Service Account

[Martin Levi]

I'm really frustrated with the Google Ads API documentation.  In the Quickstart guide it discusses only 2 app type options, Desktop and Web.  Nowhere does it mention that even the web app requires a user to login in on a Google screen and so is completely unsuitable for unattended processes initiated by 3rd party applications.  So I just spent 2 days trying to get the Web app access to work for no reason.

Nowhere does it mention that there is a third option, a service account.  And when you go to set up a service account, via a workflow that has changed since the document was created, it fails to mention that you need to set up a Google Workspace (G Suite) Account or that this is a paid option.  Why so coy about a $6/month charge - does Google think that subjecting the business owner/developer to several days' frustration is going to make them feel better about subscribing to Workspace?  This is not at all about the money, but the two days I have spent breaking my head over how to set this thing up.

So please, can someone confirm that I have finally understood correctly, that to run unattended access to the Google Ads API I need to set up a Service Account and a Google Workspace?

Thanks,

Martin

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

Hi Martin,

 

Thank you for raising your concern with us. I'll raise it with our team to possibly update our Quickstart guide to explicitly mention service accounts as another option to access the API. You may check our Quickstart guide at a later time or follow our blog for future updates.

 

For your question "Why so coy about a $6/month charge - does Google think that subjecting the business owner/developer to several days' frustration is going to make them feel better about subscribing to Workspace?", the API documentation only focuses on details related to Google Ads API. The documentation does not have detailed information on some prerequisites as it would be better if you visit the attached links instead since there is already an existing documentation with more information available.

 

Regarding your last question, yes, you may use service accounts in order to access the API without user interaction at all. Let us know if you encounter any issues.

 

Regards,

Kevin Gil Soriano Google Ads API Team

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[Martin Levi]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your response.  I think it would be a good idea to update the Google Ads Api Quickstart guide.  The Oauth guide is apparently written for the user base of a vast ecosystem, whereas I suspect that many Ads Api developers will be specifically looking to develop unattended server to server interfaces.

Regards,

Martin

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor]

Hi Martin,

 

Thank you for your feedback. I've raised this with the rest of our team, however, there's no definite timeline on when our Quickstart guide will be updated. You may check it again at a later time or follow our blog for future updates.