Adwords Transfer Service not sending usable search impression share data

[Ryan Lister]

Hi Support,

I am trying to build a reporting suite for AdWords by bringing the data through to our BigQuery instance and linking it to an online dashboarding tool.
The adwords data transfer service sends us the reports outlined here :
https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/adwords-transformation

The problem is that the SearchImpressionShare metric has a special value for when it is less than 10%, this is a text value of "<10%".
This makes it impossible to perform calculations on this measure, for example finding the average search impression share over a given date range.

From the attached image you can see that these aggregations are possible in the web UI.

Is there anyway to get the true search impression share values sent through instead of "<10%" so that I am able to replicate what is being shown in the UI?

Thanks,

Ryan

  

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[Alexander]

a workaround would be: CAST( REGEXP_REPLACE( SearchImpressionShare, '[%<>]', '' ) AS FLOAT64 )

[Ryan Lister]

Thanks for your reply Alexander, our previous workaround was to use values of <10% as 5%. But this has led to wildly inaccurate numbers when aggregating up, for example over a date range.

What would be ideal is to have the true value sent though, this way our reporting would be close to what is being shown in the Google Ads UI

[googleadsapi...@google.com]

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for following up on our earlier discussion via the forum. If you were using the AdWords API directly, you could issue separate Keywords Performance Report requests to get the SearchImpressionShare metric at the keyword level and at the keyword+week level by excluding and including the Week column (and any other date-related columns), respectively. However, I took a look at the Google Ads Report transformation page, and I noticed that the BigQuery Data Transfer Service for Google Ads appears to always include the Week column in its reporting requests. As a result, you'll only get the keyword+week level value for SearchImpressionShare in your BigQuery KeywordStats table.

Note that the situation is similar for other reports, not just the Keywords Performance Report. For example, to get SearchImpressionShare calculated at the ad group and ad group+week level, you'd need two API requests for the Ad Group Performance Report: one without the Week column requested, and one with the Week column requested.

The API returns "< 10%" because it mirrors what is available in the user interface. Via the Google Ads UI, you'll see the same result if you look at the Keywords view and add the Week segment.

I'm not familiar with all the options offered by the Transfer Service, but is there a way for you to create another set of tables for a given API report, where you customize the selected fields used for each table? If so, you could add a new table where the corresponding API request does not include Week, Date, DayOfWeek, etc.

Thanks,

Josh, Google Ads API Team

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Also find us on our blog and discussion group:
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    https://developers.google.com/adwords/api/community/
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[Ryan Lister]

Hi Josh,

As far as I'm aware, after the transfer service is enabled for an account, the tables that are sent are automatically generated and there is no user input allowing any changes.

The data gets transferred in everyday, so we get all the statistics broken down by date (and by hour in the hourly reports - though they still update daily).

A search impression share broken down by date is essential because if our clients want to answer questions like "what was my search impression share in the first 10 days of campaign A" they would select a 10 day window in our reporting tool, which would then perform the calculations. But if one of those 10 days includes a "<10%" then the calculation is invalid. However in AdWords / Google Ads you can pick 10 days, or any date range you want, and the search impressions share will still give you an average value - even if one of those days was "<10%". I'm guessing this is because Google Ads is using the true search impression share value, if it's 3% or 0.001% why not just send that through?

I can't see any benefit of using the special value of "<10%", all it does it limit the ability to make calculations. It might make sense in the UI but not in the data from the API, it should be an option at least.

Thanks,

Ryan

[googleadsapi...@google.com]

Hi Ryan,

The UI is able to show subtotals for each row in the report, even if there are more detailed rows shown as well. In your example, the UI can request and return to you subtotals for each keyword, as well as show you a keyword+week breakdown. With the AdWords API, however, you'll only get rows back for the most detailed level, so API users choose to either get keyword level SearchImpressionShare (by not requesting Week) or keyword+week level SearchImpressionShare (by requesting Week), but they cannot get both breakdowns in a single request. Since the Transfer Service uses a single request that includes Week (and other date-related fields), it gets the keyword+week level SearchImpressionShare.

Regarding returning the special "<10%" value instead of the actual value, I'll see if I can find out the reasoning behind that product decision. In the meantime, would a workaround for you be to substitute a value such as 5% for those cases when you're aggregating?

Thanks,

Josh, AdWords API Team

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Also find us on our blog and discussion group:
    http://googleadsdeveloper.blogspot.com/search/label/adwords_api
    https://developers.google.com/adwords/api/community/
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The views expressed are personal and may not necessarily reflect those of Natives Online Ltd or any of the subsidiary businesses, unless explicitly stated otherwise. This E-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and may contain privileged information. It is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the addressee it may be unlawful for you to read, copy, distribute, disclose or otherwise use the information in this e-mail. If you have received this E-mail in error please notify the Administrator by telephone on the numbers provided. Lees House, Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 3FE

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Also find us on our blog:
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