AdWords API Announcement: Updated API Terms and Conditions
AdWordsAPIAdvisor
As part of our ongoing effort to improve the Google AdWords API beta
program, we've recently updated our Terms and Conditions
(http://www.google.com/apis/adwords/terms.html). For example, we've
updated the sections that define token ownership and usage in order to
ensure that quota allocations are distributed equitably based on spend.
Unfortunately, for legal reasons, we cannot interpret these changes for
you. However, we have hosted a temporary copy of the old document at
http://www.google.com/apis/adwords/terms_orig.html in the event you
would like to interpret the changes for yourself (this temporary copy
will be removed on December 15, 2005). For your reference, some of the
more extensive modifications were made to: section I; section II(1) and
II(2); section III(1) and III(2)(b); and section IV(6).
Per both our past and current terms and conditions, Google retains the
right to modify the terms and conditions at any time. Therefore,
continued use of the API means that you accept these terms. You can
refuse to accept the terms by ceasing to use the API.
Thank you for your continued support of Google AdWords and the AdWords
API.
Sincerely,
The Google AdWords API Team
joeag
Are companies like Atlas One Point, Keyword Max and Efficient Frontier
still allowed to sell their services under this agreement? If you
wanted to buy services from two of them, wouldn't you be in violation
of Section II, paragraph 2) where you are using a developer tken with
an adwords client hosted by a third party?
nightmedia
or like a legal experiment gone bad.
If people with legal background have worked on this, then I must say,
here is Google's Achile's heel, the legal department. They should
outsource some Microsoft attorneys to do a better job. There are a lot
of contradicting statements, counter-productive at best.
All in all looks like they are making it difficult for any company that
would even attempt to use the API as what an API is supposed to be used
for, namely mingle data and offer a common, consistent interface for
bid management. Granted, none of the competitors are any Bid-weiser
(sic.), but at least they don't try to make you an associate before
they make you a customer.
Take for example scraping. There is no support in the API to obtain
data that you currently need to scrape from the google pages. How is
that helping?... come on Google, show some brains too, not only
carpal-tunnel side effects...
burebista
which is commercialized be used with the purchaser's api token?
I mean a script or desktop application which once purchased will be
installed on the buyer's own server or computer and used only with
his/her api token.
Robert
Don't you know, what your Adwords users want? They want a small, cheap
or free program to delete keywords with bad convention rate, or to see
a nice visual reports. I'm a good developer, but it is not possible to
make such a program with your Terms & Conditions. Why not? Ok, I make
such a program with my own token, sell it to some Adwords users. They
enter their account email + password to my program and use it - for a
short time only because I have a quota limit. But this is the great
problem, the user will not link its account to my account (this would
raise my quotas), because the user wants to keep the control over its
account, data and credit card infos. And I want not link to the user, I
want to respect their privacy. I want to sell my program to 1000 users,
but I want not have access to 1000 accounts.
Now the user can not get its own token with own quotas to use my
program.
So, I'm realized that the Adwords API is usefull for the big player
with an own developer department. All other should use
http://hacks.oreilly.com/pub/h/2746. Any other solution?
Robert
BTW: I was beta testing my new Adwords program when I read the Terms &
Conditions update :-( Which changes comes next?
BTW2: Don't forget to update
https://adwords.google.com/select/AdWordsApi_TC.html
tomasvdb
in june and has 6049 members to date. This Adwords API group has been
around for 11 months now and only has 1060 members.
I find it strange that an API which has so much commercial potential
manages to attract so little interest from the developer community.
Sure, that maps API is 'cooler' but the adwords api is so much more
critical to many businesses. I think this apparent lack of interest is
partly due to the fact that we are left in the dark about the direction
the API is taking, the restriction of quota's and the general lack of
Google feedback.
There i9 just not enough room to experiment, and come up with creative
uses. New users will find it impossible to learn how to use the API
with the quota that they are assigned and they will just give up,
moving to more userfriendly services.
In the end, if Google wants the adwords API to be widely used (not just
by a few big players) they will have to change their ways.