App Engine 1.7.1 Released

If there were an Olympic coding event, we have no doubt that the gold medal winner could be found amongst the App Engine developer community. So today we’ve got a new release out so you can hone your skills just in case they are needed in Rio in 2016.



App Admin

• Usage Report Download - We’ve added the ability to download the past 90 days of your application’s usage reports as a CSV file.

• Namespaces in the Memcache Viewer - The Admin Console now supports retrieving memcache values that are stored in a non-default namespace.

Python

• Appstats updates - We’ve included a few new things in appstats with 1.7.1. You can now view RPC cost information in appstats. We’ve also added an interactive console which lets you trigger and then examine an RPC call for real-time debugging.

• PyCrypto 2.6 support - We’ve included the latest version of PyCrypto as an option for third party libraries in Python 2.7.

Java

DataNucleus App Engine Plugin 2.1.0 - We’re excited to announce that with the latest upgrade we’re making V2 of the DataNucleus plugin fully supported. V2 adds support for JPA 2 and JDO 3, and this point release contains a variety of bug fixes. You can see the full list here.



Appstats Analytics Trusted Tester

We are looking for early Python and Java Trusted Testers to try a new interactive visualization tool for troubleshooting and tuning application performance. If you are interested in trying out this new tool please sign up here.  



URLFetch

We’ve updated the way URLFetch handles multiple headers in response to one of our public issues. When a response contains the same header multiple times, these values will now be returned as a list.


Conversion API Decommission

We are decommissioning the experimental Conversion API as of our November release. Please begin exploring alternative document conversion mechanisms.



The complete list of features and bug fixes for 1.7.1 can be found in our release notes (Java, Go, Python). For App Engine coding questions and answers check us out on Stack Overflow, and for general discussion and feedback, find us on our Google Group.

Attention App Engine experts: Interested in helping new businesses and enterprise customers be successful with Google Cloud Platform? Check out our job posting for Solution Architects. We are also hiring technical writers in Mountain View and San Francisco to document cool new App Engine features and engage with the community to broaden the impact of Google's cloud offerings.

Announcing v201208 of the DFP API

At Google, we enjoy hearing from you, the developer community, and working with you to ensure that progress is being made. We think the latest DFP API release reflects positively on how we work better together and we're excited to announce version v201208. This release adds new types of creatives, support for optimization, rich media, and video interaction report columns, along with new options for downloading reports. A full list of improvements from this release can be found on our release notes page. We also want to remind you that we host virtual office hours via Google+ hangouts in order to make sure your voice is heard. Stay tuned to our Google Developers Live calendar to catch the next one on September 18th.

Reporting improvements

In v201208, we’ve added 64 new columns which enable you to pull metrics for optimization, rich media, and video. Using these new columns, you’ll now be able to better track performance of your network including determining the interaction time of your rich media (e.g. RICH_MEDIA_INTERACTION_TIME), locating videos which complete the most (e.g. VIDEO_INTERACTION_COMPLETE), or analyzing the revenue resulting from optimized impressions (e.g. OPTIMIZATION_OPTIMIZED_REVENUE). In addition to these columns, we’ve added the CREATIVE_TYPE dimension and the ability to include custom fields to help you better break down your reports.

For applications which cannot process gzip files, you can now download reports already deflated using the new ReportService.getReportDownloadUrlWithOptions method. If you choose to not use gzip compression, we still highly recommend that you set the HTTP header Accept-Encoding: gzip to speed up downloads. We’ve also added the ability to include report properties (e.g. network, user, generation date, etc...) and remove the totals row. If there are any other types of report download options you’d like to see, we’d love to hear about them on the forum.

Creative additions

For publishers who are using the cutting edge features of DFP, we’ve added support for four new creative types: AdSenseCreative, AdExchangeCreative, RichMediaStudioCreative, and AspectRatioImageCreative. AdSense and Ad Exchange creatives allow you to traffic line item level dynamic allocation ads by serving ad slot code snippets as the creative asset. Rich media studio creatives allow you to fetch creatives created using the DoubleClick rich media studio. Although these creatives are mostly used in a read-only manner (since they are created in the rich media studio and not DFP), some fields are mutable, such as the duration, any CSS overrides, and URLs. Finally, aspect ratio image creatives let you upload multiple image assets of the same aspect ratio to give you control of how images should be scaled; these creatives are mostly used in a mobile environment given the variety of screen sizes and resolution of today’s devices.

Last but not least

In our ongoing effort to bring the API up to parity with the UI, we’ve also added a number of smaller features. These include additional company partner types, the ability to set the mobile platform type on ad units, a friendly display string for inventory sizes, the option to associate line items with creative sets , and support for the recently released device category targeting criteria.

Our API and outreach efforts are constantly growing, but we can't do it without you. If there is anything you'd like to see us do better, please let us know or introduce yourself in the next Google+ hangout on September 18th.

 - Adam Rogal, DFP API Team

OAuth in Ads APIs

Authorization is an important concern when writing software that interacts with Google’s Ads APIs. We’ve recently improved our documentation and published resources documenting how to use OAuth2 with many of our Ads APIs.



OAuth2 is an authorization flow that allows you to direct a user to a specially crafted Google URL where they grant permissions to your software to make changes to their account. With an authorized access token, you can make requests to Ads APIs on the user’s behalf. Benefits include:

• Users don’t need to provide a username and password - they just log into Google.


• No CAPTCHA challenges.


• Limited scope - the user will only be prompted to grant access to a specific part of their account. For example, they could grant access to AdWords without the application being able to see their email or calendar.

OAuth2 is supported by:

• AdWords API


• DoubleClick for Advertisers Reporting API


• DoubleClick for Advertisers Trafficking API


• AdSense Host API (v4)


• AdSense Management API


• DoubleClick for Publishers API


• DoubleClick Ad Exchange Buyer REST API

The Ads API client libraries supported by Google have built-in support for OAuth2. We’ve included examples demonstrating how to use this feature in all client libraries. See your respective product and language product sites for more information on OAuth2.



We’re also hosting a Google Developers Live event covering how to use OAuth2 on August 23rd. This will be recorded if you can’t make it. If you have any questions about OAuth2, please post on the respective product API forums.

 - Kevin Winter, AdWords API Team

A New Look and Additional Publisher Controls on DoubleClick’s Ad Exchange

As part of our Google-wide initiative to deliver a new and improved Google experience across all of our products, we’ve been making continuous enhancements to the Ad Exchange. Now, when you log into your account, it will still have the same structure but you’ll notice that some gradual updates have been made. There are some new settings in the interface, including cleaner design elements. If you are also using AdSense, Analytics or AdWords, you’ll be familiar with some of these updates.



The Ad Exchange interface has been refreshed with newly designed menus, tabs, navigation, and buttons. This new look simplifies the interface to make it more visually appealing, while keeping the features where you are accustomed to finding them.



Check out the ‘before’ and ‘after’ look:

Old Interface: Notice changes made to the Left Navigation panel

New Interface: Notice updated Left Navigation, Contextual Help and Alert Summary locations

To provide a more intuitive environment with a streamlined look, we have moved and added a few things. Here are some of the update highlights:

• Contextual Help: One of the changes you’ll notice is the location of help content in your account, which has moved from the left navigation bar to a dedicated ‘Help’ link in the top right corner of every page in your account.


• Alert Summary: We’ve added a new alert summary to the top of the page which collects all of the critical alerts for your account together in one place. Now, when you click the alert summary, a full list of your critical alerts displays without navigating you to a different page.


• Performance Reports: You’ll notice that your Performance Reports are now organized by type (Common reports, Quick reports, Saved reports). Click ‘Common reports’ to access your standard reports, and then use the new date range selector. You’ll still be able to choose to either see your default report or daily account performance, just as before. You can read more about these updates in the Ad Exchange help center.

More Granular Publisher Controls

To give our publishers more granular controls over the ad categories available on their sites, we’ve also updated the blocking options within publisher controls. 

New Interface: Provides Filter Control in General categories at the ad unit level

When you create or edit an ad unit, the Ad Exchange now enables publishers to set up an additional filter -- to block general categories at the ad unit level, which was previously only available at the account level.



Posted by Scott Spencer, Director, Product Management

DoubleClick Search gets UI, control, and transparency improvements with new Performance Bidding Suite

As a search marketer, you know that bid optimization is one of the critical aspects of managing search at scale, providing sophisticated technology to meet your unique business goals. Over the past 18 months, the DoubleClick Search team has been focused on enhancing our automated bidding tools -- understanding that this is the engine that drives campaign performance. We've rebuilt our bid optimization platform from the ground up -- no single line of code is the same! -- and our users are already seeing some impressive results: 88% have experienced significant improvements in campaign performance, with 50% doubling their conversions at half the CPA (1).



Our investments in bid optimization span beyond revamped technology and algorithms. We wanted to make it easier for you to state your goals and monitor performance, to better harness and discover the power of automated strategies. The result is our new Performance Bidding Suite, which includes updates to the user interface (UI), new strategy options, and increased transparency into bid engine decisions. With our Performance Bidding Suite, you can:

• Quickly find the right goal with a refreshed user interface. Easily express bid optimization goals that match your business objectives. Whether you’re looking to maximize revenue or target a position, the new UI makes it even easier to find the right strategy for your unique goals. Our updated UI is designed to capture new bid strategies as they are released.


• Easily enter your Target Spend goals. With our new Target Spend strategy, maximize important KPIs like actions, transactions, revenue or clicks within a given monthly spend. Learn more


• Efficiently set default minimum and maximum bids on a strategy. Spend more time managing bid limits for the keywords you care about most, while DoubleClick Search handles the rest through a bid strategy-wide setting.


• Exercise even more advanced controls. The Advanced Configuration tab in the new bid strategy UI is designed for those who want to even further influence bid strategies. The first option we’re releasing gives you control over how a bid strategy handles high-traffic or low-converting keywords in ROI strategies. Stay tuned for more advanced controls. Learn more

In addition to a cleaner interface, new strategies, and advanced controls, the Performance Bidding Suite provides increased transparency into bid decisions and impact. Drive more insights with features that allow you to:

• Chart your Max CPC bids to visualize trends over time. You can now chart keyword bids for a defined date range, alongside any other metric in our UI to easily analyze bidding frequency and bid changes.


• Better understand our decision-making with bid rationale summary. As part of the change history tool, our new bid rationale feature (beta) reveals the reasoning behind any changes to specific bids.


• Preview intended bids. Our bid preview feature shows the target bid DoubleClick Search intends to submit for a particular keyword. This provides insight into the range of bids the system is likely to submit, based on the current bid and performance, to offer guidance in setting bid limits.

With these transparency features from the Performance Bidding Suite, you have powerful insights into how different settings impact campaign performance, and can tweak these settings if needed.



If you'd like to get started exploring the Performance Bidding Suite, you can check out the latest release notes and updated articles in the Help Center, or view our recorded webinar here.



Posted by the DoubleClick Search team



1. Google internal data, 2012

Introducing the new Ads Developers Google+ Page

Today we are excited to introduce a new channel for communication - Ads Developers Google+ Page. It's a place to stay informed, engaged and connected on Ads products and developer tools.

Add our Google+ page to your circles for the latest product and feature announcements, best practices, case studies, as well as opportunities to interact with and learn from Google's Ads Developer Relations team and other members of the developer community.

We look forward to having one place to bring timely updates, concise announcements, and to share information in multimedia formats across all Ads products, as well as to listen and respond to your comments.

 - Danial Klimkin, Ads Developer Relations Team.

How To Make Blogger Blog Mobile Friendly

In today's fast paced world, there's not one soul left who doesn't own a Mobile Device. For people living in the stone ages, a Mobile Device plays the same part as two cups being attached to one another via a string!



There's a vast variety of mobile devices. Some of the popular choices include Cell phones and Tablets. If you are reading this blog, chances are that you are using one too. Therefore, it is important for bloggers to optimize their websites to be viewed on mobile devices. Doing this would have three, very substantial advantages on your part.

1. The user will be able to browse and surf your website with ease and efficiency
2. The website will load much faster than thought possible
3. The interface is perfect for newbies.

You can choose to customize your Blogger site to appear more user-friendly to those of your followers who are always on the move. It will enhance your sites rank and get you into the good graces of Google (wink wink)!

To do the above, Blogger has come up with an option that would allow you to have a mobile site interface of your blog. Its hassle-free and easy-to-use. Your domain would remain the same (compared to the annoying addition of 'm' in the starting of your URL) and at the same time, the user is going to have the option of switching to the desktop version if he so wishes.

Steps to help you make your blog mobile user-friendly:

Works For Both New And Old Version of Blogger Layout:

1. Go to Dashboard
2. Click on Settings
3. Hit Mobile and Email and
4. You will find the option Turn on the mobile Template on Mobile Devices, please click Yes for it.

Blogger's New Interface

Blogger's Old Interface

That's it! Visit your Blogger site on a Mobile Device and checkout the magic that you just created! We will advice you to switch the pages widget on on your desktop version too in order for the page bar to appear in the mobile device.

Try it out and let us know if it worked for you.

Cheers!