Google gets fancy: Adwords can now be automated with JavaScript

If the World Wide Web was ever in love with a scripting language, JavaScript must be it.  This mainstay pseudo programming language allows both web designers and developers to inject bells and whistles into static HTML sites (powered by professional hosting platforms) often turning them into ‘dynamic’ wonders. Its fan base has always been large and strong.
It has now found its way into the world of Pay-Per-Click Google Adword management.
“We know that you’re always looking for more efficient ways to manage your AdWords accounts. We also hear that many of you would love to use your own external data to make decisions in your accounts. Today, we’re excited to announce the limited release of scripts in AdWords. With scripts, you can make changes to an AdWords account by writing simple JavaScript programs” said Google Adwords Blog recently.
Of course, as usual, access is limited in the beta offering. You need to apply here to gain entry to this nifty new tool.
The script will allow Ad managers (or developers) to:

• Use external inventory data to either change bids or pause/unpause keywords.
• Output account statistics to a spreadsheet from which you can create reports and visualizations.
• Use stats trends over several weeks to change keyword or ad group bids.

The scripting language falls under a tab appropriately titled “Automation” which is becoming one of the hallmarks of Web 3.0.
You will need a basic understanding of JavaScript to implement, but it is generally easier to learn than a pure programming language such as Java, C# or even PHP5.
“JavaScript (sometimes shortened to JS) is a lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions, most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Couchbase,” said the Mozilla Developer Network.
According Mozilla, while HTML is used to store the content and formatting of a web page and CSS encodes the style of how the formatted content should be graphically displayed, JavaScript is used to create rich effects or rich web applications. However, the umbrella term “JavaScript” as understood in the web browser context contains several very different elements. One of them is the core language (ECMAScript), another is the DOM (Document Object Model).
Users will be able to run JS inside Google Apps Script Infrastructure.
“Google Apps Script gives users a new level of control over Google products. Now you can access and control Google Spreadsheets and other products using JavaScript scripts that you write yourself and can share with others. Unlike browser-based JavaScript, the scripts you write run directly on Google servers in order to provide direct access to the products they control,” said Google.