> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.analytics-docs.laplacetec.com/guide/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://www.analytics-docs.laplacetec.com/guide/en/datamanage/matching/ad_product.md).
# Ad ↔ product matching
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An ad creative is the smallest unit that makes up an ad. Ads are structured as campaign > ad group > ad creative, and when you link each ad creative's data to sales product data, ad spend is allocated by product so you can calculate contribution margin per product.
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## Why do I need ad ↔ product matching?
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Once you map ad creative data to sales product data, Laplace automatically calculates contribution margin, return on ad spend (ROAS), and customer acquisition cost (CAC), so you don't have to calculate them in Excel every time. Link the data just once, and you can easily check the contribution margin of a specific product sold across multiple channels, or a specific brand's daily ROAS and CAC. When new ad creatives are added, simply map them in Laplace and ad metrics are automatically calculated for the affected dates.
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**Example)**
* In **P\&L analysis** › **Margin rate / CM rate**, set **Break down by** to **Base product name** to see ad spend and contribution margin by base product. Choose **Base product brand** to see contribution margin by brand.
* Check return on ad spend (ROAS) and customer acquisition cost (CAC) in **Ad Analysis** › **ROAS/CAC**.
## Matching types
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Laplace offers URL matching, manual matching, and automatic matching. You can match ad creatives ↔ products to suit your brand, and after linking, you can check key metrics such as insights for each creative and product contribution margin. Each matching method is described below:
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URL matching (**Source** tab)
* If the URL linked to an ad creative leads to your brand's landing page, you can link it to a store based on that URL.
* Set it up once and URLs are classified automatically, so you don't need to register new ad creatives again.
* If the URL contains a product number, such as a product detail page URL, it's linked to that product (**URL product no.**). URLs without a product number (main, category, event pages, etc.) are linked to all products in the store (**URL store**).
* If you want to link to a specific product but the URL has no product number, use manual or automatic matching.
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Manual matching (**Workbench** tab)
* Search by any combination you like and link one or more creatives to a specific product or store.
* It can take a long time depending on the number of creatives, and if new creatives are registered, you need to link them for accurate analysis.
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Automatic matching (**Rules & priority** tab)
* Set specific conditions, and every creative that meets them is linked to the selected sales products. Even when new creatives are registered, they're updated automatically if they meet the conditions.
* You can link using landing URL, ad creative, ad group, campaign, ad account, and ad channel as conditions.
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## Screen layout
The **Ad ↔ product matching** screen is divided into the same three tabs as **Option ↔ base product matching**.
| Tab | What it does |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Workbench** | Find ad creatives and link them directly to stores · sales products (manual matching). |
| **Rules & priority** | Create rules that automatically link creatives matching conditions, and set which link is used first. |
| **Source** | See where links come from (manual · URL product no. · URL store · rule), and set URL stores. |
## URL matching guide
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**What is URL matching?**
When you assign a URL to a store, ad creatives landing on that URL are automatically linked to sales products. If the landing URL contains a product number (e.g., `product_no=123`, `/product/product-name/123`), the creative is linked to that product; if not, it's linked to all products in the store. Set it up once and even new creatives are matched automatically and visualized as metrics, without manual matching.
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1. Click **Data management** in the left rail, then click **Matching · cost** › **Ad ↔ product matching** in the navigation panel.
2. Click the **Source** tab at the top. **Link by URL** lists each landing URL address (domain) on its own row along with its ad spend.
3. For each address, click **Choose a store** in the **Store** column and pick which store the address belongs to. Your choice is saved immediately and reflected from the next aggregation.
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* Open marketplaces are linked by the product number in the URL even without choosing a store.
* Leave URLs where the store can't be identified, such as youtube · bit.ly, empty.
* In the **Linked by product no.** · **Linked to whole store** columns, you can see the ratio of how creatives coming in through this address are linked.
* You can remove a wrongly chosen store with **Clear store**.
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## Manual matching guide
1. Open the **Workbench** tab on the **Ad ↔ product matching** screen.
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* Haven't connected your ad data yet? Connect it from the **Data Connect** menu.
* See the data connection guide for how to connect ([**Go to the ad channel connection guide**](/guide/en/startguide/connect/ad.md) )
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2. Find the ad creatives you want to link to a sales product or store. Type in the **Search** field or add conditions with **+ Add condition**.
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You can filter by **Not linked** in **Connection status**, campaign name, store, and more. It's best to start with creatives that have the highest ad spend. To join several conditions with 'or', choose **Advanced conditions** in **+ Add condition**.
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3. Link a single creative directly in the table. Click the **Link target** cell and choose a store to link it to all products in that store. Drag the cell down to fill the same target.
4. To link to specific products, click **Details** next to the creative name to open the right panel. In **Link target**, choose **Products**, set the store, then select multiple products with **Search product name or no.**.
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**Whole store** : If the selected ad creative uses a store landing URL, choose **Whole store** and select the store to link.
**Products** : If the selected ad creative uses a specific product's URL, search for and select that product's store and product.
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5. Changed cells are shown in blue. Click **Save n changes** in the save bar at the bottom of the screen. Before saving, you can undo with ⌘Z (Ctrl+Z on Windows).
6. If several creatives should link to the same target, check the boxes on the left to select them, then click **Link** in the bulk action bar above the table. In the **Link target for n selected creatives** window, choose the target and click **Link n**.
7. It may take some time depending on the number of creatives and products you link. Contribution margin and ROAS for linked creatives are calculated automatically from the next aggregation and shown in ad analysis.
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* If you directly link a creative that was linked by URL · rule, it becomes a **manual link** and takes precedence over URL · rule links.
* To remove a manual link, select the creative and click **Unlink**. After unlinking, any URL · rule link applies.
* If the metrics don't appear, log out and back in, or refresh to update the cache.
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## Automatic matching guide
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**What is automatic matching?**
Set rules such as a specific creative name or URL, and creatives that meet those rules are automatically linked to the selected products. Once a rule is set, new creatives that meet it are matched automatically and visualized as metrics, without manual matching.
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1. Go to the **Rules & priority** tab at the top and click **New rule**. If you've already set conditions in **Workbench**, you can also start with **Make an auto-link rule from the current conditions →**.
2. The **New auto-link rule** panel opens on the right. Enter a **Rule name**, then in **Which creatives**, add conditions one line at a time like sentences with **+ Condition**.
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Conditions can use ad channel, ad account name, ad account ID, campaign name, campaign ID, ad group name, ad group ID, ad creative name, ad creative ID, and landing URL.
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💡 **Condition types**
* **Contains / Does not contain**: Matches whether the selected column contains (or doesn't contain) the text you enter.
* **Starts with / Ends with**: Matches whether the selected column starts (or ends) with the text you enter.
* **Is one of / Is not**: Matches whether the selected column's value is (or isn't) one of the values you choose.
* **Is empty / Has a value**: Matches whether the selected column is empty (or has a value).
* Multiple condition lines are all joined with **AND**. With no conditions, every creative is included.
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3. In the preview below, check **n creatives match now** and **n will change when saved**. Click **Show ⌄** to expand the list of matching creatives.
4. In **Link to what**, choose **Whole store** or **Products** and set the target to link. Ad spend is split among the linked products.
5. Set the priority in **Position** and click **Save rule**. Once saved, it applies from the next aggregation.
## Advanced filter guide
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**What are advanced conditions?**
They're handy for creatives with a complex structure. For example, if a Laplace new-user event creative running on Naver GFA has a different creative name from one running on Facebook but links to the same URL, you can set up a rule with 2 condition groups to link the creatives from both ad channels at once.
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In **Which creatives** in the rule panel, click **Or / grouped conditions** to switch to the group editor. In **Workbench**, open the same editor with **+ Add condition** › **Advanced conditions**; the table only changes after you click **Apply**.
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**AND/OR**
* **AND**: Finds ad creatives that meet both condition A and condition B
* **OR**: Finds all ad creatives that meet condition A or condition B
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## Rule priority guide
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**What is rule priority?**
When you create several rules, some items may overlap. Priority determines which rule matches the overlapping item.
For example, product A (or URL A) is covered by both rule A and rule B. Without priority, it would be processed twice and product A (or URL A) could be counted in both. To prevent this, you set a priority. If rule A has higher priority, product A (or URL A) is matched only by rule A, and the overlapping product A (or URL A) is excluded from rule B.
Simply put, rule order ensures that no product (or URL) is counted twice.
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In the **Rules & priority** tab list, items higher up are applied first. Drag and drop or use the ↑↓ buttons to reorder, then click **Save order**.
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**What if manual, URL, and automatic matching all apply to one creative?**
The priority list shows not only automatic matching rules but also manual links and URL matching (**URL product no.**, **URL store**). When multiple matches apply to one ad creative, only the one earliest in the order is applied.
* **Manual links** are always first in the order and can't be moved. Manually linked creatives always take precedence over URL matching and automatic matching.
* **URL product no.**, **URL store**, and automatic matching rules can be reordered as you like from position 2 onward.
* When you remove a manual link, the next match in the order applies to that creative. For example, a creative that lands on an address with a URL store set and has a product number in the URL is linked by **URL product no.**, unless an automatic matching rule comes before it.
* Click **Details** next to the creative name to see which link currently applies in **Why this link?**.
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Ad linking doesn't support file uploads. In **Download files** in **Workbench**, you can only use **Download with current conditions** · **Download all** · **Download rules as Excel**.
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## Request help from your dedicated manager
Have questions about base products?
Contact us through the inquiry page below or by email. Your dedicated manager will help you.
> 💬 [Contact us on our website](https://www.analytics.laplacetec.com/contact)
**Email:** [**product@laplacetec.com**](mailto:product@laplacetec.com)
