How to run a 3rd-party account management system?

[badboykennedy]

We are building a unique AdWords account management system that will
be used by our customers. Can anyone tell me the best way to structure
this in terms of allowing our system to access our customers Adwords
account via the AdWords API to pull reports, create new ads, etc?

Do we need each of our customers who wants to use our system to
register as a develop themselves in order to get a developer token and
application token to provide to our system to access their account?
That doesn't seem right.

Or would we just use our main MCC account and link all of our
customers to our MCC account so we would be their client manager?
(They would have to approve the request of course).

Or is there a better way to go about doing this? Thanks!

[AdWords API Advisor]

Hi,

While I can't give you any specific advice, I would urge you to read
the AdWords API Terms and Conditions carefully to make sure your
application complies:

http://code.google.com/apis/adwords/docs/terms.html

Third party applications must also comply with the Required Minimum
Functionality (RMF) terms:

http://code.google.com/apis/adwords/docs/requirements.html

You may wish to consult with a lawyer familiar with your business if
you need guidance beyond our help materials.

Best,
- Eric Koleda, AdWords API Team

[badboykennedy]

Thanks for the reply. What if our application would only be creating
and deleting ads and pulling reports, and that's it? Our system would
do nothing in regards to keywords or bids. Our tool is an ad
management tool - not a keyword or bid management tool. Would we still
need to implement all of the minimum functionality described in the
RMF? That wouldn't make much sense.

[AdWords API Advisor]

Hi,

Unfortunately we cannot provide you with legal advice. Although we
strive to make our terms accessible to all users, you may wish to

consult with a lawyer familiar with your business if you need guidance
beyond our help materials.

Best,
- Eric Koleda, AdWords API Team

[badboykennedy]

I understand, but is there no way to submit a proposal of our
application to Google to either accept or reject, before we go ahead
and fully develop the entire system? Our legal counsel may say it's OK
based on your terms and conditions, but of course Google could shut it
down at any time if they wanted to. It would be nice to get some kind
of "approval" before we actually fully develop the system...

[badboykennedy]

So I'm really confused. We just want to develop an ad optimization
tool that has nothing to do with creating campaigns, adding keywords,
changing bids, etc. But based on the RMF stuff it seems that this is
impossible without building out all of these dozens of other functions
that our customers have no interest in.

This seems counter-productive to the whole idea of 3rd-party apps, so
I just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.

The way I read it, Google basically doesn't want us to help people
create better ads because by forcing us to also implement all this
other totally irrelevant functionality it makes the project almost
pointless and not worth doing.

How are people like us supposed to innovate and create cool, unique
and specific tools to help advertisers if every API client needs to
provide all the same "full functionality" that every other tool
already provides? That's like saying "OK you can build a racecar using
our technology but your racecar has to have windshield wipers, air
conditioning, power windows, a radio and a navigation system."

[badboykennedy]

Sorry I also forgot to ask one other question. The RMF page starts out
by saying:

"Third-party clients (as defined in the Terms & Conditions) are
required to fully implement the AdWords API features shown in the
chart below."

However, the Terms & Conditions does not define what a third-party
client is.

Really confused ...

[JC]

Hi,

The terms and conditions do specify what a 3rd party is under section
I, definitions:

“Third Party” means a party other than Google or you and includes
without limitation any database, software or service owned by or under
the control of a party other than Google or you.

Good luck getting the rest of your questions answered ;o)

On Jan 7, 7:24 am, badboykennedy <badboykenn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry I also forgot to ask one other question. The RMF page starts out
> by saying:
>

> "Third-party clients (as defined in theTerms&Conditions) are
> required to fully implement the AdWordsAPIfeatures shown in the
> chart below."
>
> However, theTerms&Conditionsdoes not define what a third-party