Important data (inventory, conversions, etc.) often reside outside the Google Ads domain. Likewise, the Google Ads interface may not always be the perfect tool for data visualization. Google Ads scripts provide an easy way to integrate with external data sources.
Google Spreadsheets
Google Spreadsheets (found in Google Drive) are a full-featured web-based spreadsheet solution. Google Ads scripts allows you to read data from and write data to spreadsheets through the SpreadsheetApp interface. You will be able to programmatically create a spreadsheet, populate it with data, format its fonts and colors, and share it with others.
Google Spreadsheets are extremely versatile. Some of the ways you can use them in your scripts include:
- Report visualization
- Check out Ad Performance Report.
- Data source
- You can first construct a spreadsheet called "Keywords to add today"; then write a script to scan the spreadsheet daily and add the keywords that it finds. No more logging in to Google Ads!
- Intermediate data store
- A spreadsheet can record the first account alert of the day, and thus suppress subsequent alerts.
Google Drive
You can further leverage Google Drive with the DriveApp interface, which allows scripts to create, find, and modify arbitrary files on Google Drive.
Charts
Enhanced data visualization is also available through the ChartApp interface. This full-fledged chart building service gives you extensive control over all your data visualization needs.
JDBC
You can connect to external JDBC-compliant databases such as Google Cloud SQL, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and Oracle databases. See this guide for set-up instructions.
Google Ads scripts let you send out emails via the MailApp interface. Email can be used for notifying yourself of a script's completion, e.g. "Account checked for errors—everything OK". You can customize the email message with custom HTML and even add images, allowing the script to send professional-looking reports directly to your clients. Attachments can be used to send large reports.
URL fetching
Google Ads scripts allow you to fetch the content of an arbitrary URL using the UrlFetchApp interface. This feature opens up a range of exciting opportunities:
- Set up a password-protected feed on your website that reports inventory information, then access it via an Google Ads script in order to apply account changes.
- Fetch information about external events and make account management decisions based on it. The Weather-based Campaign Management example demonstrates adjustment of keyword bids based on weather data. Your script can make use of whatever data feeds you find on the Web!