Creating custom audiences via Adwords API

[Chris Cowdrey]

Hi there

I work for a data agency that processes customer data and runs email and ad campaigns on their behalf. We have a requirement to create custom audiences within clients AdWords account using a console app that sits within our domain. I managed to get this working with test accounts where the api calls required:

• Developer token
• client id
• client secret
• refresh token
• Ad account id

This requires the client to have a google console app.

In order to take this into production the client needs to publish the app and from what I have read they also need to apply for a production developer token too.

This is a very complicated process in order to simply create custom audiences within the client account that they can use for targeted ads.

My questions:

1. Is there a simpler process for simply connecting to the Adwords API that maybe requires just a developer token (I am concerned that maybe I have missed something)?
2. If the client completes the google ads api token application (https://support.google.com/adspolicy/contact/new_token_application), will this token be sufficient to access the api without requiring the other credentials (clientid, clientsecret, refreshToken)?

       3. Currently we are trying to configure this via the client's cloud console account, would a better setup be to create a cloud console app under my companies ownership and then get our own app approved. Then create a ads manager account and then link the clients ads manager account under that(apologies I am thinking aloud)? Would this allow us to upload the customer audience to that clients account?

Sorry if this is long winded but I am finding the whole process very confusing and I am hoping some seasoned Ads professionals can point me in the correct direction.

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

Hi Chris,

Thank you for reaching out to us.

You may see the answers below for each question:

For number 1 and number 2:

• Kindly note that All Google Ads API calls must be authorized through OAuth2(http://oauth.net/2/). OAuth2 enables your Google Ads API client app to access a user's Google Ads account without having to handle or store the user's login info. You may check this documentation(https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/oauth/overview?hl=en) for more information.

 For number 3: Currently we are trying to configure this via the client's cloud console account, would a better setup be to create a cloud console app under my companies ownership and then get our own app approved. Then create a ads manager account and then link the clients ads manager account under that(apologies I am thinking aloud)? Would this allow us to upload the customer audience to that clients account?

• You may check this documentation(https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/account-management/linking-manager-accounts?hl=en) for more information on Linking to Manager Accounts.
• Additionally, kindly note that the developer token is like a license key; it is tied to an MCC account for approval purposes, but once approved, you can use it to make calls against any Google Ads account. The MCC hierarchy for making API calls doesn't matter. That being said, you’ll need only to authenticate API requests with OAuth2 credentials(https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/oauth/cloud-project) using the email with the appropriate access(https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9978556?visit_id=637631240193711507-751960742&rd=1) to the accounts (customer_id) you will specify in your requests. Please make sure you use the correct login-customer-id that you used to generate the OAuth2 credentials. 

Let me know if you have further questions.
 

This message is in relation to case "ref:_00D1U1174p._5004Q2lssep:ref"

Thanks,
 

Google Ads API Team