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AdWords API v2009 (Beta)

What's Changed in AdWords API v2009?

AdWords API v2009 is the result of a fundamental rewrite of the API that allows closer feature parity with the AdWords Front-End. Starting from a clean slate also gave us the opportunity to reorganize the API to better expose the numerous features that have been added since its first release. Here are some of the changes you'll find in v2009:

And while v2009 appears significantly different at first, the fundamental concepts of AdWords API remain the same:

  • Parent-child relationships between campaigns, ad groups, ads, and criteria are unchanged.
  • Service-entity relationships are unchanged. For example, you still use AdGroupAdService (formerly AdService) to add and remove ads from their parent ad group.
  • Features exposed through fields and child objects, though reorganized in v2009, expose similar functionality. For example, compare the v13 Campaign type to the reorganized v2009 Campaign type.

This v2009 documentation assumes you have used previous versions of the AdWords API. If you are a new user of the AdWords API, read the v13 documentation to learn more about general AdWords API concepts.

To help you make the jump from v13 to v2009, we've provided a "Migrating to v2009" article that outlines the changes you'll need to make to your client application.

Web Services

The following table shows side-by-side differences between the web services provided in v13 and v2009.

Task v13 v2009
Managing campaigns CampaignService CampaignService
Managing negative campaign criteria CriterionService CampaignCriterionService
Managing campaign targeting CampaignService CampaignTargetService
Managing ad groups AdGroupService AdGroupService
Managing ads AdService AdGroupAdService
Managing criteria CriterionService AdGroupCriterionService
Getting API usage information InfoService InfoService
Getting new keyword ideas KeywordToolService TargetingIdeaService
Getting new placement ideas SiteSuggestionService TargetingIdeaService
Managing accounts AccountService coming soon
Getting performance reports ReportService coming soon

AdWords API v2009 does not currently provide reporting or account management functionality; these features will be added in an upcoming release. Until then, continue using v13's ReportService and AccountService alongside v2009's services.

Consistent Interface

Two operations are defined for every AdWords API v2009 web service:

  • get returns campaign data.

    The get operation accepts a service-specific *Selector object that lets you retrieve objects based on ID, status, date range, and other criteria. You can also use get to return statistics by setting the statsSelector field.

  • mutate adds, removes, and updates campaign data.

    The mutate operation accepts an array of service-specific *Operation objects, each containing an operand and an operator (ADD, REMOVE, or SET). This powerful generalization lets you perform multiple, different operations in a single call.

Secure Authentication

Instead of sending your email and password in the request header, AdWords API v2009 requires you to authenticate using a secure token you acquire through the Google ClientLogin API. The authToken replaces the email and password headers, and also lets you share your login credentials without revealing your password.