Report Streaming

There are three methods for retrieving entities and reporting data with the Google Ads API.

This guide primarily focuses on streaming data from GoogleAdsService. Here are high-level distinctions for the three data retrieval methods:

GoogleAdsService.SearchStream GoogleAdsService.Search GET requests
Suitable for production code Yes Yes No (for debugging only)
Service GoogleAdsService GoogleAdsService Resource specific services (for example, CampaignService)
Scenario Fetching objects and reports Fetching objects and reports Fetching objects
Response Stream of GoogleAdsRow objects Pages of GoogleAdsRow objects One object (for example, Campaign)
Response's fields Only those specified in the query Only those specified in the query All fields populated
Daily limits Daily limits based on access levels Daily limits based on access levels 1,000 requests per day

While Search can send multiple paginated requests to download the entire report, SearchStream sends a single request and initiates a persistent connection with the Google Ads API regardless of report size.

For SearchStream, data packets start to download immediately with the entire result cached in a data buffer. Your code can start reading the buffered data without having to wait for the entire stream to finish.

By eliminating the round-trip network time required to request each individual page of a Search response, depending on your app, SearchStream can offer improved performance over paging, especially for bigger reports. The following table exemplifies the accounting differences.

SearchStream Search
Report size 100,000 rows 100,000 rows
Page Size Not Applicable 10,000 rows per page
Number of API requests 1 request 10 requests
Number of API responses 1 continuous stream 10 responses

Performance factors

In general, we recommend SearchStream over Search for the following reasons.

  • For single page reports (under 10,000 rows): No significant performance differences between the two methods.

  • For multiple page reports: SearchStream is typically faster since multiple roundtrips are avoided and reading/writing from disk cache is less of a factor.

Rate limits

Daily limits for both methods adhere to the standard limits and access levels of your developer token. A single query or report is counted as one operation regardless of the result being paged or streamed.

Code examples

Java

private void runExample(GoogleAdsClient googleAdsClient, long customerId) {
  try (GoogleAdsServiceClient googleAdsServiceClient =
      googleAdsClient.getLatestVersion().createGoogleAdsServiceClient()) {
    String searchQuery =
        "SELECT campaign.id, "
            + "campaign.name, "
            + "ad_group.id, "
            + "ad_group.name, "
            + "ad_group_criterion.criterion_id, "
            + "ad_group_criterion.keyword.text, "
            + "ad_group_criterion.keyword.match_type, "
            + "metrics.impressions, "
            + "metrics.clicks, "
            + "metrics.cost_micros "
            + "FROM keyword_view "
            + "WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_7_DAYS "
            + "AND campaign.advertising_channel_type = 'SEARCH' "
            + "AND ad_group.status = 'ENABLED' "
            + "AND ad_group_criterion.status IN ('ENABLED', 'PAUSED') "
            // Limits to the 50 keywords with the most impressions in the date range.
            + "ORDER BY metrics.impressions DESC "
            + "LIMIT 50";
    // Constructs the SearchGoogleAdsStreamRequest.
    SearchGoogleAdsStreamRequest request =
        SearchGoogleAdsStreamRequest.newBuilder()
            .setCustomerId(Long.toString(customerId))
            .setQuery(searchQuery)
            .build();

    // Creates and issues a search Google Ads stream request that will retrieve all of the
    // requested field values for the keyword.
    ServerStream<SearchGoogleAdsStreamResponse> stream =
        googleAdsServiceClient.searchStreamCallable().call(request);

    // Iterates through the results in the stream response and prints all of the requested
    // field values for the keyword in each row.
    for (SearchGoogleAdsStreamResponse response : stream) {
      for (GoogleAdsRow googleAdsRow : response.getResultsList()) {
        Campaign campaign = googleAdsRow.getCampaign();
        AdGroup adGroup = googleAdsRow.getAdGroup();
        AdGroupCriterion adGroupCriterion = googleAdsRow.getAdGroupCriterion();
        Metrics metrics = googleAdsRow.getMetrics();

        System.out.printf(
            "Keyword text '%s' with "
                + "match type '%s' "
                + "and ID %d "
                + "in ad group '%s' "
                + "with ID %d "
                + "in campaign '%s' "
                + "with ID %d "
                + "had %d impression(s), "
                + "%d click(s), "
                + "and %d cost (in micros) "
                + "during the last 7 days.%n",
            adGroupCriterion.getKeyword().getText(),
            adGroupCriterion.getKeyword().getMatchType(),
            adGroupCriterion.getCriterionId(),
            adGroup.getName(),
            adGroup.getId(),
            campaign.getName(),
            campaign.getId(),
            metrics.getImpressions(),
            metrics.getClicks(),
            metrics.getCostMicros());
      }
    }
  }
}
GetKeywordStats.java

C#

public void Run(GoogleAdsClient client, long customerId)
{
    // Get the GoogleAdsService.
    GoogleAdsServiceClient googleAdsService = client.GetService(
        Services.V8.GoogleAdsService);

    // Create the query.
    string query =
        @"SELECT
         campaign.id,
         campaign.name,
         ad_group.id,
         ad_group.name,
         ad_group_criterion.criterion_id,
         ad_group_criterion.keyword.text,
         ad_group_criterion.keyword.match_type,
         metrics.impressions,
         metrics.clicks,
         metrics.cost_micros
     FROM keyword_view
     WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_7_DAYS
         AND campaign.advertising_channel_type = 'SEARCH'
         AND ad_group.status = 'ENABLED'
         AND ad_group_criterion.status IN ('ENABLED','PAUSED')
     ORDER BY metrics.impressions DESC
     LIMIT 50";

    try
    {
        // Issue a search request.
        googleAdsService.SearchStream(customerId.ToString(), query,
            delegate (SearchGoogleAdsStreamResponse resp)
            {
                // Display the results.
                foreach (GoogleAdsRow criterionRow in resp.Results)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine(
                        "Keyword with text " +
                        $"'{criterionRow.AdGroupCriterion.Keyword.Text}', match type " +
                        $"'{criterionRow.AdGroupCriterion.Keyword.MatchType}' and ID " +
                        $"{criterionRow.AdGroupCriterion.CriterionId} in ad group " +
                        $"'{criterionRow.AdGroup.Name}' with ID " +
                        $"{criterionRow.AdGroup.Id} in campaign " +
                        $"'{criterionRow.Campaign.Name}' with ID " +
                        $"{criterionRow.Campaign.Id} had " +
                        $"{criterionRow.Metrics.Impressions.ToString()} impressions, " +
                        $"{criterionRow.Metrics.Clicks} clicks, and " +
                        $"{criterionRow.Metrics.CostMicros} cost (in micros) during the " +
                        "last 7 days.");
                }
            }
        );
    }
    catch (GoogleAdsException e)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Failure:");
        Console.WriteLine($"Message: {e.Message}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Failure: {e.Failure}");
        Console.WriteLine($"Request ID: {e.RequestId}");
        throw;
    }
}
GetKeywordStats.cs

PHP

public static function runExample(GoogleAdsClient $googleAdsClient, int $customerId)
{
    $googleAdsServiceClient = $googleAdsClient->getGoogleAdsServiceClient();
    // Creates a query that retrieves all keyword statistics.
    $query =
        "SELECT campaign.id, "
            . "campaign.name, "
            . "ad_group.id, "
            . "ad_group.name, "
            . "ad_group_criterion.criterion_id, "
            . "ad_group_criterion.keyword.text, "
            . "ad_group_criterion.keyword.match_type, "
            . "metrics.impressions, "
            . "metrics.clicks, "
            . "metrics.cost_micros "
        . "FROM keyword_view "
        . "WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_7_DAYS "
            . "AND campaign.advertising_channel_type = 'SEARCH' "
            . "AND ad_group.status = 'ENABLED' "
            . "AND ad_group_criterion.status IN ('ENABLED', 'PAUSED') "
        // Limits to the 50 keywords with the most impressions in the date range.
        . "ORDER BY metrics.impressions DESC "
        . "LIMIT 50";

    // Issues a search stream request.
    /** @var GoogleAdsServerStreamDecorator $stream */
    $stream =
        $googleAdsServiceClient->searchStream($customerId, $query);

    // Iterates over all rows in all messages and prints the requested field values for
    // the keyword in each row.
    foreach ($stream->iterateAllElements() as $googleAdsRow) {
        /** @var GoogleAdsRow $googleAdsRow */
        $campaign = $googleAdsRow->getCampaign();
        $adGroup = $googleAdsRow->getAdGroup();
        $adGroupCriterion = $googleAdsRow->getAdGroupCriterion();
        $metrics = $googleAdsRow->getMetrics();
        printf(
            "Keyword text '%s' with "
            . "match type %s "
            . "and ID %d "
            . "in ad group '%s' "
            . "with ID %d "
            . "in campaign '%s' "
            . "with ID %d "
            . "had %d impression(s), "
            . "%d click(s), "
            . "and %d cost (in micros) "
            . "during the last 7 days.%s",
            $adGroupCriterion->getKeyword()->getText(),
            KeywordMatchType::name($adGroupCriterion->getKeyword()->getMatchType()),
            $adGroupCriterion->getCriterionId(),
            $adGroup->getName(),
            $adGroup->getId(),
            $campaign->getName(),
            $campaign->getId(),
            $metrics->getImpressions(),
            $metrics->getClicks(),
            $metrics->getCostMicros(),
            PHP_EOL
        );
    }
}
GetKeywordStats.php

Python

def main(client, customer_id):
    ga_service = client.get_service("GoogleAdsService")

    query = """
        SELECT
          campaign.id,
          campaign.name,
          ad_group.id,
          ad_group.name,
          ad_group_criterion.criterion_id,
          ad_group_criterion.keyword.text,
          ad_group_criterion.keyword.match_type,
          metrics.impressions,
          metrics.clicks,
          metrics.cost_micros
        FROM keyword_view WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_7_DAYS
        AND campaign.advertising_channel_type = 'SEARCH'
        AND ad_group.status = 'ENABLED'
        AND ad_group_criterion.status IN ('ENABLED', 'PAUSED')
        ORDER BY metrics.impressions DESC
        LIMIT 50"""

    # Issues a search request using streaming.
    search_request = client.get_type("SearchGoogleAdsStreamRequest")
    search_request.customer_id = customer_id
    search_request.query = query
    stream = ga_service.search_stream(search_request)
    for batch in stream:
        for row in batch.results:
            campaign = row.campaign
            ad_group = row.ad_group
            criterion = row.ad_group_criterion
            metrics = row.metrics
            print(
                f'Keyword text "{criterion.keyword.text}" with '
                f'match type "{criterion.keyword.match_type.name}" '
                f"and ID {criterion.criterion_id} in "
                f'ad group "{ad_group.name}" '
                f'with ID "{ad_group.id}" '
                f'in campaign "{campaign.name}" '
                f"with ID {campaign.id} "
                f"had {metrics.impressions} impression(s), "
                f"{metrics.clicks} click(s), and "
                f"{metrics.cost_micros} cost (in micros) during "
                "the last 7 days."
            )
get_keyword_stats.py

Ruby

def get_keyword_stats(customer_id)
  # GoogleAdsClient will read a config file from
  # ENV['HOME']/google_ads_config.rb when called without parameters
  client = Google::Ads::GoogleAds::GoogleAdsClient.new

  ga_service = client.service.google_ads

  # Limits to the 50 keywords with the most impressions in the date range.
  # If you wish to exclude entries with zero impressions, include a
  # predicate in the WHERE statement like 'metrics.impressions > 0'
  query = <<~QUERY
    SELECT campaign.id,
           campaign.name,
           ad_group.id,
           ad_group.name,
           ad_group_criterion.criterion_id,
           ad_group_criterion.keyword.text,
           ad_group_criterion.keyword.match_type,
           metrics.impressions,
           metrics.clicks,
           metrics.cost_micros
    FROM keyword_view
    WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_7_DAYS
      AND campaign.advertising_channel_type = 'SEARCH'
      AND ad_group.status = 'ENABLED'
      AND ad_group_criterion.status IN ('ENABLED', 'PAUSED')
    ORDER BY metrics.impressions DESC
    LIMIT 50
  QUERY

  responses = ga_service.search_stream(customer_id: customer_id, query: query)

  responses.each do |response|
    response.results.each do |row|
      campaign = row.campaign
      ad_group = row.ad_group
      criterion = row.ad_group_criterion
      metrics = row.metrics

      puts "Keyword text '#{criterion.keyword.text}' with match type "\
        "'#{criterion.keyword.match_type}' and ID #{criterion.criterion_id} in "\
        "ad group '#{ad_group.name}' with ID #{ad_group.id} in campaign "\
        "'#{campaign.name}' with ID #{campaign.id} had #{metrics.impressions} "\
        "impression(s), #{metrics.clicks} click(s), and #{metrics.cost_micros} "\
        "cost (in micros) during the last 7 days."
    end
  end
end
get_keyword_stats.rb

Perl

sub get_keyword_stats {
  my ($api_client, $customer_id) = @_;

  # Limit to the 50 keywords with the most impressions in the date range.
  # If you wish to exclude entries with zero impressions, include a
  # predicate in the WHERE statement like 'metrics.impressions > 0'.
  my $search_query =
    "SELECT campaign.id, campaign.name, ad_group.id, ad_group.name, " .
    "ad_group_criterion.criterion_id, ad_group_criterion.keyword.text, " .
    "ad_group_criterion.keyword.match_type, " .
    "metrics.impressions, metrics.clicks, metrics.cost_micros " .
    "FROM keyword_view WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_7_DAYS " .
    "AND campaign.advertising_channel_type = 'SEARCH' " .
    "AND ad_group.status = 'ENABLED' " .
    "AND ad_group_criterion.status IN ('ENABLED', 'PAUSED') " .
    "ORDER BY metrics.impressions DESC LIMIT 50";

  # Create a search Google Ads stream request that will retrieve all keyword
  # statistics.
  my $search_stream_request =
    Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V8::Services::GoogleAdsService::SearchGoogleAdsStreamRequest
    ->new({
      customerId => $customer_id,
      query      => $search_query,
    });

  # Get the GoogleAdsService.
  my $google_ads_service = $api_client->GoogleAdsService();

  my $search_stream_handler =
    Google::Ads::GoogleAds::Utils::SearchStreamHandler->new({
      service => $google_ads_service,
      request => $search_stream_request
    });

  # Issue a search request and process the stream response to print the requested
  # field values for the keyword in each row.
  $search_stream_handler->process_contents(
    sub {
      my $google_ads_row     = shift;
      my $campaign           = $google_ads_row->{campaign};
      my $ad_group           = $google_ads_row->{adGroup};
      my $ad_group_criterion = $google_ads_row->{adGroupCriterion};
      my $metrics            = $google_ads_row->{metrics};

      printf "Keyword text '%s' with match type '%s' and ID %d in ad group" .
        " '%s' with ID %d in campaign '%s' with ID %d had %d impression(s), " .
        "%d click(s), and %d cost (in micros) during the last 7 days.\n",
        $ad_group_criterion->{keyword}{text},
        $ad_group_criterion->{keyword}{matchType},
        $ad_group_criterion->{criterionId},
        $ad_group->{name},
        $ad_group->{id},
        $campaign->{name},
        $campaign->{id},
        $metrics->{impressions},
        $metrics->{clicks},
        $metrics->{costMicros};
    });

  return 1;
}
get_keyword_stats.pl