> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.innkeepr.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How-To Guides Overview

How-to guides walk you through activating Innkeepr signals on your advertising platforms. Each guide covers a specific signal type and platform — from initial setup to testing, monitoring, and scaling.

## What Are Signals?

Signals are the outputs of Innkeepr's causal models. They come in two forms:

* **Audience Signals** – Predictive user segments for targeting, lookalikes, and exclusions, built from users ranked by predicted incremental lift
* **Conversion Signals** – Incrementality-weighted conversion values that replace standard conversion data to improve bidding accuracy
  Both signal types are designed to help your ad platforms optimize toward users and touchpoints that drive true incremental impact — not just users who would have converted anyway.

<Info>
  Learn more about how signals work in the [Signal Overview](/guides/signals-and-activation/signal-overview).
</Info>

## Guides by Platform

### Meta Ads

| Guide                                                                       | Signal Type     | What It Does                                                                           |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Set Up Seed Audiences on Meta](/guides/how-to-guides/meta-seeds)           | Audience Signal | Uploads ranked user lists to Meta as source audiences for Lookalike Audience expansion |
| [Set Up Exclusion Audiences on Meta](/guides/how-to-guides/meta-exclusions) | Audience Signal | Uploads low-incrementality user lists to Meta to suppress wasted spend                 |

**Seed Audiences** direct budget toward users most likely to convert *because* of ad exposure. Innkeepr ranks your visitors by predicted incremental lift and uploads them as Custom Audiences or Value-Based Audiences, which Meta uses to build Lookalike Audiences.

**Exclusion Audiences** remove users where advertising has no measurable effect — users who either do not convert at all, or convert regardless of ad exposure. Applying these at the ad set level concentrates remaining budget on users where ads make a difference.

Both audience types are complementary and can be used simultaneously once each has been validated individually.

### Google Ads

| Guide                                                                               | Signal Type       | What It Does                                                                                  |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Set Up Audience Signals on Performance Max](/guides/how-to-guides/pmax-audiences)  | Audience Signal   | Provides Google's PMax algorithm with seed audiences built from incremental prediction models |
| [Set Up Conversion Signals on Google Ads](/guides/how-to-guides/google-conversions) | Conversion Signal | Replaces standard conversion data with incrementality-weighted values to improve bidding      |

**Performance Max Audience Signals** give Google's algorithm a reference group of high-incrementality users as targeting guidance. Instead of optimizing broadly, PMax uses Innkeepr's seed audiences to find and target users similar to those most likely to convert incrementally.

**Conversion Signals** modify the conversion data Google Ads receives. Depending on the bidding strategy, Innkeepr adjusts either the reported conversion count (for CPA-based strategies) or the reported conversion value (for ROAS-based strategies) based on the incremental contribution of each touchpoint.

### TikTok Ads

| Guide                                                                           | Signal Type     | What It Does                                                                             |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Set Up Seed Audiences on TikTok](/guides/how-to-guides/tiktok-seeds)           | Audience Signal | Uploads ranked user lists to TikTok as source audiences for Lookalike Audience expansion |
| [Set Up Exclusion Audiences on TikTok](/guides/how-to-guides/tiktok-exclusions) | Audience Signal | Uploads low-incrementality user lists to TikTok to suppress wasted spend                 |

TikTok audience signals mirror the Meta setup, with one key difference: **TikTok matches audiences by email**. Every user in a TikTok upload must carry an `email` or `email_sha256` trait, written to the profile via [Innkeepr Identify](/connections/spec-identify). Users without an email cannot be matched, so email coverage directly determines audience size and match rate.

### Criteo

| Guide                                                                       | Signal Type     | What It Does                                                                                                       |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| [Set Up Audience Signals on Criteo](/guides/how-to-guides/criteo-audiences) | Audience Signal | Combines Innkeepr audience segments with your product feed to power dynamic retargeting and predictive acquisition |

**Criteo** pairs Innkeepr audience signals with product feed optimization, matching user segments (e.g. high-value shoppers, churn risks) against your live merchant feed to deliver relevant product ads across web and app inventory.

## Choosing the Right Guide

If you are just getting started, the recommended activation order is:

1. **Meta Seed Audiences** — fastest to set up, results visible within 2–4 weeks
2. **Meta Exclusion Audiences** — complements seed audiences, can run in parallel after initial validation
3. **PMax Audience Signals** — requires a 60–90 day evaluation window
4. **Google Conversion Signals** — requires Enhanced Conversions to be active and a 60–90 day learning phase; setup is handled by the Innkeepr team
   All guides follow the same structure: prerequisites, setup instructions, a monitoring and optimization timeline, best practices, and a troubleshooting reference.

<Info>
  Learn more

  * [Set Up Seed Audiences on Meta](/guides/how-to-guides/meta-seeds)
  * [Set Up Exclusion Audiences on Meta](/guides/how-to-guides/meta-exclusions)
  * [Set Up Audience Signals on Performance Max](/guides/how-to-guides/pmax-audiences)
  * [Set Up Conversion Signals on Google Ads](/guides/how-to-guides/google-conversions)
  * [Set Up Seed Audiences on TikTok](/guides/how-to-guides/tiktok-seeds)
  * [Set Up Exclusion Audiences on TikTok](/guides/how-to-guides/tiktok-exclusions)
  * [Set Up Audience Signals on Criteo](/guides/how-to-guides/criteo-audiences)
  * [Signal Overview](/guides/signals-and-activation/signal-overview)
  * [Audience Signals](/guides/signals-and-activation/audience-signals)
  * [Conversion Signals](/guides/signals-and-activation/conversion-signals)
</Info>