The AdWords Query Language (AWQL)

AWQL is a SQL-like language for performing queries against most common AdWords API services. Any service with a query() method is supported.

AWQL is inspired by SQL, though it does not support the full SQL vocabulary. Notable omissions are the JOIN and GROUP BY clauses.

For each service, you can get the list of queryable fields from Selector Fields.

Additionally, you can use AWQL to query reports. See Report Types for a comprehensive list of queryable fields.

Using AWQL in service calls

AWQL is usually a more efficient way to code the same call. For example, here's a selector you might use for CampaignService.get():

<serviceSelector>
  <fields>Id</fields>
  <fields>Name</fields>
  <predicates>
    <field>Status</field>
    <operator>EQUALS</operator>
    <values>ENABLED</values>
  </predicates>
  <ordering>
    <field>Name</field>
    <sortOrder>ASCENDING</sortOrder>
  </ordering>
  <paging>
    <startIndex>0</startIndex>
    <numberResults>50</numberResults>
  </paging>
</serviceSelector>

The equivalent AWQL query string for CampaignService.query() is:

SELECT Id, Name
WHERE Status = 'ENABLED'
ORDER BY Name ASC
LIMIT 0,50

Our client libraries feature code samples using AWQL, for example this complete code sample for getting campaigns with AWQL:

Java

Get campaigns with AWQL

C#

Get campaigns with AWQL

Python

Get campaigns with AWQL

PHP

Get campaigns with AWQL

Perl

Get campaigns with AWQL

Ruby

Get campaigns with AWQL

Notes

  • A FROM clause is not needed since the data source is already determined by the service to which the request is sent.
  • A DURING clause is not allowed in service calls, but is allowed in reporting calls. The time zone of the account is used.
  • Although keywords (for example, WHERE) are not case-sensitive, field (column) names (such as Name) and literals (such as ENABLED) are case-sensitive.
  • When using IN and NOT_IN operators in your WHERE clause, you are limited to 10,000 items.

Using AWQL with reports

AWQL is often used in reporting. Instead of specifying the XML fragment in the "__rdxml" POST parameter as you normally would for reports, supply these two parameters:

  1. "__rdquery": contains the AWQL query string.
  2. "__fmt": defines the report download format.

Example (POST body):

__rdquery=SELECT+Criteria+FROM+KEYWORDS_PERFORMANCE_REPORT+DURING+20150101,20150325&__fmt=CSV

There are also some usage differences when using AWQL for reports:

  • The query must contain a report type in the FROM clause, for example:

    SELECT Id, Criteria, AdGroupName FROM KEYWORDS_PERFORMANCE_REPORT

    Note that while FROM is disallowed in service calls, it is mandatory in report downloads.

  • Date ranges for the report are defined in the DURING clause of the query. Date ranges can be specified in two different ways:

    1. A custom date range using regular AWQL syntax, for example:

      SELECT Id, Criteria, AdGroupName
FROM KEYWORDS_PERFORMANCE_REPORT
DURING 20190101,20190325

    2. A date range type, for example:

      SELECT Id, Criteria, AdGroupName
FROM KEYWORDS_PERFORMANCE_REPORT
DURING LAST_7_DAYS

  • To get data for all dates (the equivalent of ALL_TIME), you can omit the DURING clause from your query. However, this is only allowed if the SELECT clause of your query does not include the Date or Week column.

  • ORDER BY and LIMIT (sorting and paging) are NOT supported for reports. Including these clauses in a query will generate an error.

  • To omit zero-impression rows, include a WHERE Impressions > 0 condition.

Formal grammar

Here is the formal AWQL grammar for reference.

Statement        -> SelectClause FromClause1 WhereClause?
                                 DuringClause2 OrderByClause?3 LimitClause?4
SelectClause     -> SELECT ColumnList
FromClause       -> FROM SourceName
WhereClause      -> WHERE ConditionList
DuringClause     -> DURING DateRange
OrderByClause    -> ORDER BY Ordering (, Ordering)*
LimitClause      -> LIMIT StartIndex , PageSize

ConditionList    -> Condition (AND Condition)*
Condition        -> ColumnName Operator Value
Value            -> ValueLiteral | String | ValueLiteralList | StringList
Ordering         -> ColumnName (DESC | ASC)?
DateRange        -> DateRangeLiteral | Date,Date
ColumnList       -> ColumnName (, ColumnName)*
ColumnName       -> Literal
SourceName       -> Literal
StartIndex       -> Non-negative integer
PageSize         -> Non-negative integer

Operator         -> = | != | > | >= | < | <= | IN | NOT_IN | STARTS_WITH | STARTS_WITH_IGNORE_CASE |
                    CONTAINS | CONTAINS_IGNORE_CASE | DOES_NOT_CONTAIN |
                    DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_IGNORE_CASE | CONTAINS_ANY | CONTAINS_NONE | CONTAINS_ALL
String           -> StringSingleQ | StringDoubleQ
StringSingleQ    -> '(char)'
StringDoubleQ    -> "(char)"
StringList       -> [ String (, String)* ]5
ValueLiteral     -> [a-zA-Z0-9_.]*
ValueLiteralList -> [ ValueLiteral (, ValueLiteral)* ]5
Literal          -> [a-zA-Z0-9_]*
DateRangeLiteral -> TODAY | YESTERDAY | LAST_7_DAYS | LAST_WEEK | LAST_BUSINESS_WEEK | THIS_MONTH |
                    LAST_MONTH | LAST_14_DAYS | LAST_30_DAYS | THIS_WEEK_SUN_TODAY |
                    THIS_WEEK_MON_TODAY | LAST_WEEK_SUN_SAT
Date             -> 8-digit integer: YYYYMMDD

Notes

  • 1 FROM is disallowed in service calls but required in report downloads.
  • 2 DURING is disallowed in service calls. It is required in report downloads if the SELECT clause of your request includes the Date or Week column.
  • 3 ORDER BY is disallowed in report calls.
  • 4 LIMIT is disallowed in report calls.
  • 5 For StringList and ValueLiteralList, square brackets [ ] are required, elsewhere, they denote a range.
  • ? signifies optional; * signifies one or more.
  • Order: SELECT...FROM...WHERE...DURING...ORDER BY...LIMIT...
  • All keywords are case-insensitive.
  • Column names and Literals are case-sensitive.
  • White space doesn't matter.
  • Both double quotes and single quotes are accepted for strings. Escape sequences are \", \', \\.