How Knowing Adwords Scripts will Improve Your Career, For Sure

“How will learning Adwords Scripts progress my career?”

That’s a no brainer. Adwords Scripts increase your earning potential. Whether you’re an employee, freelancer or agency owner. Automating PPC tasks will enable you to dramatically increase your salary, or charge waaaay more $$$ for the same work that (thanks to scripts) requires less time, less people.

Also, using Adwords Scripts you’ll enjoy your work more.

Google Ads Scripts Salary

Continue reading “How Knowing Adwords Scripts will Improve Your Career, For Sure”

A Good Book for learning Adwords Scripts. Does it even exist?

Books on Adwords Scripts
Books on Adwords 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!

—

Was this helpful?
Subscribe to my mailing list to receive more scripts and updates on how to start learning to write your own Google Ads Scripts.

Is Codecademy a good place to start learning the language of Adwords Scripts?

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.

—

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.

—

“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:

  1. FreeCodeCamp has good resources for learning the basics of JavaScript (and more). They’re also beginner-friendly, even if you’re not knowledgeable about HTML and CSS. I’d suggest you create an account on freeCodeCamp (it’s completely for free) so you can save your progress with the lessons.
  2. Go through freeCodeCamp’s introductory lessons for basic JavaScript.
  3. Get started with the course and try to finish one lesson each day. Do all the exercises. This will keep you moving and motivated.
  4. Don’t pay too much attention to the web development side of JavaScript, focus on the syntax of the language and its basic concepts like variables, functions, control flows (if-then statements), loops (for-while loops), objects and arrays.
  5. After finishing the course, celebrate! You just introduced yourself to one of the most powerful skills of current-day digital marketers; programming. Go ahead, pop that bottle.

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!

—

Was this helpful? If so, subscribe to my mailing list to receive more scripts and updates on how to start learning to write your own Google Ads Scripts.

3 Ways to Finally Get Started with Google Ads Scripts

“Ok, I want to use Google Ads Scripts, but how on earth do I even get started?”

Well, as with everything in PPC, it depends. There are basically three ways to get started with scripts, and the best way for you depends on your specific situation.

Option 1: Copy-Paste publicly available scripts

Googling for scripts written by others is a perfect way to easily get you started in no time. You don’t have to figure everything out yourself and most scripts are easily modified/configured to your needs.

The PROS

The CONS

  • Although there are many scripts out there, the set is limited. Once you get a feel for what is possible and realize scripts can do almost ANYTHING  you’ll probably come up with use cases that aren’t covered by the free ones.
  • Many of the scripts that are freely available aren’t maintained and are not supported. This means the code can be out of date and or dysfunctional.
  • Black Box. If you simply copy-paste scripts without reading the code you don’t know what is really going on if you execute the script. Do you really trust the script to do only the things you want it do, and do nothing more?

That brings us to our next option.

Option 2: Write your own first and easy script

If you write your scripts yourself, you’ll definitely know what is going on.  This is also a great way to start learning a new skill that potentially will skyrocket your career. (PPC skills + Automation skills = $$$)

The PROS

  • Almost endless possibilities to automate many tedious, repetitive PPC tasks. Customized to your exact needs. You will be able to write/enhance/edit scripts to automate processes that are unique to your business.
  • You’re in full control; the scripts does exactly what you want it to do.
  • It’s FREE (well, sort of). The only expense is your time, not $.
  • Loads of free resources to start learning Google Ads Scripts. Here’s a great first script example that teaches you about basic Javascript concepts.

The CONS

  • Programming skills and Javascript knowledge are required
  • It can be hard to come up with, and write Scripts yourself
  • Oh yes, you need to spend time maintaining the code, which can be tedious.
Option 3: Have someone else write one for you

Why waste time and energy if someone else can do it for you? Hiring freelancers to write scripts for you is a great way to get started if you really have no clue where to start, the language of javascript sounds like ancient Greek to you, or you just don’t feel like spending any time in code yourself.

The PROS

  • Again, almost endless possibilities to automate many tedious, repetitive PPC tasks. Customized to your specific needs.
  • You do not need to code anything yourself
  • Upwork has some Freelance javascripts developers who specialise in Google Ads. Just describe your needs and get him/her to write and help you run your first script.

The CONS

  • You need to find a good programmer who knows about Google Ads
  • You need to be able to communicate with developers
  • Cash out $

 

There you have it. Three ways to get started with your first script in less than 30 min.

—

Was this helpful?
Subscribe to my mailing list to receive more scripts and updates on how to start learning to write your own Google Ads Scripts.