Category Archives: Ads Developer Blog

The official blog for information about the AdWords, AdSense, DoubleClick and AdMob APIs and SDKs

Changes to conversion columns in AdWords API and Scripts

What's changing?
We are introducing restrictions on certain combinations of conversion columns in AdWords API and Google Ads scripts reports. If your reporting queries include these column combinations, you need to fix your queries before Feb 15, 2021.

Technical details
Starting the week of Feb 15, 2021, you will receive a ReportDefinitionError.INVALID_FIELD_NAME_FOR_REPORT error if your AdWords API report request contains columns from both of the restricted column sets listed below. Similarly, calls to the AdsApp.report method in Google Ads scripts will fail for queries with these restricted column combinations.

Restricted conversion columns:
  • ConversionAdjustment
  • ConversionAdjustmentLagBucket
  • ConversionAttributionEventType
  • ConversionCategoryName
  • ConversionLagBucket
  • ConversionTrackerId
  • ConversionTypeName
Metrics columns:
  • AllConversionRate
  • ConversionRate
  • CostPerAllConversion
  • CostPerConversion
  • CostPerCurrentModelAttributedConversion
The ReportDefinitionService.getReportFields method will reflect these restrictions in the exclusiveFields list of each impacted column.

What should you do?
Before Feb 15, 2021, review and modify the reporting queries in your AdWords API and Google Ads scripts applications to stop using the prohibited column combinations.

Why is this changing?
These column combinations are currently disallowed by the Google Ads UI, Google Ads Editor and the Google Ads API. This change makes the AdWords API and Google Ads scripts behaviour consistent with the rest of the Google Ads platform.

If you have any questions or need help, please contact us via the forum.
- Anash P. Oommen, Google Ads API Team

Update to Customer Match Uploads in the Google Ads API and the AdWords API Starting March 1, 2021

On March 1, 2021, the Google Ads API and the AdWords API will have a new upload limit for each Customer Match upload request. There is no change to the limit of the overall Customer Match audience list size.

What code do I need to change?
When uploading user identifiers for Customer Match, check that the number of user identifiers you are uploading per request is within the limit.
Google Ads API AdWords API
Limit 100,000 per request 500,000 per user list ID per request
Method OfflineUserDataJobService.AddOfflineUserDataJobOperations() AdWordsUserListService.mutateMembers()
Field userIdentifiers membersList
Error on exceeding upload limit TOO_MANY_USER_IDENTIFIERS TOO_MANY


Why is this changing?
In order to make the processing of Customer Match user identifiers more efficient, we needed to set the new upload limit.

If you have any questions while updating your code, please reach out to us on our Google Ads API and AdWords API forum.
Nadine Wang, Google Ads API Team

The google_global_site_tag will no longer be filterable in Google Ads API

What's changing?
Starting the week of Jan 25, 2021, the customer.remarketing_setting.google_global_site_tag field will no longer be filterable in the Google Ads API. If you use this field in a WHERE clause of a GAQL query in a call to the GoogleAdsService.Search or GoogleAdsService.SearchStream method, you will receive a QueryError.PROHIBITED_FIELD_IN_WHERE_CLAUSE error. Similarly, the GoogleAdsFieldService.SearchGoogleAdsFields method will report this field as non-filterable. This change affects all versions of the Google Ads API.

What should you do?
Before Jan 25, 2021, review and modify your Google Ads API reporting queries to stop using the google_global_site_tag field for filtering purposes.

If you have any questions or need help, please contact us via the forum.
- Anash P. Oommen, Google Ads API Team

Google Ads API v3 sunset reminder

Google Ads API v3 will sunset on February 10, 2021. After this date, all v3 API requests will begin to fail. Please migrate to a newer version prior to February 10, 2021 to ensure your API access is unaffected.

We've prepared various resources to help you with the migration:

If you have questions while you’re upgrading, please reach out to us on the forum or at [email protected].

 - Thanet Knack Praneenararat, Google Ads API Team

December update to Display & Video 360 API v1

Today we’re releasing an update to the Display & Video 360 API which includes the following features: More detailed information about this update can be found in the Display & Video 360 API release notes.

Before using these new features, make sure to update your client library to the latest version.

If you run into issues or need help with these new features, please contact us using our support contact form.
- Trevor Mulchay, Display & Video 360 API Team

Live Webinar: Website Conversions & Audience Remarketing

The Google Ads API Developer Relations team will be hosting a live webinar, Website Conversions & Audience Remarketing with the Google Ads API, on December 11 at 10 AM EST (3 PM GMT).

Mark your calendar


Prerequisites
In order to get the most out of this webinar, we suggest you develop a basic understanding of the Google Ads API. In order to learn more, please visit our API Overview documentation or check out this Google Ads API Overview workshop from 2019. In addition, you may find this post useful to learn how conversion tracking works in Google Ads.

Agenda
The webinar will cover the topics below and include code walkthroughs to demonstrate how to perform different actions with the Google Ads API client libraries. We will also be hosting a live Q&A at the end.
  • What conversion actions are
  • How to create and utilize conversion actions
  • How remarketing works in the Google Ads API
  • How to define different audience types
  • How to measure audience performance
Reminders
Feel free to add the event to your calendar. In addition, you can set a reminder for the event on YouTube by clicking the “Set reminder” button on the YouTube event page.

We look forward to sharing our knowledge of the Google Ads API with you and answering your questions. If you have any questions or need additional help, contact us via the forum or at [email protected].
- Devin Chasanoff, on behalf of the Google Ads API Team

Upcoming sunset for DBM API v1, SDF Download and Line Item services

As announced in August, deprecated services in the DoubleClick Bid Manager (DBM) API, comprised of DBM API v1, the DBM API v1.1 SDF Download service, and the DBM API v1.1 Line Item service, will be sunset on February 26, 2021.

If you are still using the DBM API v1 Reporting service, you must migrate to the DBM API v1.1 Reporting service before the sunset date to avoid an interruption of service. Consult the API release notes for details of the changes between v1 and v1.1. Differences to note during this migration include:
  • Queries created and accessed through the Reporting service require more specific filters in the params.groupBy field in v1.1. You might have to add more values to the params.groupBy field in order to create the same report structure generated in v1.
  • Responses from queries.listqueries and reports.listreports calls are paginated in v1.1. You have to update your implementation to traverse multiple pages if you want to consume more than the first 100 items returned.

If you are using any version of any other DBM API service, you must migrate to the Display & Video 360 (DV360) API.
Guides are available to help you set up and start using the Display & Video 360 API to download SDFs and manage your line items.

If you encounter issues with your migration or want to report a separate issue, please contact us using our support contact form.
- Trevor Mulchay, Display & Video 360 API Team

Upcoming sunset for DBM API v1, SDF Download and Line Item services

As announced in August, deprecated services in the DoubleClick Bid Manager (DBM) API, comprised of DBM API v1, the DBM API v1.1 SDF Download service, and the DBM API v1.1 Line Item service, will be sunset on February 26, 2021.

If you are still using the DBM API v1 Reporting service, you must migrate to the DBM API v1.1 Reporting service before the sunset date to avoid an interruption of service. Consult the API release notes for details of the changes between v1 and v1.1. Differences to note during this migration include:
  • Queries created and accessed through the Reporting service require more specific filters in the params.groupBy field in v1.1. You might have to add more values to the params.groupBy field in order to create the same report structure generated in v1.
  • Responses from queries.listqueries and reports.listreports calls are paginated in v1.1. You have to update your implementation to traverse multiple pages if you want to consume more than the first 100 items returned.

If you are using any version of any other DBM API service, you must migrate to the Display & Video 360 (DV360) API.
Guides are available to help you set up and start using the Display & Video 360 API to download SDFs and manage your line items.

If you encounter issues with your migration or want to report a separate issue, please contact us using our support contact form.
- Trevor Mulchay, Display & Video 360 API Team

Upcoming sunset for DBM API v1, SDF Download and Line Item services

As announced in August, deprecated services in the DoubleClick Bid Manager (DBM) API, comprised of DBM API v1, the DBM API v1.1 SDF Download service, and the DBM API v1.1 Line Item service, will be sunset on February 26, 2021.

If you are still using the DBM API v1 Reporting service, you must migrate to the DBM API v1.1 Reporting service before the sunset date to avoid an interruption of service. Consult the API release notes for details of the changes between v1 and v1.1. Differences to note during this migration include:
  • Queries created and accessed through the Reporting service require more specific filters in the params.groupBy field in v1.1. You might have to add more values to the params.groupBy field in order to create the same report structure generated in v1.
  • Responses from queries.listqueries and reports.listreports calls are paginated in v1.1. You have to update your implementation to traverse multiple pages if you want to consume more than the first 100 items returned.

If you are using any version of any other DBM API service, you must migrate to the Display & Video 360 (DV360) API.
Guides are available to help you set up and start using the Display & Video 360 API to download SDFs and manage your line items.

If you encounter issues with your migration or want to report a separate issue, please contact us using our support contact form.
- Trevor Mulchay, Display & Video 360 API Team

Sunset of deprecated Geo Region targeting options in Display & Video 360 API

Starting January 2021, over 1500 deprecated Geo Region targeting options will no longer be supported in Display & Video 360. This announcement, along with the full list of deprecated options, can be found on the Geography Targeting Help Center article. These deprecated targeting options reflect outdated geographical regions and, therefore, do not change the serving of line items.

How will this happen in the API?

This sunset will be reflected in the Display & Video 360 API through the following sequence of events:
  1. Starting today, we will begin removing deprecated targeting from older resources. These resources consist of Line Items or Insertion Orders that are currently archived or have been paused for more than six months.
  2. In February 2021, the deprecated targeting options will no longer be retrievable through the Targeting Options service and attempts at assigning or removing deprecated targeting through the Line Item Assigned Targeting Options service will return an error.
  3. After the deprecated targeting options are no longer able to be assigned, we will begin removing deprecated targeting from all remaining resources. Any line items only using deprecated targeting will be paused upon the removal of said targeting. This concludes the formal sunset of the deprecated targeting options.

What should I do to prepare for this?

In anticipation of this sunset, it is recommended that you do the following:

  1. Check to see if any existing Line Items utilize deprecated targeting options. Use advertisers.lineItems.targetingTypes.assignedTargetingOptions.list to list the assigned Geo Region targeting for each active line item and check the targeting against the deprecated targeting options. Remove or replace any deprecated targeting as soon as possible using advertisers.lineItems.bulkEditLineItemAssignedTargetingOptions.
  2. If you are storing oft-used targeting option IDs locally, cross-reference them against the list of deprecated targeting options. This will avoid errors caused by attempting to assign sunset targeting options.

Should I expect more deprecations in the future?

Users should expect the occasional deprecation and sunset of targeting options in Display & Video 360 in much smaller quantities than this deprecation. As such, future deprecations likely won’t be announced through a blog post or documentation change.

In order to account for these deprecations, it is recommended that you use targetingTypes.targetingOptions.get to confirm that a targeting option is still available before assigning it. This should be done before assigning any option not obtained through the Targeting Options service, including those stored locally or copied from existing targeting. This will avoid errors caused by attempting to assign deprecated targeting.

You can read more about the Targeting Options and Assigned Targeting Options services in our reference documentation and on the Set Targeting page of our Managing Line Items guide.
If you have questions or run into issues navigating this process, please contact us using our support contact form.
- Trevor Mulchay, Display & Video 360 API Team