The AdWords Query Language (AWQL)

AWQL is a SQL-like language for performing queries against most common AdWords API services. Any service with a query method is supported; queryable fields for each service are listed here.

Additionally, you can use AWQL to query reports. See our reports page for a comprehensive list of queryable fields.

Usage in service calls

AWQL is inspired by SQL, though it does not support the full SQL vocabulary. Notable omissions are the JOIN and GROUP BY clauses.

For example, here's a selector you might use for the CampaignService get method:

<serviceSelector>
    <fields>Id</fields>
    <fields>Name</fields>
    <predicates>
        <field>Status</field>
        <operator>EQUALS</operator>
        <values>ENABLED</values>
    </predicates>
    <ordering>
        <field>Name</field>
        <sortOrder>ASCENDING</sortOrder>
    </ordering>
    <paging>
        <startIndex>0</startIndex>
        <numberResults>50</numberResults>
    </paging>
</serviceSelector>

The equivalent AWQL query string for the CampaignService query method is:

CampaignPage p = campaignService.query("SELECT Id, Name
                                        WHERE Status = 'ENABLED'
                                        ORDER BY Name
                                        DESC LIMIT 0,50");

Notes:

• A FROM clause is not needed since the data source is already determined by the service to where the request is sent.
• A DURING clause is not allowed in service calls, but is allowed in reporting calls.
• Although keywords (e.g., WHERE) are not case-sensitive, field (column) names (e.g., Name) and Literals (e.g., ENABLED) are case-sensitive.
• When using IN and NOT_IN operators in your WHERE clause, you are limited to 10,000 items.

Usage in reports

AWQL can also be used in reporting. Instead of specifying the XML fragment in the "__rdxml" POST parameter as you normally would for reports, supply these two parameters:

1. "__rdquery": contains the AWQL query string.
2. "__fmt": defines the report download format.

Example (POST body):

__rdquery=SELECT+Criteria+FROM+KEYWORDS_PERFORMANCE_REPORT+DURING+20150101,20150325&__fmt=CSV

There are also some usage differences when using AWQL for reports:

• The query must contain a report type in the FROM clause, for example: SELECT Id, Criteria, AdGroupName FROM KEYWORDS_PERFORMANCE_REPORT. Note that while FROM is disallowed in service calls, it is mandatory in report downloads.
• Date ranges for the report are defined in the DURING clause of the query. Date ranges can be specified in two different ways:
  1. A custom date range using regular AWQL syntax, for example: SELECT Id, Criteria, AdGroupName FROM KEYWORDS_PERFORMANCE_REPORT DURING 20150101,20150325.
  2. A date range type, for example: SELECT Id, Criteria, AdGroupName FROM KEYWORDS_PERFORMANCE_REPORT DURING LAST_7_DAYS. Note: The DateRangeTypes ALL_TIME and CUSTOM_DATE are NOT supported.
• To get data for all dates (the equivalent of ALL_TIME), you can omit the DURING clause from your query. However, this is only allowed if the SELECT clause of your query does not include the Date or Week column.
• ORDER BY and LIMIT (Sorting and Paging) are NOT supported for reports. Including these clauses in a query will generate an error.
• To omit zero-impression rows, include a WHERE Impressions > 0 condition.

Formal grammar

Here is the formal AWQL grammar for reference.

Statement        -> SelectClause FromClause1 WhereClause?
                                 DuringClause2 OrderByClause? LimitClause?
SelectClause     -> SELECT ColumnList
FromClause       -> FROM SourceName
WhereClause      -> WHERE ConditionList
DuringClause     -> DURING DateRange
OrderByClause    -> ORDER BY Ordering (, Ordering)*
LimitClause      -> LIMIT StartIndex , PageSize

ConditionList    -> Condition (AND Condition)*
Condition        -> ColumnName Operator Value
Value            -> ValueLiteral | String | ValueLiteralList | StringList
Ordering         -> ColumnName (DESC | ASC)?
DateRange        -> DateRangeLiteral | Date,Date
ColumnList       -> ColumnName (, ColumnName)*
ColumnName       -> Literal
SourceName       -> Literal
StartIndex       -> Non-negative integer
PageSize         -> Non-negative integer

Operator         -> = | != | > | >= | < | <= | IN | NOT_IN | STARTS_WITH | STARTS_WITH_IGNORE_CASE |
                    CONTAINS | CONTAINS_IGNORE_CASE | DOES_NOT_CONTAIN | DOES_NOT_CONTAIN_IGNORE_CASE |
                    CONTAINS_ANY | CONTAINS_NONE | CONTAINS_ALL
String           -> StringSingleQ | StringDoubleQ
StringSingleQ    -> '(char)'
StringDoubleQ    -> "(char)"
StringList       -> [ String (, String)* ]
ValueLiteral     -> [a-zA-Z0-9_.]*
ValueLiteralList -> [ ValueLiteral (, ValueLiteral)* ]3
Literal          -> [a-zA-Z0-9_]*
DateRangeLiteral -> TODAY | YESTERDAY | LAST_7_DAYS | THIS_WEEK_SUN_TODAY | THIS_WEEK_MON_TODAY | LAST_WEEK |
                    LAST_14_DAYS | LAST_30_DAYS | LAST_BUSINESS_WEEK | LAST_WEEK_SUN_SAT | THIS_MONTH
Date             -> 8-digit integer: YYYYMMDD

Notes:

• ¹ FROM is disallowed in service calls but required in report downloads.
• ² DURING is optional in service calls. It is required in report downloads if the SELECT clause of your request includes the Date or Week column.
• ³ For ValueLiteralList, square brackets [ ] are required, elsewhere, they denote a range.
• ? signifies optional; * signifies one or more.
• Order: SELECT...FROM...WHERE...DURING...ORDER BY...LIMIT...
• All keywords are case-insensitive.
• Column names and Literals are case-sensitive.
• White space doesn't matter.
• Both double quotes and single quotes are accepted for strings. Escape sequences are \", \', \\.