With Advanced Ads, you can easily import and export ads, groups, placements, and settings. This feature helps you back up your setup or transfer it to another site, but also allows you to share configurations to troubleshoot ad-related issues.
The Import & Export function is more than just a full-configuration backup tool—it can also streamline your workflows of creating and editing parts of your ad setup. For example, you can create templates for recurring ad setups and quickly import them whenever needed, saving time, especially when working with complex configurations.
You can also prepare advanced setups locally for clients and simply send them the XML file for easy import on their sites. Additionally, this feature lets you edit multiple ads in a spreadsheet and then import them all at once, making bulk changes faster and more efficient.
This manual also shows you how to import ad setups from Ad Inserter into Advanced Ads, making it easier to switch your ad management to Advanced Ads.
Table of Contents
How to import and export Advanced Ads items
To access the Import & Export interface, navigate to Advanced Ads > Tools in your WordPress dashboard.
Export
You can select which elements to export, including ads, groups, placements, and settings.
Import
When importing, you have two options: either upload an XML file or paste the XML content directly.
Importing ads into existing placements
When importing ads assigned to existing placements, keep the following behavior in mind:
- If the existing placement already has an ad assigned, the imported ad will replace it.
- If the existing placement is linked to an ad group, the imported ad will be added to that group with a weight of 1.
Importing prepared ad templates
You’ll find ready-made examples for complete ad setups on our Ad Templates page. These templates showcase Advanced Ads features and help you get started quickly.
Importing these setups lets you explore Advanced Ads without manual configuration. This is especially useful for complex formats like Roadblock ads.
You can customize the templates or replace their content with your own ad codes. At first, these ads are only visible to you because they include the Logged-in Visitor Condition. To show them to all visitors, remove this condition from the relevant ad units.
Click here to explore all available templates and find the perfect setup for your needs.
Migrating AdSense or Google Ad Manager API connections
Any API-related settings, such as the connection to AdSense or Google Ad Manager, cannot be imported or exported. However, other options for these features—like the AdSense publisher ID or the setting for Auto ads—are included in the export. The corresponding ads are also exported and can be used on the new site.
Disabling options in the import file
To disable an option when importing XML data, change the node type to null. For example, if a checkbox is represented as <enabled type="string">0</enabled>, modify it to <enabled type="null"></enabled> to disable it on the importing site.
How to import ads from Ad Inserter
Advanced Ads makes it easy to switch from Ad Inserter by offering an import function that transfers much of your existing ad setup. While the two plugins work differently and not all settings translate directly, you can still carry over a significant portion of your Ad Inserter configuration.
The import process includes both some general Ad Inserter settings and the ads themselves. For each ad, the following attributes are imported:
- Title
- Content
- Block dimensions (width and height)
- Device settings (Desktop, Mobile, Tablet)
- Settings of the General display condition to target the homepage
Advanced Ads saves imported blocks with the label “[Migrated from Ad Inserter] Ad # 1” and creates new placements labeled “[Migrated from Ad Inserter] Placement # 1” to ensure the ads appear in the correct locations. Since Ad Inserter doesn’t have direct equivalents for these placements, you may need to adjust them to fit your site’s layout.
After importing, review each placement and make adjustments as needed. To enhance your setup, consider activating additional Pro features like Ad Blocker Fallbacks, Click Fraud Protection, or Lazy Loading. Advanced Ads logs every import and includes a rollback function, so you can easily remove imported elements.
This import feature simplifies the transition from Ad Inserter to Advanced Ads, even if some manual adjustments are necessary to optimize your ad configuration.