Step by Step Guide to Building a Google Ad Manager API Integration in Ruby

Aug 3, 2024 • 5 minute read

Introduction

Hey there, fellow Ruby enthusiast! Ready to dive into the world of Google Ad Manager API? You're in for a treat. This powerful API opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for programmatically managing your ad inventory, and what better way to do it than with our beloved Ruby?

Prerequisites

Before we roll up our sleeves, make sure you've got:

Ruby 2.5 or higher (come on, you're not still on 1.9, right?)
A Google Ad Manager account (duh!)
Your API credentials (keep 'em safe!)

Setting up the project

Let's kick things off by creating a new Ruby project:

mkdir google_ad_manager_integration
cd google_ad_manager_integration
bundle init

Now, let's add the necessary gems to our Gemfile:

gem 'google-ads-googleads'
gem 'google-cloud-storage'

Run bundle install, and we're off to the races!

Authentication

Google loves its OAuth 2.0, so let's set that up. We'll use service account authentication because, let's face it, it's way cooler than user authentication for this kind of integration.

Create a new file called auth.rb:

require 'googleauth'

def authenticate
  Google::Auth::ServiceAccountCredentials.make_creds(
    json_key_io: File.open('path/to/your/service_account_key.json'),
    scope: 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/dfp'
  )
end

Basic API interaction

Time to get our hands dirty with some actual API calls. Create a new file called ad_manager_client.rb:

require 'google/ads/google_ads'
require_relative 'auth'

def initialize_api_client
  Google::Ads::GoogleAds::GoogleAdsClient.new do |config|
    config.client_id = 'YOUR_CLIENT_ID'
    config.client_secret = 'YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET'
    config.authorization = authenticate
  end
end

client = initialize_api_client
# Now you're ready to make API calls!

Key API operations

Let's cover some of the most common operations you'll be doing:

Retrieving ad units

def get_ad_units(client)
  response = client.service.ad_unit.get_ad_units_by_statement(
    statement: Google::Ads::GoogleAds::V14::Services::StatementBuilder.new.limit(500).to_statement
  )
  response.results
end

Creating orders

def create_order(client, advertiser_id, name)
  order = {
    name: name,
    advertiser_id: advertiser_id,
    trafficker_id: client.current_user.id
  }
  client.service.order.create_orders([order])
end

Error handling and best practices

Always wrap your API calls in a begin/rescue block:

begin
  # Your API call here
rescue Google::Ads::GoogleAds::Errors::GoogleAdsError => e
  puts "Oops! Something went wrong: #{e.message}"
end

And don't forget about rate limiting! Be a good API citizen and implement exponential backoff.

Testing and debugging

Unit tests are your friends. Use RSpec or Minitest to ensure your integration is rock solid. Here's a quick example:

RSpec.describe 'AdManagerIntegration' do
  it 'retrieves ad units successfully' do
    client = initialize_api_client
    ad_units = get_ad_units(client)
    expect(ad_units).not_to be_empty
  end
end

Advanced topics

Once you've got the basics down, you can explore more advanced features like batch processing, asynchronous operations, and webhook integration. But let's save those for another day, shall we?

Conclusion

And there you have it! You're now armed with the knowledge to build a solid Google Ad Manager API integration in Ruby. Remember, the official documentation is your best friend when you're stuck. Now go forth and conquer those ads!

Happy coding, Rubyist! 🚀