Apple Search Ads Transformation dbt Package (Docs)

Union multiple connectors

If you have multiple apple_search_ads connectors in Fivetran and would like to use this package on all of them simultaneously, we have provided functionality to do so. The package will union all of the data together and pass the unioned table into the transformations. You will be able to see which source it came from in the source_relation column of each model. To use this functionality, you will need to set either the apple_search_ads_union_schemas OR apple_search_ads_union_databases variables (cannot do both) in your root dbt_project.yml file:

vars:
    apple_search_ads_union_schemas: ['apple_search_ads_usa','apple_search_ads_canada'] # use this if the data is in different schemas/datasets of the same database/project
    apple_search_ads_union_databases: ['apple_search_ads_usa','apple_search_ads_canada'] # use this if the data is in different databases/projects but uses the same schema name

NOTE: The native source.yml connection set up in the package will not function when the union schema/database feature is utilized. Although the data will be correctly combined, you will not observe the sources linked to the package models in the Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG). This happens because the package includes only one defined source.yml.

To connect your multiple schema/database sources to the package models, follow the steps outlined in the Union Data Defined Sources Configuration section of the Fivetran Utils documentation for the union_data macro. This will ensure a proper configuration and correct visualization of connections in the DAG.

Adding passthrough metrics

By default, this package will select taps, impressions, spend (aliased from source local_spend_amount field), new_downloads, redownloads, total_downloads (sum of new_downloads and redownloads), and conversions (installs resulting from a view or a tap) from the source reporting tables to store into the staging models. If you would like to pass through additional metrics to the staging models, add the below configurations to your dbt_project.yml file. These variables allow for the pass-through fields to be aliased (alias) if desired, but not required. Use the below format for declaring the respective pass-through variables.

NOTE: There is no direct conversion_value field available in Apple Search Ads data. See the DECISIONLOG for more details on alternatives.

vars:
    apple_search_ads__ad_group_passthrough_metrics: 
      - name: "new_custom_field"
        alias: "custom_field"
      - name: "another_one"
    apple_search_ads__ad_passthrough_metrics:
      - name: "this_field"
    apple_search_ads__campaign_passthrough_metrics:
      - name: "unique_string_field"
        alias: "field_id"
    apple_search_ads__keyword_passthrough_metrics:
      - name: "that_field"
    apple_search_ads__search_term_passthrough_metrics:
      - name: "other_id"
        alias: "another_id"

IMPORTANT: Make sure to exercise due diligence when adding metrics to these models. The metrics added by default have been vetted by the Fivetran team, maintaining this package for accuracy. There are metrics included within the source reports, such as metric averages, which may be inaccurately represented at the grain for reports created in this package. You must ensure that whichever metrics you pass through are appropriate to aggregate at the respective reporting levels in this package.

Disabling Additional Models

Your Apple Search Ads connector might not sync every table this package expects. If your syncs exclude certain tables, you either don't use that functionality in Apple Search Ads or actively exclude some tables from your syncs. You must add the relevant variables to disable the corresponding functionality in the package. By default, the package assumes that all variables are true. Add variables for only the tables you want to disable.

The apple_search_ads__using_search_terms variable below refers to the search_terms_report table. You must enable the search match function within each ad group to populate this table with data.

The apple_search_ads__using_search_terms variable below refers to the search_terms_report table. You must enable the search match function within each ad group to populate this table with data.

# dbt_project.yml
vars:
  apple_search_ads__using_search_terms: False # by default this is True

Change the build schema

By default, this package builds the Apple Search Ads staging models (10 views, 10 tables) within a schema titled (<target_schema> + _apple_search_ads_source) and your Apple Search Ads modeling models (6 tables) within a schema titled (<target_schema> + _apple_search_ads) in your destination. If this is not where you would like your Apple Search Ads data to be written to, add the following configuration to your root dbt_project.yml file:

models:
    apple_search_ads_source:
      +schema: my_new_schema_name # leave blank for just the target_schema
    apple_search_ads:
      +schema: my_new_schema_name # leave blank for just the target_schema

Change the source table references

If an individual source table has a different name than the package expects, add the table name as it appears in your destination to the respective variable. This is not available when running the package on multiple unioned connectors.

IMPORTANT: See this project's dbt_project.yml variable declarations to see the expected names.

vars:
    apple_search_ads_<default_source_table_name>_identifier: your_table_name 

Fivetran offers the ability for you to orchestrate your dbt project through Fivetran Transformations for dbt Core™. Learn how to set up your project for orchestration through Fivetran in our Transformations for dbt Core setup guides.