7-31-15 8:49pm PST
Google Ads Developer Blog
Relaxing constraints on ad group name uniqueness
Have you ever found it frustrating that you can never reuse an AdGroup name after removing the AdGroup, since a removed AdGroup cannot be modified? We have awesome news for you!
Now, AdGroupService doesn’t consider REMOVED AdGroup names when verifying that an AdGroup name is unique within a Campaign. If an AdGroup is in a REMOVED state, then the name of that AdGroup can be reused. This is already the case for Campaigns, and we’ve extended this relaxation of constraints to AdGroups.
If you have questions or need clarification, visit us on the AdWords API Forum or our Google+ page.
Nadine Sundquist, AdWords API Team
Now, AdGroupService doesn’t consider REMOVED AdGroup names when verifying that an AdGroup name is unique within a Campaign. If an AdGroup is in a REMOVED state, then the name of that AdGroup can be reused. This is already the case for Campaigns, and we’ve extended this relaxation of constraints to AdGroups.
If you have questions or need clarification, visit us on the AdWords API Forum or our Google+ page.
Nadine Sundquist, AdWords API Team
Google Ads Developer Blog
Help me help you (improve the DFP API)
Believe it or not, the DFP API Team eat, breathe, and live the DFP API. We wake up in the morning thinking, "How can I make the DFP API even better?" Seriously, I have had dreams about the API. It’s weird, but I’m not embarrassed to admit that.
In an effort to delight our developers even more, we’re turning the proverbial mic over to you - our customers - to help us help you. Here’s your chance to let us know how we could be better – better support, better features in the client libraries, better content in workshops, better examples, better haircuts... really, anything. Simply fill out our survey with your thoughts here.
- Nicholas Chen, DFP API Team
In an effort to delight our developers even more, we’re turning the proverbial mic over to you - our customers - to help us help you. Here’s your chance to let us know how we could be better – better support, better features in the client libraries, better content in workshops, better examples, better haircuts... really, anything. Simply fill out our survey with your thoughts here.
- Nicholas Chen, DFP API Team
7-30-15 1:51pm PST
Google Ads Developer Blog
What’s new with IMA iOS SDK Beta 15?
Last week, we released beta version 15 of the IMA SDK for iOS. This release includes two new features:
Ad buffer events via IMAAdsManager delegates Debugging mode Ad buffer events
We’re providing more information on ad buffering by introducing new buffering events via the following optional IMAAdsManagerDelegate methods:
adsManagerAdPlaybackReady: adsManagerAdDidStartBuffering: adsManager:adDidBufferToMediaTime:
Collectively, these delegate methods provide more transparency into buffer events, giving you more control over the user’s ad experience. For more detailed information on these new methods, take a look at the reference documentation.
Debugging mode
We’ve introduced a new debugging mode setting to allow for more verbose logging to the console. You can now set IMASettings.enableDebugMode to YES to enable debug mode. This should not be used in production, as it will show a watermark on the ad player.
A note about CocoaPods
If you’re using CocoaPods with the IMA SDK, please make sure to use at least version 0.38.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us via the support forum.
- Yury Pavlotsky, IMA SDK Team
Ad buffer events via IMAAdsManager delegates Debugging mode Ad buffer events
We’re providing more information on ad buffering by introducing new buffering events via the following optional IMAAdsManagerDelegate methods:
adsManagerAdPlaybackReady: adsManagerAdDidStartBuffering: adsManager:adDidBufferToMediaTime:
Collectively, these delegate methods provide more transparency into buffer events, giving you more control over the user’s ad experience. For more detailed information on these new methods, take a look at the reference documentation.
Debugging mode
We’ve introduced a new debugging mode setting to allow for more verbose logging to the console. You can now set IMASettings.enableDebugMode to YES to enable debug mode. This should not be used in production, as it will show a watermark on the ad player.
A note about CocoaPods
If you’re using CocoaPods with the IMA SDK, please make sure to use at least version 0.38.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us via the support forum.
- Yury Pavlotsky, IMA SDK Team
Inside AdwordsSearch Ads on Google Play and new app promo tools roll out to advertisers and developers
Posted: Wednesday, July 29, 2015
People turn to their phones billions of times a day for I want-to-know, I want-to-go, I want-to-do, and I want-to-buymoments. And in these intent-rich moments, they often turn to apps to get what they need. Runners may search for a “mileage tracker” app as they start training for a marathon, foodies may look for “restaurant” apps to check out the trendiest new places in town, and frequent fliers may search for “top games” to play before a long flight. In fact, search is one of the biggest drivers of app installs in the Play Store.
That’s why we’re investing in new ways to help people discover apps with Search Ads on Google Play and innovating on new technologies to simplify campaign management and improve measurement for developers.
They’ve arrived: Search Ads on Google Play
Search Ads on Google Play will begin to roll out today to all advertisers and developers who use Search app install campaigns on AdWords.
Google Play reaches more than 1 billion people on Android devices in more than 190 countries. With such an extensive reach, Search Ads on Google Play can provide consumers new ways to discover apps that they otherwise might have missed and help developers drive more awareness of their apps.
Companies like Booking.com and Nordeus are already extending their app promotion strategy to include showing ads on the Play Store.
Tomislav Mihajlović, CMO of Nordeus shared that, "Search has already been a key component of our app promotion strategy to reach high-quality users. With new Search Ads on Google Play, we have an even bigger opportunity to connect with people in the moments they’re looking for new apps to download. We are already seeing significantly more app installs from Search with the addition of Google Play inventory for our game Top Eleven.”
Improved conversion tracking for Android
As we expand the opportunities for developers to promote their apps, we’re also committed to providingconversion tracking tools that work seamlessly across channels and align with whichever measurement solution a developer chooses to use. That’s why we’re introducing Android first app opens, a new conversion tracking solution that measures when a user first opens an app after clicking on an ad and completing an Android app install. In addition to providing app conversion tracking across Search, Display and YouTube, this new solution also allows developers to better align the conversion volume they see in AdWords with the data they see in a third-party measurement solution. First app opens are the standard conversion type for third-party solutions, so we’re working with key partners like Tune, AppsFlyer, Kochava, Adjust and Apsalar to ensure data consistency and give developers the freedom to use reporting and optimization features across AdWords and third-party solutions of their choice.
An even easier way to scale your app install ads across Google networks
In a few weeks, Universal App Campaigns will make it even easier to promote your apps on Google Play and across all Google properties, including: Search, YouTube, the AdMob in-app network, and the 2M+ sites on the Google Display Network. Simply let us know what your ad will say, who you want to reach, your budget and target cost-per-install, and we’ll do the rest.
As the apps ecosystem continues to grow, we’re dedicated to creating products that help developers get their apps to the users who will love them. From adding search ads to Google Play, to improving Android conversion tracking and simplifying campaign management with Universal App Campaigns, we hope these new tools will bring even more success to our app developer community.
Posted by Surojit Chatterjee, Director, Product Management, Mobile Search Ads
That’s why we’re investing in new ways to help people discover apps with Search Ads on Google Play and innovating on new technologies to simplify campaign management and improve measurement for developers.
They’ve arrived: Search Ads on Google Play
Search Ads on Google Play will begin to roll out today to all advertisers and developers who use Search app install campaigns on AdWords.
Google Play reaches more than 1 billion people on Android devices in more than 190 countries. With such an extensive reach, Search Ads on Google Play can provide consumers new ways to discover apps that they otherwise might have missed and help developers drive more awareness of their apps.
Companies like Booking.com and Nordeus are already extending their app promotion strategy to include showing ads on the Play Store.
As we expand the opportunities for developers to promote their apps, we’re also committed to providingconversion tracking tools that work seamlessly across channels and align with whichever measurement solution a developer chooses to use. That’s why we’re introducing Android first app opens, a new conversion tracking solution that measures when a user first opens an app after clicking on an ad and completing an Android app install. In addition to providing app conversion tracking across Search, Display and YouTube, this new solution also allows developers to better align the conversion volume they see in AdWords with the data they see in a third-party measurement solution. First app opens are the standard conversion type for third-party solutions, so we’re working with key partners like Tune, AppsFlyer, Kochava, Adjust and Apsalar to ensure data consistency and give developers the freedom to use reporting and optimization features across AdWords and third-party solutions of their choice.
An even easier way to scale your app install ads across Google networks
In a few weeks, Universal App Campaigns will make it even easier to promote your apps on Google Play and across all Google properties, including: Search, YouTube, the AdMob in-app network, and the 2M+ sites on the Google Display Network. Simply let us know what your ad will say, who you want to reach, your budget and target cost-per-install, and we’ll do the rest.
As the apps ecosystem continues to grow, we’re dedicated to creating products that help developers get their apps to the users who will love them. From adding search ads to Google Play, to improving Android conversion tracking and simplifying campaign management with Universal App Campaigns, we hope these new tools will bring even more success to our app developer community.
Posted by Surojit Chatterjee, Director, Product Management, Mobile Search Ads
7-22-2015 5pm PST
This article is great from Google Inside AdWords Blog
it is for AdWord PPC Firms and Companies, the average Joe doing his own AdWord
Campaigns should be considering getting help after reading the knowledge and experience it takes in keyword Research and Testing just for the average AdWords Campaign.
Brian M Rye
Blog Author
ATRICLE REPSOT FROM
Google's official blog for news, tips and information on AdWords
Posted by Jonathan Alferness, Vice President, Product Management, Google Shopping
Link to Aticle
http://adwords.blogspot.com/2015/07/winning-shopping-micro-moments.html
Winning the shopping micro-moments
Posted: Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Last year, mobile devices used before or during shopping trips influenced just under one trillion dollars — or 28% — of in-store sales in the United States.1 Those sales grew from the billions of shopping micro-moments that power today’s buying economy. Fewer people wait to head to the mall on Saturday to go shopping; thanks to smartphones, shopping now happens anytime and anywhere. Read on for the latest ways we’re helping retailers reach shoppers in those crucial I-want-to-know, I want-to-go, and I want-to-buy moments.
I-want-to-know: Giving immediate answers for every shopping need
We're improving the mobile experience on Google to aid shoppers as they browse, compare, and research products.
1 in 5 people swipe to interact with shopping ads, expressing a strong desire to learn more.2 So we’re rolling out a new enhancement that gently expands the shopping ads as you swipe, revealing information like product ratings and availability at a nearby store. The result: more qualified traffic driven directly to retailers. This feature will begin rolling out on Chrome for Android this month, with iOS to follow in the coming months.
Conversational search is also really important -- we’re seeing more shoppers literally asking Google to help them learn more about products. So we’re rolling out new experiences that answer them right back.
On searches for the top-rated products, such as “Best women’s Nike running shoes,” we’re starting to show newly-designed shopping ads with authoritative rankings and product ratings. The new design is so helpful to those specific users that we've seen click-through-rate increases of up to 11% for retailers for these queries.3Product queries that include “reviews” or “recommendations" are also increasingly common, so we’re showing new product review cards with product ratings and snippets from the most useful reviews from around the web. Finally, shoppers who want to learn more about a product’s features, like the resolution of the camera they’re considering purchasing, may now see a product attribute card with the most relevant information.
I-want-to-go: Helping shoppers find local stores
1 in 4 people who avoid stores say they do so because they don’t want to waste their time finding out that the thing they want isn’t in stock.4 So we’re doing more to serve people who clearly want to focus on products that are available within driving distance.
In late 2013, we launched local inventory ads, which show shoppers when the product they want is available at a nearby store. We’ve seen very positive results: retailers who enabled local inventory ads on mobile and desktop campaigns saw a 2% increase in overall clicks and no drop in online conversion rate when local inventory ads were served instead of shopping ads (PLAs).5 Because we’ve seen that LIAs are good for both shoppers and retailers, we’ll now be showing many more local inventory ads than we did before by prioritizing showing LIA over shopping ads on local intent shopping queries, like “coffee maker near me”. This new experience increased clicks on shopping ads by 85% for these queries.6
What if you could give shoppers the right information at the right time – without them even needing to ask?Google Now does just that by bringing people the information they need at the moment they need it. We’ve recently released two new cards for shoppers.
The Google Now in-store card appears when a shopper is near a store, displaying useful information such as sales, closing hours, loyalty card data, and more. When she clicks “Search store inventory,” a Google-hosted, retailer-branded local storefront allows her to browse that store’s shelves 24 hours a day. Also newly available is the Google Now price drop card. This card highlights a significant price reduction on a product the shopper has previously browsed, giving her a compelling reason to make that purchase now, online or in-store.
I-want-to-buy: Making it easy to purchase on mobile
US retailers’ conversion rates on desktop computers are 2X higher than on mobile.7 So we’re working on new solutions to help retailers increase mobile engagement and sales.
There are lots of great shopping apps out there, and we want to encourage shoppers to use them. That’s why we’re starting to work with a select group of global retailers including eBay, Flipkart and Zalando to add deep links to their apps right in their shopping ads, driving people straight to their mobile app instead of their website. This is a tremendous new opportunity for retailers and app developers to drive engagement with their shopping apps, and we’ll be expanding it to more advertisers in the coming months.
Finally, to help smartphone shoppers buy with ease from their favorite retailers, we'll be testing Purchases on Google. When a shopper searches on mobile for a product such as “women's hoodies”, she may see a shopping ad with 'Buy on Google' text. After clicking the ad, she's taken to a retailer-branded product page hosted by Google. Checkout is seamless, simple, and secure, thanks to saved payment credentials in her Google Account.
For retailers, opting in to Purchases on Google means improved mobile conversions thanks to a simplified checkout process. Participating retailers only pay for clicks on the shopping ads to the product page; all clicks and interactions on the product page are free. While Google hosts the product page and provides purchase protection for customers, retailers own the customer communication and can offer customers the option to receive marketing and promotional messages. “Customers increasingly want to shop on their own terms. Purchases on Google facilitates that flexibility while maintaining the merchant’s ability to own the customer relationship.” says, Peter Cobb, eBags Marketing EVP and Shop.org Chairman.
Although we're still in early experiments with a limited number of retailers, we see Purchases on Google as a big step towards helping retailers drive more mobile conversions and win more customers. “Purchases on Google will simplify our customers’ ability to search for items on Google and then buy with Staples.” said Faisal Masud, Executive Vice President of Global E-Commerce, Staples, Inc. “Working with Google on this offering will make the discovery and purchase process even easier for the customers we serve, with the power of both of our companies behind it.”
Jason LaRose, Chief Revenue Officer, Digital at Under Armour echoes a similar sentiment: "As the consumer continues to rapidly adopt mobile as their primary device, we have to move at a similar pace in how we reduce purchase friction and enhance the user experience with our brand. Google's technology solutions help us innovate, so our collaborative efforts are rich and ongoing.”
Greater expectations
With shoppers today, big expectations come from the smallest moments. That's good news, because retailers now have the technology to deliver on those expectations. The tools we shared this week can help retailers be there in those billions (and trillions!) of micro-moments with the right experience, and in the right context, to win the moments that matter the most.
To learn more about Google’s solutions for retailers, visit google.com/retail or contact your Google account manager.
Posted by Jonathan Alferness, Vice President, Product Management, Google Shopping
1Deloitte, Navigating the New Digital Divide: Capitalizing on Digital Influence in Retail, May 2015.
2 Google Shopping internal data, Q2 2015.
3 Google Shopping internal data, Q1 2015.
4 Google, Ipsos MediaCT and Sterling Brands, Digital Impact on In-Store Shopping, May 2014.
5 Google Shopping internal data, randomized user A/B experiment using Adwords Conversion Tracking for mobile and desktop, controlling for product mix and excluding local-only products, June 2015.
6 Google Shopping internal data, randomized user A/B experiment, June 2015.
7 Aggregated data from Google Analytics for the US retail vertical, May 2015.
I-want-to-know: Giving immediate answers for every shopping need
We're improving the mobile experience on Google to aid shoppers as they browse, compare, and research products.
1 in 5 people swipe to interact with shopping ads, expressing a strong desire to learn more.2 So we’re rolling out a new enhancement that gently expands the shopping ads as you swipe, revealing information like product ratings and availability at a nearby store. The result: more qualified traffic driven directly to retailers. This feature will begin rolling out on Chrome for Android this month, with iOS to follow in the coming months.
 |
| Expandable shopping ads |
Conversational search is also really important -- we’re seeing more shoppers literally asking Google to help them learn more about products. So we’re rolling out new experiences that answer them right back.
On searches for the top-rated products, such as “Best women’s Nike running shoes,” we’re starting to show newly-designed shopping ads with authoritative rankings and product ratings. The new design is so helpful to those specific users that we've seen click-through-rate increases of up to 11% for retailers for these queries.3Product queries that include “reviews” or “recommendations" are also increasingly common, so we’re showing new product review cards with product ratings and snippets from the most useful reviews from around the web. Finally, shoppers who want to learn more about a product’s features, like the resolution of the camera they’re considering purchasing, may now see a product attribute card with the most relevant information.
 |
| New experiences for shoppers searching for the best products, product reviews and attributes |
I-want-to-go: Helping shoppers find local stores
1 in 4 people who avoid stores say they do so because they don’t want to waste their time finding out that the thing they want isn’t in stock.4 So we’re doing more to serve people who clearly want to focus on products that are available within driving distance.
In late 2013, we launched local inventory ads, which show shoppers when the product they want is available at a nearby store. We’ve seen very positive results: retailers who enabled local inventory ads on mobile and desktop campaigns saw a 2% increase in overall clicks and no drop in online conversion rate when local inventory ads were served instead of shopping ads (PLAs).5 Because we’ve seen that LIAs are good for both shoppers and retailers, we’ll now be showing many more local inventory ads than we did before by prioritizing showing LIA over shopping ads on local intent shopping queries, like “coffee maker near me”. This new experience increased clicks on shopping ads by 85% for these queries.6
 |
| Local inventory ads for local intent queries |
What if you could give shoppers the right information at the right time – without them even needing to ask?Google Now does just that by bringing people the information they need at the moment they need it. We’ve recently released two new cards for shoppers.
The Google Now in-store card appears when a shopper is near a store, displaying useful information such as sales, closing hours, loyalty card data, and more. When she clicks “Search store inventory,” a Google-hosted, retailer-branded local storefront allows her to browse that store’s shelves 24 hours a day. Also newly available is the Google Now price drop card. This card highlights a significant price reduction on a product the shopper has previously browsed, giving her a compelling reason to make that purchase now, online or in-store.
 |
| Google Now in-store card, local storefront & Google Now price drop card |
I-want-to-buy: Making it easy to purchase on mobile
US retailers’ conversion rates on desktop computers are 2X higher than on mobile.7 So we’re working on new solutions to help retailers increase mobile engagement and sales.
There are lots of great shopping apps out there, and we want to encourage shoppers to use them. That’s why we’re starting to work with a select group of global retailers including eBay, Flipkart and Zalando to add deep links to their apps right in their shopping ads, driving people straight to their mobile app instead of their website. This is a tremendous new opportunity for retailers and app developers to drive engagement with their shopping apps, and we’ll be expanding it to more advertisers in the coming months.
 |
| App deep linking for shopping ads |
Finally, to help smartphone shoppers buy with ease from their favorite retailers, we'll be testing Purchases on Google. When a shopper searches on mobile for a product such as “women's hoodies”, she may see a shopping ad with 'Buy on Google' text. After clicking the ad, she's taken to a retailer-branded product page hosted by Google. Checkout is seamless, simple, and secure, thanks to saved payment credentials in her Google Account.
 |
| Purchases on Google |
For retailers, opting in to Purchases on Google means improved mobile conversions thanks to a simplified checkout process. Participating retailers only pay for clicks on the shopping ads to the product page; all clicks and interactions on the product page are free. While Google hosts the product page and provides purchase protection for customers, retailers own the customer communication and can offer customers the option to receive marketing and promotional messages. “Customers increasingly want to shop on their own terms. Purchases on Google facilitates that flexibility while maintaining the merchant’s ability to own the customer relationship.” says, Peter Cobb, eBags Marketing EVP and Shop.org Chairman.
Jason LaRose, Chief Revenue Officer, Digital at Under Armour echoes a similar sentiment: "As the consumer continues to rapidly adopt mobile as their primary device, we have to move at a similar pace in how we reduce purchase friction and enhance the user experience with our brand. Google's technology solutions help us innovate, so our collaborative efforts are rich and ongoing.”
Greater expectations
With shoppers today, big expectations come from the smallest moments. That's good news, because retailers now have the technology to deliver on those expectations. The tools we shared this week can help retailers be there in those billions (and trillions!) of micro-moments with the right experience, and in the right context, to win the moments that matter the most.
To learn more about Google’s solutions for retailers, visit google.com/retail or contact your Google account manager.
Posted by Jonathan Alferness, Vice President, Product Management, Google Shopping
1Deloitte, Navigating the New Digital Divide: Capitalizing on Digital Influence in Retail, May 2015.
2 Google Shopping internal data, Q2 2015.
3 Google Shopping internal data, Q1 2015.
4 Google, Ipsos MediaCT and Sterling Brands, Digital Impact on In-Store Shopping, May 2014.
5 Google Shopping internal data, randomized user A/B experiment using Adwords Conversion Tracking for mobile and desktop, controlling for product mix and excluding local-only products, June 2015.
6 Google Shopping internal data, randomized user A/B experiment, June 2015.
7 Aggregated data from Google Analytics for the US retail vertical, May 2015.
New guide for setting up AdWords API authorization using the OAuth 2.0 Playground by JoshRadcliffe, AdWords API Team
Article from Google Ads Developer Blog
link to artice http://googleadsdeveloper.blogspot.com/
New guide for setting up AdWords API authorization using the OAuth 2.0 Playground Posted: Wednesday, July 22, 2015 For those of you who’d prefer to generate an OAuth refresh token using only a browser, there's a new guide on how to use the OAuth 2.0 Playground: https://developers.google.com/adwords/api/docs/guides/oauth_playground The guide walks you through the authorization setup required by the AdWords API for a Web application--via a browser session--without the need to execute any command-line scripts. More OAuth resources OAuth 2.0 Authentication for the AdWords API Using OAuth 2.0 to Access Google APIs Still have questions? Feel free to visit us on the AdWords API Forum or our Google+ page. - Josh Radcliff, AdWords API Team Labels: adwords_api, oauth FeedMappings for location targeting available via the AdWords API Posted: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 What's changing? Starting on or after July 23, 2015, if you are using v201506 of the AdWords API, then FeedMappingService.get and FeedMappingService.query will return FeedMapping objects created for location targeting. These FeedMapping objects will have criterionType 77, and will not have a value for placeholderType. There will be no change in behavior for v201409 or v201502. You will start seeing these objects if either of the following is true: You created a Feed linked to your Google My Business account. You created a Location targeting feed through the AdWords user interface, under Shared library -> Business data. Why the change? Starting with v201506, LocationGroups.feedId is required if your matching function includes a LocationExtensionOperand. Specifying a feedId in this situation allows AdWords to target the areas surrounding the locations in a location targeting feed. This may be the same feed you are using for location extensions, or a separate feed containing additional locations you want to use strictly for targeting. The key point is that the Feed referenced by LocationGroups.feedId must have a FeedMapping with criterionType 77. What should you do? If your application retrieves FeedMapping objects, make sure it will properly handle objects where placeholderType is null and criterionType is set. If you want to create LocationGroups objects that use a LocationExtensionOperand, you can now use FeedMappingService to find the ID of feeds that have a FeedMapping with criterionType 77. Learn more Check out the following resources for more information on Location Groups: The updated placeholders documentation describes the required fields for a location targeting feed. The AddCampaignTargetingCriteria example in the targeting folder of each client library shows how to set up a LocationGroups object using the ID of your location targeting feed. The AdWords Help Center has an overview of using Location Groups. Still have questions? Feel free to visit us on the AdWords API Forum or our Google+ page. - Josh Radcliff, AdWords API Team Labels: adwords_api, LocationExtensionOperand, LocationGroups
