Google Ads Customer Match List template.

What's inside — the exact file

This is the complete template, not a sample. The rows are worked examples — replace them with your data (and delete them before any platform import).

What this template is for

This file is the upload format for Google Ads Customer Match — the feature that turns your CRM list into a targetable (and excludable) audience across Search, YouTube, Gmail, and Display. The headers follow Google’s documented customer list layout as of October 2026, so the file maps cleanly in the Audience manager upload flow instead of failing on column names.

Use it to retarget current customers with upsell campaigns, exclude existing customers from prospecting spend, build lookalike-style Similar segments where available, or re-engage churned accounts. The more identifier columns you fill per person, the higher your match rate — email alone works, but email plus phone plus name-and-zip matches meaningfully more.

How to use it, step by step

1. Export the right list from your CRM. Pull the segment with its purpose attached — “all customers” for exclusions, “active customers” for upsell, “closed-lost 6+ months” for win-back. In HubSpot, an active list export keeps this repeatable.
2. Fill as many identifier columns as you have. Google matches on each identifier independently. Email is the workhorse; adding phone and first/last name with country and zip lifts match rates.
3. Normalize the formats. Lowercase emails; phone numbers in E.164 (+15550100); two-letter country codes. Google hashes the data on upload, but it hashes what you give it — “Jane@Example.COM ” and “jane@example.com” are different strings.
4. Upload in Audience manager. Tools → Audience manager → Your data segments → upload customer list. Name it with the date and source segment so future you knows what it contains.
5. Wait for match, then size-check. Processing takes up to 48 hours. A healthy B2C list matches 30–60%; B2B lists match lower because work emails match Google accounts less often.
6. Apply it deliberately. Attach as targeting for upsell/win-back campaigns, as exclusions on prospecting, or as the seed for Similar segments — and set a refresh cadence, because static lists go stale.

What each column means

Common mistakes to avoid

• Uploading work emails only for B2B and judging the feature by the low match rate — add personal identifiers where you legitimately have them.
• Forgetting the exclusion use case: suppressing current customers from prospecting campaigns is usually the fastest ROI on this whole feature.
• Formatting phone numbers five different ways — unmatched rows are silent; Google won’t tell you which failed.
• Uploading people who never consented to marketing. Customer Match has policy requirements; upload only data collected with proper consent.
• Treating it as one-and-done — an 18-month-old list targets people who churned and misses everyone new. Schedule refreshes.

Questions, answered

Do I need to hash the data myself?

No — the Google Ads UI hashes identifiers (SHA-256) on upload, so this file can hold plain values. If you upload via API instead, you hash first. Either way the plain file should be handled and deleted like the customer data it is.

What match rate should I expect?

Consumer lists with good emails typically match 30–60% of rows. B2B lists run lower because work emails are less often tied to Google accounts — which is why the phone and name/zip columns are worth filling.

Is there a minimum list size?

Google requires a matched segment of at least 1,000 users before it will serve against it (and more rows than that uploaded, given match rates). Below the threshold, combine segments or go broader.

This is a Market Disrupt worksheet, not a vendor file. Import-format templates follow each platform's documented layout as of July 2026 — platforms evolve, so validate against current documentation before a large import.