Naming registry

Definition

A naming registry is a single shared list of every name used in an account, such as accounts, campaigns, ad sets, ads, creatives and UTM values, with who created each name and what it refers to. It lets anyone find a name and check that it is not already in use.

How to use it

Naming rules say what a name should look like. A registry records the names that already exist, so a new name can be checked against them before it is created. This prevents two campaigns with the same name in different accounts, and it lets the team find the file behind an ad from its name in a few seconds.

Keep the registry in a shared place with a named owner, and add a row before a name goes live, not after. Store the code, the full name, the owner, the date, the status (active, paused or retired) and a link to the source file. Retired names stay in the list, so an old report can still be explained.