What is a naming convention?
A naming convention is a structured system for naming your ads. Instead of names like "final_v2_REAL_use-this-one". a naming convention gives every ad a name built from the same building blocks in the same order. DatAds reads those names to automatically organize, filter, and analyze your creatives. Once set up, your dimensions are available across the Testing Log, Comparative Analysis reports, and report filters.
š If you want to dive deeper on dimensions, values, and strict vs. flexible setups, read this article.
A naming convention has two layers:
Dimensions: the categories you track across every ad, such as Product, Ad Angle, Content Creator, Format, etc.
Values: the specific options within each category. For example, the Emotion dimension might include Joy, Urgency and Trust.
Once set up, your dimensions are available in the Testing Log, Comparative Analysis reports, and report filters ā without any extra manual work.
How to get there
There are three ways to open the Naming Convention settings.
Via Settings:
Click the cog icon in the bottom left of the navigation bar.
Go to Clients and click Manage on the relevant client.
In the left sidebar, click Naming Convention.
Via the Testing Log:
Open the Testing Log.
Click More in the top right corner.
Select Setup.
Via a Comparative Analysis report:
Open a Comparative Analysis report and click the Compare button.
Hover over any naming convention property in the list.
Click the pen icon and select Edit Dimension and Settings.
Setting up your naming convention
Two options are available in the top right corner of the Naming Convention page.
Auto Setup
Auto Setup is the fastest way to get started. DatAds analyzes your ad names and proposes a full naming convention for you.
Click Auto Setup.
Choose an input source:
From historic ad names: DatAds pulls up to 1,000 ad names from the last 30 days and suggests a list of dimensions and values.
Upload your naming convention: provide a CSV or PDF with your existing convention and DatAds extracts the structure from it.
Check Delete old naming convention if you want to replace an existing setup. This is useful if you have already run Auto Setup before, or if a convention was created automatically when you first set up the client.
Click Run Setup.
DatAds returns a suggested list of dimensions and values. Review, edit anything that looks off, and save.
š” Good to know: When you create a new client, Auto Setup runs automatically using the last 30 days of ad names.
No naming convention yet? Use the free naming convention template to build one first, then come back after a couple of weeks of use and run the Auto Setup.
Add a dimension manually
Click Add Dimension to define a single dimension without running a full Auto Setup. You can populate its values in two ways:
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Manual filters: define which ad names belong to each value using conditions (for example, ad name contains a specific keyword). No technical knowledge required.
Regex: set up an automatic pattern-matching rule that extracts values directly from your ad names.
š This requires some technical understanding. See this article
Managing your dimensions
After setup, the Naming Convention page shows all your dimensions (for example, Product Format, Creator, Audio, Angle). For each dimension you can:
Delete it: click the trash icon. This removes the dimension and all its values.
Edit it: click the pencil icon. From there you can adjust the groups, update filters, and add new values.
Where your naming convention is used
Once saved, your dimensions are available across DatAds:
Comparative Analysis: compare ad performance by any dimension in one click.
Filters: filter any report to show only ads matching a specific value, such as a single product or creator.
Tips for a good naming convention
Keep it to the categories you actually analyze. Five well-chosen dimensions beat fifteen nobody checks.
Agree on it as a team and document it. A naming convention only works if everyone follows it.
Keep names readable. If an ad name is longer than around 50 characters, it is probably doing too much.
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