Importing Existing PPC Campaigns into MSN adCenter

Update: You may find this more recent post on importing Yahoo and Google Campaign into adCenter beneficial as there have been quite a few updates to the adCenter interface since this was written way back in 2007:)

MSN has been making some headway in bringing their paid advertising platform up to snuff with Google and Yahoo in recent months. Arguably, one of the better updates is the ability to import existing PPC campaigns into the MSN interface without first having to copy and paste your exported data into an adCenter template, as previously required.

Now, you don't need to make any formatting adjustments to the file you've exported from another search advertising program – just make sure the key adCenter columns are included (extra columns or data are ignored).

Below is a step by step guide to aid in the import process:

To import a campaign:

Click the Campaigns tab.
Click Import campaigns.
If you are using the template, click Excel or CSV, type or copy data into the template, and save the file.
–or–
If you are exporting campaign information from another online advertising program, save the exported file as a CSV file.
In the Select a language and market drop-down list box, select the language your ads are written in and the market you want them distributed through.
In the Time zone drop-down list box, select the time zone you want to use for this campaign. (Please note that you won't be able to change this selection at a later time.)
Click Import file.
In the Choose file dialog box, select the file, and then click Open.

Your imported campaigns are added to the table.

For your ads to go live, you must submit your imported ad groups.
1. Select an imported campaign.
2. If you have not set a budget for your campaign, at the top of the Select an ad group page, click [Edit], type a campaign budget, and then click Save.
3. Select the check boxes next to the ad groups you want to submit, click Actions, and then click Submit ad group.