Google released Structured Data Files v11 for Display & Video 360 on 8 October 2026, and this update is not a quiet one. SDF is the CSV backbone that agencies, trading desks and third-party tools use to build or change hundreds of campaigns, insertion orders and line items in a single upload. When the column structure shifts, every linked template and script shifts with it.
What changed in SDF v11
The release touches four areas:
- Four YouTube third-party vendor columns now carry reporting IDs and support multiple vendor assignments; the separate reporting ID columns are removed.
- Lookalike audience inclusion and exclusion targeting expands to nearly all ad groups, with only YouTube Ad Sequence line items left out.
- Business Chain proximity targeting can now be written into line item files.
- Columns for YouTube Instant Deals arrive, but only for allowlisted partners and through a dedicated interface workflow.
The part most likely to break your scripts
The vendor column rewrite is the first thing to check. Before v11, a YouTube third-party vendor and its reporting ID sat in separate columns. In v11, the reporting ID is folded into the vendor column, which can also hold multiple assignments. Any parser that matches on column headers will fail against v11 if it still expects the old reporting ID column.
This aligns the bulk file with how YouTube third-party measurement already works in DV360: self-serve setup lets advertisers apply partners such as DoubleVerify, IAS, Zefr, Nielsen and Kantar at the advertiser level. The file now reflects that multi-vendor configuration.
Lookalikes widen, Instant Deals wait
For growth and performance teams, the bigger near-term win is Lookalike targeting. Since June, DV360 has been moving from legacy audience expansion to lookalike tiers of 2.5%, 5% and 10%. v11 is the point where most of those settings can be written through bulk files instead of ad group by ad group.
Business Chain proximity targeting matters for retail, restaurant and automotive advertisers running many local line items. YouTube Instant Deals, however, is still a beta for allowlisted partners: those rows are excluded from downloads and uploads must go through a dedicated workflow. Do not build client-facing templates around it yet.
What to do before January
Google says versions earlier than v10 will sunset in January 2027. The previously announced date is 28 January 2027 for SDF v9, v9.1 and v9.2, roughly 112 days after the v11 release.
Treat every SDF version as an API contract. Pin your file versions, diff the header maps between v10 and v11, and pilot a small upload before touching live accounts. If your workflow is still on v9, moving to v10 satisfies the deadline, but going straight to v11 avoids two migrations in quick succession.
Source: PPC Land
