not run any campaign using this ad network.

What does it mean when a data connector shows "data is currently empty"?

If you've toggled Show connectors without data in the last 30 days off, you may see the following error message:

DC_dataisempty.png

This means that Singular was able to successfully query data, but the network has no cost data to report. If the network reports no data for 30 days, its data connector will be filtered out by the toggle.

FAQ

General

What is a data connector?

A data connector pulls data from an ad network or another source into Singular.

There are data connectors that pull campaign reporting data as well as connectors for pulling ad monetization data.

  Learn more about running reports
  Learn more about ad monetization reporting

Why are there multiple rows in the table for the same ad network?

Sometimes this is because you are pulling campaign data and ad monetization data from the same network, and this requires two separate data connectors.

Another possibility is that your organization has simply added multiple data connectors for the same ad network, each with its own login credentials.

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Why do some connectors have Ad Monetization in the title?

The connectors with “Ad Monetization” in the name are special connectors for ad monetization data. The rest are campaign reporting connectors.

  Learn more about ad monetization reporting

How does Singular pull data from ad networks? What methods can it use?

Singular uses different methods to pull data, depending on the way the ad network (or other source) makes its data available. The data connector may be based on the ad network's API, reports transferred as files (by FTP, Google Drive, etc.), emails, dashboard access, or even a combination of two or more of these methods.

Note: File-based data connectors (that use FTP, email, Google Drive, etc. to get the data from the network) can only be used by enterprise-level customers. Encourage your partner network to work with Singular to build an API-based data connector.

  Learn more about email reports and Google Docs reports

Adding a Data Connector

[Google AdWords] How do I find my MCC Customer ID?

To locate your customer ID (for both manager and individual accounts):

  1. Log into your Google Ads account.
  2. Click the help icon in the top right corner.
  3. Find Customer ID at the bottom of the menu.

For more information about the AdWords data connector, see the AdWords (Google Ads) Data Connector FAQ.

[Apple Search Ads] How do I find my API authentication credentials?

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To get the required API authentication credentials:

  1. Log into your Apple Search Ads account.
  2. Go to Settings > API and click Create API Certificate.
  3. Select the certificate you just created and click Actions > Download Certificate. A ZIP file is downloaded to your computer containing the two credentials you need. Open the files (if you are unable to open them, change the file extension to .txt).
  4. Copy the entire contents of the .key file into the "API Authentication: RSA Private key file" field (including "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----", "-----END PRIVATE KEY-----").
  5. Copy the entire contents of the .pem file into the "API Authentication: Certificate .pem file" field (including "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----", "-----END CERTIFICATE-----").
[Vungle] How do I find my reporting API key?

To get your Vungle reporting API key, see Vungle's instructions.

Additional instructions: Singular's special integration with Vungle relies on S3 reporting and needs to be configured for you by Vungle. To finish setting up the Vungle data connector, send a message to singular@vungle.com including your Vungle account email and your campaign start dates (if the campaigns have been launched already). CC your Vungle and Singular representatives. It may take up to 72 hours to configure your integration on Vungle's side.

Once I add a data connector, when does it start pulling data?

After you add a data connector, Singular starts pulling data immediately. You will see that the connector status on the page is ● Pending. Check back later to see when the pull is done.

The next data pulls will be carried out daily at midnight your local time. You can look at the Next Update column to see when the next pull is scheduled.

Connector Statuses and Messages

What are the different connector statuses?
Status Definition
● Active Singular has data for yesterday from this connector and we are not aware of any login issues.
● Inactive There is a login issue or data delay (data for yesterday should be available at the expected daily time, which by default is 8 a.m. local time).
● Pending You have recently added this connector and Singular is pulling data from it for the first time.
● No Integration Singular has no integration with this ad network for pulling campaign reporting or ad monetization data.
Why is a connector active (green status) but still marked with an “Action Required” icon?

The green status indicates that Singular was able to pull data for yesterday, but sometimes there is still an issue you need to fix. Check the message to see what you need to do.

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Why do I get the message “One or more of your accounts could not be found in the network. Click Edit and unselect the account(s)”?

This usually happens when you have removed an account from a self-attributed network (SAN) such as Facebook, but have not removed it from your account list in Singular. You can easily solve this by editing the data connector as mentioned in the message.

Why do I get the message “No email received”?

This data connector has been set up to receive reports by email, but Singular has not received an email report. Contact the ad network to notify them.

  Learn more about email reports and Google Docs reports

What do I do in case of login issues?

Hover over the connector and select the Edit icon. Re-input your credentials to make sure they are correct. If you are authorizing the connection using a network such as Facebook, make sure you are logged into the correct network user (and not a personal user, for example).

What is the ETL status column?

If you’ve set up Data Destinations to export your data from Singular, you may see the ETL Status column on the Settings > Data Connectors page. This column shows you whether data was successfully pushed to your data destinations for each data connector.

Note: Data Destinations is an enterprise feature.

The following statuses are available:

Status Description
Green Yesterday's data in Singular matches yesterday's data in your data destination.
Blue Yesterday's data in Singular doesn't match yesterday's data in your data destination, but the ETL is in progress. No action required.
Orange One or more ETLs have failed. Action may be required.
Grey Yesterday's data in Singular isn't available yet.
Blank There is no status available for this data connector, or you haven't set up any data destinations.

If you have multiple data destinations set up, you can click the arrow icon to see the status for each of them.

Based on the type of data connector and data destination, your visibility may differ.

Data Connector type Data Destination (DD) Outcome
Analytics (normal) Aggregated DD for regular campaign data The destination appears in the list.
Analytics (normal)
  • Ad Mon aggregate DD
  • User-level DD
  • SKAN DD
The destination will not appear in the list.
Ad Monetization (user-level) N/A The row is blank.
Ad Monetization (aggregate) Ad Mon aggregate DD The destination appears in the list.
Singular Tracker N/A The row is blank. We currently don't show the status for the Singular tracker.

Notes:

Data Dates

What is the “Latest Date Queried”?

This is the last day for which Singular has pulled data successfully from this data connector. If everything is working correctly, this should be today/yesterday.

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What is the “Last Updated” date?

This is the date and time in which Singular last pulled data from this data connector. It’s where you can see how fresh the data that you see in Singular is.

Some examples:

  Latest Date Queried Last Updated Next Update
If you are checking the connector status on Jan 2, while data is being pulled, you will see: Dec 31 Jan 1st 12:04 AM In Progress
If you are checking the connector status on Jan 2 after data has been pulled, you will see: Jan 1st Jan 2nd 12:04 AM Jan 3rd 12:04 AM
If you are checking the connector status right after you have added a data connector, you will see: - - In Progress

Note: The “Last Updated” date always applies to the freshness of the data from the “Latest Date Queried” but does not necessarily apply to earlier dates.

For example, if the “Latest Date Queried” is yesterday and the “Last Data Import” date-time is today at 00:04 a.m., you know that the data you see in Singular for yesterday is up to date as of 00:04 a.m. -- but the data you see in Singular for 3 days ago may be less fresh than that.

Connector Tools

When you hover over a data connector row, a number of icons appear on the right side. These are connector tools.

DC_icons.png

Icon Name Description
Screenshot_2023-04-18_at_4.35.46_PM.png Delete Remove the data connector you've set up.
Screenshot_2023-04-18_at_4.35.09_PM.png Data Refresh Trigger a manual data refresh. See FAQ below.
Screenshot_2023-04-18_at_4.34.54_PM.png Export Raw Data CSV Export a report with the last imported data. See FAQ below.
Screenshot_2023-04-18_at_4.34.24_PM.png Run a Test Report Check what data Singular is pulling from this data connector. See FAQ below.
Screenshot_2023-04-18_at_4.33.59_PM.png Open Dimensions Availability Check which networks provide which dimensions. See Dimensions Availability FAQ.
Screenshot_2023-04-18_at_4.33.00_PM.png Edit Open the configuration options for the data connector.

 

What does the “Run Test Report” icon do?

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Click Run Test Report to automatically run a report in Singular’s report query page for the selected data connector. This allows you to check what data Singular is pulling from this data connector.

The parameters for the test report are:

  • The report covers yesterday only.
  • The dimensions and metrics are all ad network data (rather than attribution tracker data).
What is the Raw Data CSV?

The raw data CSV is a copy of the last data import Singular pulled from this data connector for the date you see in the "Latest Date Queried" field. Usually, this means the data for yesterday.

You can download the raw data CSV by hovering over a data connector and clicking the Raw Data CSV icon.

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The data in this CSV-formatted file is "raw" in that it has not undergone currency conversions or any of Singular’s other data processing steps. However, the dimension names are mapped to Singular dimension names.

You can use the Raw Data CSV to troubleshoot some issues with your data. For example, if you see missing or unexpected data in your Singular reports for a certain ad network, the Raw Data CSV can show you if the problem already existed when the data was pulled from the ad network.

Can I refresh data manually?

Yes. In special circumstances, you can request a Data Refresh for some of your data connectors. See How to Refresh Data for a Data Connector.

Note February 2023: This is an enterprise feature and is in closed beta.