Getting Started with Using These Scripts

Much like the movie that shows the opening title fifteen minutes into the feature, today I'm going to talk a little about actually using the scripts that are posted on this site.  Think of it as a getting started guide for using the information presented on this blog.

Most of the information here comes from working through the developer documentation for AdWords scripting, which can be found here.

How do I actually get to the place where I enter the scripts?

The easiest way I've found to get to the place to enter these scripts is to select the "Create and Manage Scripts >>" option from the "Automate" button on the campaigns tab.

That will land you on a page that allows you to create a new script.

Once you have created a new script, you should be able to copy any of the scripts on this blog directly into the text box (after deleting what is in there for starters).

Google has an awesome feature that allows you to preview the results of the script before actually running it on your account.  In order for anything to run, you must "authorize" the script to access your account.  Just click the "Authorize now" button and follow the prompts.

Once you preview the script, you can name it, save it, and run it for real on your account.  Scheduling it to run is also just a simple matter of clicking on the "Create schedule" link on the scripts page.

And there you have it.  Let me know if you have any trouble setting up one of my scripts by commenting on the post.  If you are having trouble, likely someone else is as well.

Thanks,

Russ

Update Ads for the New Year

This is a companion to one of my earlier posts about updating your keywords for the new year.  You can easily run through each ad you have and update them all for the new year using the script below.  It will also pause the old ad as well, making sure your staying relevant to your customers.  You should schedule this to run every year on January 1st if your advertising relies heavily on dated traffic.

Thanks,
Russ

//-----------------------------------
// Update Ads for 2012
// Created By: Russ Savage
// FreeAdWordsScripts.com
//-----------------------------------
function main() {
  var OLD_YEAR = "2011";
  var NEW_YEAR = "2012";
  //You probably shouldn't update destination urls unless you know what you are doing.
  var FIELDS_CONTAINING_YEAR = ["Headline","Description1",
                                "Description2","DisplayUrl"
                                /*,"DestinationUrl"*/
                               ];
  
  for(i in FIELDS_CONTAINING_YEAR) {
    var field_iter = AdWordsApp.ads()
        .withCondition(FIELDS_CONTAINING_YEAR[i] + " CONTAINS " + OLD_YEAR)
        .withCondition("Status = ENABLED")
        .get();
    
    _iterateThroughAds(field_iter);
  }

  //---------------
  // Private Helper Functions
  //---------------  
  function _iterateThroughAds(ad_iter) {
    while (ad_iter.hasNext()) {
      var ad = ad_iter.next();
      var ag = ad.getAdGroup();
      _createNewAdFromOldAd(ag,ad);
    }
  }
  
  function _createNewAdFromOldAd(adgroup, old_ad) {
    //get the updated ad texts replacing all the old years with the new years
    var new_headline = old_ad.getHeadline().replace(OLD_YEAR,NEW_YEAR);
    var new_desc1 = old_ad.getDescription1().replace(OLD_YEAR,NEW_YEAR);
    var new_desc2 = old_ad.getDescription2().replace(OLD_YEAR,NEW_YEAR);
    var new_display_url = old_ad.getDisplayUrl().replace(OLD_YEAR,NEW_YEAR);
    var new_dest_url = old_ad.getDestinationUrl();/*.replace(OLD_YEAR,NEW_YEAR);*/
    
    //now create the new ad and pause the old one.
    adgroup.createTextAd(new_headline,new_desc1,new_desc2,new_display_url,new_dest_url);
    old_ad.pause();
  }
}

Automatically Pause Ads with Low CTR

Recently, Brad over at CertifiedKnowledge.com published some tips about testing at scale.  One of the most common testing techniques he mentions is to create a ton of ads and let Google optimize the rotation for you.  The problem with this technique is that the losers are rarely deleted.  Well, using the script below, you can find the worst performing ads in all your adgroups and pause it (if there is at least one other ad in the adgroup).

Thanks,
Russ

//-----------------------------------
// Pause Ads with Low CTR
// Created By: Russ Savage
// FreeAdWordsScripts.com
//-----------------------------------
function main() {
  // Let's start by getting all of the adGroups that are active
  var ag_iter = AdWordsApp.adGroups()
  .withCondition("Status = ENABLED")
  .get();

  // Then we will go through each one
  while (ag_iter.hasNext()) {
    var ag = ag_iter.next();
    var ad_iter = ag.ads()
      .withCondition("Status = ENABLED")
      .forDateRange("ALL_TIME")
      .orderBy("Ctr DESC")
      .get();
    var ad_array = new Array();
    while(ad_iter.hasNext()) {
      ad_array.push(ad_iter.next());
    }
    if(ad_array.length > 1) {
      for(var i = 1; i < ad_array.length; i++) {
        ad_array[i].pause(); //or .remove(); to delete them 
      }
    }
  }
}

Delete All Disapproved Ads in an Account

Again, another simple script that just focuses on account maintenance. Over time, large accounts might build up thousands of adgroups with ads that might be disapproved. Sometimes, it makes sense to remove those and then slowly build and deploy new creative (we will have a script to build new creative later). Hopefully this will work for you.

Thanks,
Russ

//-----------------------------------
// Delete Ads That Are Disapproved
// Created By: Russ Savage
// FreeAdWordsScripts.com
//-----------------------------------
function main() {
  // Let's start by getting all of the ad that are disapproved
  var ad_iter = AdWordsApp.ads()
  .withCondition("ApprovalStatus != APPROVED")
  .get();

  // Then we will go through each one
  while (ad_iter.hasNext()) {
    var ad = ad_iter.next();
    // now we delete the ad
    Logger.log("Deleteing ad: " + ad.getHeadline());
    ad.remove();
  }
}