Bulk campaign management in Display & Video 360 now supports a wider set of audience and location targeting options. Google announced the general availability of Structured Data Files v11 in an October 8, 2026 post on the Google Ads Developer Blog, signed by Trevor Mulchay of the Display & Video 360 API Team.
The announcement confirmed that all users can now access v11 when downloading and uploading SDFs directly in the Display & Video 360 interface. The update introduces four categories of changes: expanded audience targeting, new location targeting, restructured YouTube vendor columns, and early-stage support for a new inventory format.
Lookalike Audience Targeting Extended Across Ad Groups
SDF v11 expands the availability of lookalike audience inclusion and exclusion targeting to all ad groups, except for those under YouTube Ad Sequence line items. Previously, this capability carried a more restrictive scope. The change allows advertisers managing large account structures to apply consistent audience expansion and exclusion logic at scale through bulk file operations rather than individual campaign edits.
Business Chain Proximity Targeting Added to Line Item Files
The new version adds support for Business Chain proximity targeting to the line item file format. This allows advertisers to configure location-based targeting around business chains and store locations as part of bulk upload workflows, rather than applying those settings manually through the platform interface.
YouTube Third-Party Vendor Columns Restructured
The format of four existing YouTube third-party vendor columns in the line item file has been updated to incorporate reporting IDs and support multiple vendor assignments, with the related YouTube third-party vendor reporting ID columns, now redundant, removed. The four affected columns cover brand lift, brand safety, reach, and viewability measurement. Teams that parse downloaded SDF files or build upload scripts referencing those removed columns will need to update their integrations before the columns cause processing errors.
YouTube Instant Deals Supported in Schema, With Access Restrictions
SDF v11 adds new columns, column options, and column restrictions to support YouTube Instant Deal line items, their ad groups, and their ads. The additions include a Fixed CPM bidding strategy type, which is required for YouTube Instant Deal line items, along with new fields for ad format, lift study enablement, and policy restrictions.
Access to this inventory type is currently limited. Support for YouTube Instant Deals is in beta and only available to allowlisted partners, and YouTube Instant Deal line items and the ad groups and ads under them will not be included in any downloaded files and can only be uploaded through the YouTube Instant Deal creation workflow in the Display & Video 360 interface.
SDF Versions Before v10 Set to Stop Working in January 2027
Google's announcement includes a reminder that any version earlier than v10 is deprecated and will sunset in January 2027, with instructions to follow the migration guide to move to v11 from any available version. The specific sunset date is January 28, 2027. Google announced the deprecation of Structured Data Files v9, v9.1, and v9.2 earlier, setting that single sunset date for all three versions used to manage bulk campaign data within Display & Video 360. After that date, accounts still defaulting to those versions will switch automatically to v10, and download requests specifying the deprecated version strings will return a 400 error.
SDF v10 and v10.1 are not described as deprecated at this time. Teams on v9 or earlier face the January 28 deadline regardless of whether they migrate to v10 or proceed directly to v11.
Version Settings Must Be Updated at Partner and Advertiser Level
To use v11, the assigned SDF version must be updated at both the partner and advertiser resource levels within the Display & Video 360 interface. The update is applied through the Basic Details page under Partner Settings or Advertiser Settings, respectively. Display & Video 360 API support for v11 is confirmed as a planned addition, though no date has been specified.
Implications for DV360 Teams Managing Automated Workflows
For advertisers and agencies running automated SDF workflows, including scripts that parse downloaded files or programmatically build upload files, the column removals and format changes in v11 require schema updates before adoption. The four removed YouTube third-party reporting ID columns will cause parsing errors in any integration that still references them. Teams migrating from v9 face a larger set of cumulative changes across audience targeting, location targeting, insertion order subtypes, and bid strategy options. The v11 migration guide on the Google Ads Developer site covers changes from v9, v9.1, v9.2, v10, and v10.1 in separate comparison sections.
Google made version 11 of Structured Data Files generally available in Display & Video 360 on October 8, 2026, according to the post on the Google Ads Developer Blog signed by Trevor Mulchay of the Display & Video 360 API Team.
