Category: 5 – Writing/Editing Scripts

Exporting PPC data for reporting or analyses is just horrible! For many of us, it’s a daily task that is fueling nightmares.
It takes way too many clicks and causes high blood pressures because of endlessly refreshing the slooooow loading interface.

Good news:
Exporting a single data report, only once, can easily be done via the Google Ads interface: you just need to find the download button at the right side of the report, then select “Google Sheets” to start the export.

Bad news:
If you need to export data from many different reports and different accounts every day, repeating this simple action over and over becomes tedious and can easily cost you countless hours per month. 

But what if you had the data delivered to you automatically every day, via a link to a Google Sheet, one click away from within your daily mail? You could be spending all those wasted data-export-generation-hours on strategy or other tasks to help you grow your business.

Thankfully, you can automatically export almost all Google Ads data to Google Sheets by using a Google Ads script. 

Here’s how:
Continue reading “How to Export Google Ads Data to Google Sheets, Using Scripts”

There are lots of excuses people make for not progressing in learning a new skill like coding; I’m not smart enough, it’s too hard, I can’t remember the concepts, I have different priorities now, etc. But the ONE EXCUSE I hear the most frequent is…

“Dude, I’m already so busy managing a ton of accounts. I don’t have any time to learn how to write my own Google Ads Scripts!”
Continue reading “How to Make Time to Learn How to Write Google Ads Scripts”

“Is there a good book out there that teaches how to use and create Adwords Scripts?”

Short Answer: No.

Believe me. I’ve spent many unbillable hours searching for a book to finally get started using Adwords Scripts. If found none. Zero.

While there are many books out there on learning the JavaScript programming language, none of them is tailored to Adwords Scripts specifically or even mentions the topic.

Also, there are a lot of books on Adwords in general, however, none of them addresses Adwords Scripts in detail.

So, no book.
This is actually the reason I decided to write one myself (signup for my newsletter below for updates on the progress).
This does not mean you won’t be able to learn to use/edit/write Adwords Scripts today though!

Here are my tips on getting started today. With or without books.

1. Learn the basics of JavaScript

If you are not already familiar with the programming language JavaScript head over to the modules for JavaScript basics on freeCodeCamp. This is an easy interactive course that will teach you the basic concepts of the language. (Read more on the use of freeCodeCamp for learning Adwords Scripts for further details)

If you really prefer a (physical) book to learn the JavaScript language I recommend a paperback copy of A Smarter Way to Learn Javascript. The great thing about this book is that it has interactive exercises at the end of each chapter that will really make sure you grasp the material. After that, try Eloquent Javascript. Note: the book is also available online in PDF format, for FREE.

2. Start fooling around with some basic Adwords Script examples

After familiarising yourself with the basics of JavaScript or if you are already familiar with the language of JavaScript, I recommend you start playing around with different things inside the AdWords Script Editor. Since there is no course specifically on Adwords Scripts (yet) you’ll have to start digging into AdWords Scripts on your own. Start easy, install a simple script.

Learn about the concept of Iterators and Selectors. Start iterating over your own campaigns/ad groups and keywords. Report on some statistics. Log the results of your script and look at the results of what you are doing in Preview mode. Copy-paste some of the Google code samples and edit parts of the code.  If you feel confident find some more prebuilt scripts to start screwing around with. Have some fun!

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20 February 2020 update: My initial recommendation in this post was to sign up for the original JavaScript course on Codecademy. That course is no longer available and has been replaced. Don’t go for their new Introduction to JavaScript, that course is based on a new version of JavaScript and best practices that most Adwords Scripts do not use. It will unnecessarily confuse you. See my updated advice below for details.

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You already know that learning the JavaScript programming language is a great way to get started with Adwords Scripts. To get the most out of the enormous potential of Adwords Scripts you need at least a decent understanding of JavaScript.

Codecademy looks like a great place for novices to start to learn and understand the language. But is it, really?

“What is Codecademy?”

Codecademy (not spelled “code academy”) is an online interactive platform that offers free coding classes in 12 different programming languages including JavaScript.

“Is the Codecademy JavaScript course a good way to learn JavaScript?”

The course used to be a decent start if you want to learn the basic concepts and syntax of JavaScript. No need to download or install anything, and no need to wait for a book to be delivered to your doorstep.  The course is free, it’s completely online, it’s interactive and fun, and it’s not that hard. Finishing the course enabled you to immediately start using Adwords Scripts by simply copy-pasting scripts and then start fooling around with the code.  That made Codecademy a great resource to give you a good grasp of the basics of the language of Google Ads Scripts and get started using them.

Note: you notice I am talking past sense here. The current version of the Javascript course on Codecademy teaches a lot of irrelevant javascript concepts that are only relevant if you are into web development. This made the course less relevant for us Google Ads Scripts developers. See my recommendation below for a better alternative.

However, if you really want to learn how to program Adwords Scripts for yourself I would say no. Codecademy does not teach you the mindset of programming. Being a programmer is more than simply being able to tinker with syntax. It’s about having a particular mindset, where you are able to systematically break down a problem into individual and logical steps, and then recreate that in a language that the computer understands. This is a tough skill and is hard to acquire. Codecademy does not do a decent job in this respect. If you really want to dig in and learn to program Google Ads Scripts yourself I would recommend learning Javascript through somewhat more difficult courses like Eloquent Javascript.

“Is Codecademy a good way to learn JavaScript for Google Ads Scripts?”

Like all the current JavaScript courses currently out there, Codecademy is not tailored to the needs of a PPC expert managing Google Ads. Again, it will teach you the basics of JavaScript. But it will not teach you anything about the Google Ads Scripts library, its objects, iterators, and selectors. These are concepts you will need to familiarize yourself with in some other way (you can subscribe to my newsletter below to learn how). Also, if you already know the basics of JavaScript, Codecademy will not move you forward in using Adwords Scripts.

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“So, if Codecademy isn’t a good way to learn JavaScript for Adwords Scripts, what would you recommend?”

If you’re a non-technical type, JavaScript feels like Gibberish to you, you’re completely new to programming, or if you’re in the infancy of learning JavaScript, take these steps:

Now that you’ve learned the basic concepts of JavaScript you’re ready to start playing around with different things inside the AdWords Script Editor. Install and run your first Google Ads script. Learn about Iterators and Selectors. Start iterating over your campaigns/ad groups and keywords. Log the results of your script and look at the results of what you are doing in Preview mode. Copy-paste some of the Google code samples and edit parts of the code. Have fun!

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