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URL: https://www.cdata.com/kb/tech/adwords-odbc-coldfusion.rst

⇱ Import Real-Time Google Ads Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

Import Real-Time Google Ads Data via ODBC in ColdFusion to Build Applications

👁 Dibyendu Datta
Dibyendu Datta
Lead Technology Evangelist
Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use Google Ads data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Google AdWords, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Google Ads data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with Google Ads data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Google AdWords and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (Data Source Name). This is the last step of the driver installation process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

Google uses the OAuth authentication standard. To access Google APIs on behalf on individual users, you can use the embedded credentials or you can register your own OAuth app.

OAuth also enables you to use a service account to connect on behalf of users in a Google Apps domain. To authenticate with a service account, register an application to obtain the OAuth JWT values.

In addition to the OAuth values, specify the DeveloperToken and ClientCustomerId.

See the "Getting Started" chapter of the help documentation for a guide to using OAuth.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import Google Ads Data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services. 👁 Selecting Data & Services
  2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button. 👁 Adding Data Source Name
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Google Ads Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration. 👁 Populating driver properties
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataGoogle AdsODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use. 👁 Testing the connection
  5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

    The following code queries the data source: 

     
 <cfquery name="Google AdsQuery" dataSource="CDataGoogle AdsODBC"> 
 SELECT * FROM CampaignPerformance 
 </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
     
 <cftable 
 query = "Google AdsQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Device</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Device"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Clicks</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Clicks"/> 

 ...

 </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
     
 <html> 
 <head><title>CData Software | Google Ads CampaignPerformance Table Demo </title></head> 
 <body> 
 <cfoutput>#ucase("Google Ads CampaignPerformance Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
 <cfquery name="Google AdsQuery" dataSource="CDataGoogle AdsODBC"> 

 SELECT * FROM CampaignPerformance 

 </cfquery> 
 <cftable 
 query = "Google AdsQuery" 
 border = "1" 
 colHeaders 
 colSpacing = "2" 
 headerLines = "2" 
 HTMLTable 
 maxRows = "500" 
 startRow = "1"> 
 <cfcol header="<b>Device</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Device"/> 

 <cfcol header="<b>Clicks</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Clicks"/> 

 ...

 </cftable> 
 </body> 

 </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Google Ads data! 👁 Running the code

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example: 

SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Google Ads and start building Google Ads-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Google AdWords ODBC Driver to get started:

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Learn more:

👁 Google AdWords Icon
Google AdWords ODBC Driver

The Google AdWords ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Google AdWords, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Google AdWords data like you would a database - access all kinds of real-time AdWords performance and analysis data through a standard ODBC Driver interface.