How to push call detail records to Google Ads via API?

[P Grim]

Hello Google Ads gurus,

I am a data analyst, not a developer, so I know nothing about Google Ads or APIs.  However, I've been tasked with gathering information about how to accomplish a certain project. 

We wish to enable our clients to import their call detail records (CDRs) from our system into their Google Ads accounts so that they can report calls as conversions and see how their phone campaigns are performing alongside their Google Ads campaigns. We want to provide them with everything they need in order to do this (API, etc.) 

Our peers in this space are already doing this so we know we're not breaking new ground here.  See Invoca and Callrail for examples.  This is the functionality we wish to emulate but we don't know where to start. 

Questions: 

1. Can the Google Ads API enable this functionality "as-is"?  Or, do we need to customize the API? 
2. What data fields can we push to Google Ads? 
3. Does the source data need to reside anywhere in particular (e.g. within a specific database)? 
   
4. How do the credentials work to ensure each client can only access their own call data and not any other client's call data?  Do we have to build a security layer on our side to restrict access to the source data? 

We have never worked in any capacity with Google Ads before so any guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Paul

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor Prod]

Hello Grim, 

Sure, we will be happy to assist you with this. Please find my response below:

1. Can the Google Ads API enable this functionality "as-is"?  Or, do we need to customize the API? 
Google Ads API has been moved to recently. We recommend to continue running production systems using the AdWords API. While Google Ads API is in “beta”, you may use the new API for testing and development work in preparation for future migration. Please keep in mind that during this "beta" phase, there may be breaking changes in the Google Ads API. To import offline call conversions through AdWords API, you may refer to this guide which will help you get started.  

2. What data fields can we push to Google Ads? 
#1 should address this concern.

3. Does the source data need to reside anywhere in particular (e.g. within a specific database)? 
This data should be gathered on your end. You may store them in a local database. This help center article should be helpful on how the call conversion tracking works.

4. How do the credentials work to ensure each client can only access their own call data and not any other client's call data?  Do we have to build a security layer on our side to restrict access to the source data?
Could you please confirm if you are referring to the credentials that are used to make the API calls? If so, they will be able to access all the accounts for which the specific user has permissions to. If your concern is different, please elaborate.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Bharani, Google Ads API Team

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[P Grim]

Another question has come up:  if our clients are tracking their phone calls (which use their own phone numbers, not Google forwarding numbers) by taking the call data we collect for them and sending it to their Google Ads account, how can they associate each call to a particular ad campaign?  Do they have to manually configure that in Google Ads (such as inputting which phone number is related to which ad campaign)?  

Thanks for your insights!

Paul

[P Grim]

Hi Bharani,

Many thanks for your response.  I had previously found the two links you provided, so I'm glad I'm on the right track.  Regarding the credentials in #4, what I meant was: do we need to have a separate security layer on top of our data source, or does the Google Ads API handle that somehow?

For instance, our clients will be using the Google Ads API to bring their call data from our system into Google Ads.  But how do we ensure that they are only pulling their own data from our system and not another client's data?  Where does that authentication take place: in the Google API (such as with a token), or on our side with a login procedure the client must go through?  

Thanks again!

Paul

On Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 10:26:17 AM UTC-4, adsapiforumadvisor wrote:

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor Prod]

Hello Paul, 

The Calls directly from your ads, calls to a phone number on your website, and clicks on a phone number on your mobile website are associated with the Ads in your campaign. You should be able to configure the phone number as a call extension or set up the phone number in the conversion tracking tag. The How to setup phone call conversion tracking section in the linked guide should be helpful.

For your second concern, the authentication takes place through AdWords API client app to access user's Google Ads account without having to handle or store the user's login info. While uploading the conversions through API, a conversion that happens when a user performs one the following sequences of actions:

• User clicks on an advertiser's ad which takes the user to the advertiser's website, where special javascript installed on the page produces a dynamically-generated phone number. Then, user calls that number from their home (or other) phone
• User makes a phone call from conversion-tracked call extensions

After successfully creating a new UploadCallConversion object, send the name of this conversion type along with your conversion details to the OfflineCallConversionFeedService to attribute those conversions to this conversion type. You may refer to this reference documentation for more information. 

Hope this helps!!