Create a line item

About line items

In Display & Video 360, line items (LI) bid on impressions and serve creatives to inventory sources.

Line items consist of a budget, a bid, one or more assigned creatives, and targeting criteria. They may also include fees, a performance goal, and a variety of partner costs.

Types of line items

Display & Video 360 has several types of line items for different media buys:

• Display for image, HTML5 (including rich media), and native ads (both display and video).
• Video for video ads. Learn more
• Audio for audio ads. Learn more
• YouTube & partners for video ads shown on YouTube and Google video partners inventory. Learn more
• Mobile app install for display and video ads that drive installs of your app. Learn more
• Ads in mobile apps for display or video ads that serve on mobile app inventory. Learn more
• Over-the-top for TV content on connected TVs and other digital devices. This line item type can only be created in a TV insertion order. Learn more

Create a display line item

Follow the steps below to create a display line item. Once a line item is activated, it can take up to 24 hours for it to start serving.

1. Open your advertiser in Display & Video 360.

2. In the left menu, click Campaign. Select an existing campaign or create a new one.

   You'll need to add your line item to an insertion order in the campaign. You can use an existing insertion order or create a new one. 

3. From the Combined tab of your campaign, click New > Line item.

4. In the page that opens, choose the insertion order you want to add this line item to. 

5.  Pick the type of line item you want to create, then:

   • Name for your line item.

   • Select a line item status. Use "Draft" if you don't want the line item to be eligible to serve once you've saved it. If you want it to serve as soon as its start date occurs, create the line item as "Active." 

   • Select the inventory source(s) you wish to use in your line item by choosing between public inventory, deals and auction packages, and grouped deals. Learn more

     Display & Video 360 gives you the option to select inventory source quality based on Authorized Sellers. Learn more

   • Your line item's targeting.

   • Your line item's flight dates.

   • Your budget and pacing settings.

     Display & Video 360 can automatically adjust your line item's budget if you've turned on automatic budget allocation for the line item's insertion order.

   • Your bid strategy.

   • The line item's frequency cap.

   • Assign creatives you want to use with this line item.

     A line item won't be serveable until one or more creatives assigned to the line item is approved.

   • Your method for conversion tracking.

6. Click Create to save your line item.

Duplicate a line item

To use existing line items as templates for new ones use the Action menu to duplicate line items.

1. Navigate to the line items you’d like to duplicate in the line item or combined view.
2. Select the checkbox next to the line items you want to copy.
3. Click Action > Duplicate.
4. Select a destination for the duplicated line item. You have the option to duplicate line items within their existing insertion order, or to another compatible insertion order within the same advertiser. 
5. Use the Additional options section to indicate which line item settings you’d like to update for the new line item.
6. Click Save.

To view your duplicate line item, you may need to update the Status filter in the Campaign tab to include paused items. 

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I stop a line item from serving?

When you stop your line items from serving, either by pausing your line items directly or by pausing an insertion order, it can take several hours for the system to halt your ads completely. At this point, you won't accrue any more costs.

How do line items handle mobile and desktop inventory?

By default, all new line items will target both desktop and mobile inventory. Line items will use the same bid for all impressions, regardless of if an impression came from a mobile device or a desktop browser, unless you specify otherwise.