Exposing Content Bidding via the API in January

화요일, 11월 29, 2005



As some of you have heard, we released a new feature in AdWords last week that enables advertisers to place content-only bids for ads that will run on the Google content network. You can read more about content bids on the Inside AdWords Blog or on the AdWords Help Center.

We had planned to expose this function via the API this week. However, based on developer feedback, we've decided to delay the release until mid January (so as not to introduce large changes in the middle of the busy holiday shopping season).

In early January we will update you on the timing of this release and provide an advance copy of the WSDL at least one week before the launch.

--Patrick Chanezon, AdWords API evangelist

AdWords API Terms and Conditions: Thank You for the feedback

월요일, 11월 28, 2005


Thank you all for your feedback on the recent changes to the AdWords API Beta terms and conditions. We have been collecting your comments over the last few days, and we plan to review them alongside our policies over the next few weeks.

The new terms and conditions seem to cause some concern for developers of open source and commercial third party tools, and we want to address these concerns.

We will have more specifics for you in the coming weeks once we have had a chance to thoroughly discuss your feedback.

--Patrick Chanezon, AdWords API evangelist

AdWords API Announcement: Updated API Terms and Conditions

목요일, 11월 17, 2005


As part of our ongoing effort to improve the Google AdWords API beta program, we've recently updated our Terms and Conditions. For example, we’ve updated the sections that define token ownership and usage in order to ensure that quota allocations are distributed equitably based on spend.

Unfortunately, for legal reasons, we cannot interpret these changes for you. However, we have hosted a temporary copy of the old document in the event you would like to interpret the changes for yourself (this temporary copy will be removed on December 15, 2005). For your reference, some of the more extensive modifications were made to: section I; section II(1) and II(2); section III(1) and III(2)(b); and section IV(6).

Per both our past and current terms and conditions, Google retains the right to modify the terms and conditions at any time. Therefore, continued use of the API means that you accept these terms. You can refuse to accept the terms by ceasing to use the API.

Thank you for your continued support of Google AdWords and the AdWords API.

Sincerely,
The Google AdWords API Team

Confirming Changes to the TrafficEstimatorService

목요일, 11월 03, 2005


Just a quick post to close the loop and confirm that the changes we announced on October 31 have gone into effect. The new service is live and the Developer’s Guide has been updated accordingly. For more information on this change, please read our October, 31 post entitled “Announcing Changes to the TrafficEstimatorService”.

Also, we’ve taken this opportunity to release a new getFreeUsageQuotaThisMonth method within InfoService. Designed specifically for AdWords Commercial Developer Program participants, this new method retrieves this month's free usage quota for the developer token being used to make this call. For those not enrolled in the AdWords Commercial Developer Program, this value will be identical to that returned for getUsageQuotaThisMonth.

--Patrick Chanezon, AdWords API evangelist

Announcing Changes to the TrafficEstimatorService

월요일, 10월 31, 2005


In an effort to provide more consistent and accurate keyword data to our developers and advertisers, we will be changing some of the fields within the KeywordEstimate object on Thursday, November 3rd.

We will add the following field to the KeywordEstimate object:

  • clicksPerDay – (float) The estimated number of clicks generated per day for a keyword in a given ad group

Similarly, we will remove the following fields from the KeywordEstimate object:
  • impressions – The estimated number of impressions for a given keyword
  • ctr – The estimated click-through-rate for a given keyword.
  • notShownPerDay – The estimated number of times that the ad would not be shown, despite a keyword match.

These changes will take effect on the afternoon of Thursday, November 3rd (Pacific time zone). At that time, we will update the TrafficEstimatorService WSDL which may disrupt the operation of your programs. Therefore, we have posted a temporary copy of the “new” TrafficEstimatorService WSDL at http://www.google.com/apis/adwords/developer/wsdl_preview.xml so you can begin making the necessary adjustments now (This temporary copy will be removed on November 4, 2005, after the normal WSDL location is updated).

We are in the process of updating the AdWords API Developer Guide and plan to have these new fields added on Thursday.

--Rohit Dhawan, Product Manager

Updating your Shared AdWords Logins

월요일, 10월 24, 2005


As you may have heard, we're updating our AdWords login system to Google Accounts. Starting in early November, you and your clients will be invited to update your account(s).

By updating your account, you will be able to establish multiple logins for your AdWords accounts, leverage change history to gain visibility into what changes users are making, and address the security risks and management hassles associated with shared logins.

Since you share access to your AdWords account with your clients, we wanted to pass along some best practices for updating shared accounts.

In early November, you will be asked to begin the update process (you have until January 15, 2006 to do so). In order to ensure a smooth process that provides uninterrupted access for you and your clients, we recommend that you and your clients review the following information.

Best Practices – Updating shared AdWords logins


  • Be sure to select “No. I might manage this AdWords account with others” during the first step of the update process

  • Create a new username and password that is different from the current AdWords username and password

  • Please advise your client to go through this same process (separate from you), and advise them to:

    • Choose a *different* username/password than you have

    • Avoid using their personal email address as their Google Account, but rather use their business or another professional email account as their login

  • Update your API headers as soon as possible to ensure that future API requests use your new Google Accounts login

    • Note: if you are accessing a client’s account via a My Client Center (MCC) account, be sure to also request that your client provide you with their new username so you can update your API headers accordingly.

  • Complete this update as soon as possible. While all AdWords users will not be required to update their account(s) for the next few months, we strongly suggest that you complete the process in early November, especially with the busy holiday season ahead of us.


While we are changing the AdWords login system, you will not need to re-code your existing applications. In most cases (as noted above), you will have to update your API headers to route future API requests to your new Google Accounts usernames and passwords.

While you and your clients will still be able to use your old account logins for the next several months (provided neither of you disable the old login), the old logins will be disabled automatically in early 2006. If for some reason you are still using the old login at that time, we will send you an email alert several weeks before we disable the login.

Best Practices Web Seminars

Finally, in order to ensure that you and your client account teams are well educated on the update process, we have scheduled two best practices web seminars. If you would like to learn more about these best practices and the overall update process, please join us for one of these two events:

We hope you find this best practices guide helpful. Feel free to visit the AdWords API Developer Forum to share your experiences and questions with fellow API developers during the update process. And as always, we’ll also post any relevant information on the Forum and the AdWords API blog.

Thank you for your continued support of Google AdWords and the AdWords API.

Sincerely,
The Google AdWords Team

System Maintenance – October 21

수요일, 10월 19, 2005


We will be performing routine AdWords system maintenance from 9pm to 11pm PDT on Friday, October 21, 2005. While all AdWords advertisements will continue to run as normal, you will not be able to perform any API operations during this maintenance period.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

--Patrick Chanezon, AdWords API evangelist