Google Ads Developer Blog: January 2018

Sunset of DFP API v201702

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

On Friday, March 30, 2018, which is a one-month extension from the traditional deprecation schedule, v201702 of the DFP API will be sunset. At that time, any requests made to this version will return errors.

If you’re still using this version, now’s the time to upgrade to the latest release and take advantage of new features such as support for creating ImageOverlayCreatives, and new Ad Exchange reporting dimensions and columns. In order to upgrade, check the release notes to identify any breaking changes, grab the latest version of your client library, and update your code.

Significant changes include:

Reporting dimensions and columns are now at parity with Ad Exchange.
Editing AdUnit assignments to Placements now happens in the Placement service.
AdUnit.inheritedAdSenseSettings has been replaced with AdUnit.adSenseSettings and AdUnit.adSenseSettingsSource.
The AdUnit fields mobilePlatform, partnerId, isSharedByDistributor, and crossSellingDistributor have been removed.
Placement fields adSenseTargetingLocale, isAdsenseTargetingEnabled, targetingDescription, targetingSiteName, and targetingAdLocation have been removed to align with the UI.
Company.Type enumerations AFFILIATE_DISTRIBUTION_PARTNER and CONTENT_PARTNER have been removed.
CrossSellingDistributor has been removed.
Old partner metrics have been replaced by new PARTNER_MANAGEMENT fields.

This is not an exhaustive list, so as always, don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions. To be notified of future deprecations and sunsets, join the DFP API Sunset Announcements group and adjust your notification settings.

- Gabe Rives-Corbett, DFP API Team

Update to Engagement Reporting for Bumper Ads

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Historically, AdWords API reporting has not included engagements for bumper ads. Bumper ads are video ads that are 6 seconds or shorter, appear at the beginning of a YouTube video, and can't be skipped.

Bumper ads support “drawer open” engagements, where a user can mouse over the ad to expand a widget with more information. These engagements were previously not included in the Engagements and EngagementRate fields in reports. Starting in mid-February 2018, we are going to be changing this behavior for all historical and future bumper ad reporting to include these engagements. This brings bumper ads in line with other types of video ads, which already reported these engagements.

This means that your historical reporting data, starting up to two years ago in January 2016, will be updated to include this statistic to bring it inline with future data.

If you have any questions about this migration, please contact us via the forum.

- Mike Cloonan, AdWords API Team

Use ad content filtering to help improve your users’ ad experience

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Cross posted from the AdMob blog.Optimizing the ad experience on your app for a varied audience can be difficult. Showing users ads that are a better fit can improve their overall ad experience and help maximize your app’s revenue.AdMob has launched a new feature that allows you to specify the content rating for Google ads served in your app. With the new max_ad_content_rating signal, you can now choose the content rating of Google demand that you want to deliver on a per-request basis.Four content rating choices offer you the granularity you need to provide users at each level with a better user experience. The four new content rating choices are:

G: Content suitable for general audiences

PG: Content suitable for most audiences with parental guidance

T: Content suitable for teen and older audiences

MA: Content suitable only for mature audiences

You can start sending the new max_ad_content_rating signal in the Google Mobile Ads SDK by following these Android and iOS guides. To learn more about the new signal and the content rating choices, visit the AdMob help center or contact your Google account team.Posted by Alexa Haushalter, Product Manager, AdMob

Upcoming sunset of review extensions in February 2018

Friday, January 12, 2018

Shortly after the release of AdWords API v201802, review extensions will be sunset from both extension settings services and feed services for all API versions.

What will happen?
For extension settings services (AdGroupExtensionSettingService, CampaignExtensionSettingService, CustomerExtensionSettingService):

You will not be able to create a new ReviewFeedItem using any of the extension settings services.
No ReviewFeedItems will be returned for get() or query() requests to any of the extension settings services.

For feed services (FeedService, FeedItemService, FeedMappingService):

You will not be able to pass ID 8 to placeholderType of FeedMapping when creating a new feed mapping.
Feeds, feed items and feed mappings related to review extensions will still be returned for get() or query() requests to FeedService, FeedItemService and FeedMappingService, respectively.

For CampaignFeedService, AdGroupFeedService and CustomerFeedService:

You will not be able to pass ID 8 to placeholderType of CampaignFeed, AdGroupFeed or CustomerFeed.
All CampaignFeed, AdGroupFeed and CustomerFeed that are associated with review extensions (have ID 8 in their placeholderTypes) will not be returned for get() or query().

Note that you can still find historical stats for your review extensions after the sunset in PLACEHOLDER_REPORT and PLACEHOLDER_FEED_ITEM_REPORT.

What should you do?
If you have code that retrieves, adds or updates review extensions using any services above, please review your code before March 1 to ensure that the changes above won’t have a negative impact on your application.

As always, if you have any questions, please post on the forum.

- Thanet Praneenararat, AdWords API Team

AdWords API v201702 sunset reminder

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

AdWords API v201702 will be sunset on February 14, 2018. After this date, all v201702 API requests will begin to fail. Given the upcoming sunset of v201705 and v201708 simultaneously in March of 2018, we strongly recommend that you skip v201705 and v201708 and migrate directly to v201710. Please migrate prior to February 14, 2018 to ensure your API access is unaffected.

We've prepared various resources to help you with the migration:

As always, if you have any questions about this migration, please contact us via the forum.

- Mike Cloonan, AdWords API Team

Simpler testing with new AdMob test ads

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Today we're announcing a behavior change when requesting test ads using the Google Mobile Ads SDK. It enables you to test your own ad units while also ensuring that you are in test mode. When using the Google Mobile Ads SDK during development, we recommend that you configure your device to request test ads. Always testing with test ads is important so you avoid having your account flagged for invalid activity. Previously, enabling test ads resulted in the same sample ad like this one being shown in your app:

While this worked well as a basic check, it didn't allow for testing what real ads would look like in a production environment. For example, you couldn't test your mediation configurations or the different types of banner and interstitial formats that AdMob offers. The update we're rolling out addresses these problems. New Test Ad Behavior Starting today, apps built against Google Mobile Ads SDK 11.6.0 or higher on Android or 7.26.0 or higher on iOS can take advantage of the new behavior of test ads, which serves production-looking ads without charging advertisers. With this change, you can safely test the clickthrough behavior of your ads without your account getting flagged for invalid activity. Banner, interstitial, and rewarded test ads now show a "Test Ad" label in the top-middle of the ad to give you a visual indicator that the ad returned is actually a test ad.

Sample 300x250 Banner ad For native advanced test ads, the headline asset has the text "Test Ad" prepended.

Sample native content ad.Test ads with Mediation When using mediation, ads shown from third-party ad networks won't display the test ad label. Only Google ads show the test ad label. You are responsible for ensuring that your testing of third-party ad networks is compliant with their stated policies. See each mediation network's respective mediation guide for more information on how to enable test ads on those networks. See the testing guide (Android | iOS) for more information on how to enable test ads in the Google Mobile Ads SDK. If you have any questions, contact us on the developer forum.

- Eric Leichtenschlag, Mobile Ads Developer Relations

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