Google Ads has announced a significant change to its data retention policy, set to take effect on November 13th, 2024. This update will impact how historical data is stored and accessed through the Google Ads API.

Key Points of the New Policy

1. Retention Period: All account data will be retained for 11 years.
2. Affected Data: Includes performance metrics, billing information, and historical reports.
3. API Impact: GoogleAds.Search and GoogleAds.SearchStream will only return data up to 11 years prior to the API request date.

Implementation Date

• The new policy will be enforced starting November 13th, 2024.

What This Means for Advertisers

1. Limited Historical Access: Data older than 11 years will no longer be accessible through the API.
2. Potential Reporting Changes: Users may notice differences in reports due to the new data availability constraints.

Required Actions for Advertisers

1. For Data Older Than 11 Years:

• Retrieve and store this data before November 13th, 2024, if needed for long-term analysis or record-keeping.

2. For Regular Users:

• No immediate action required.
• The update will be applied automatically to all accounts.

3. API Users:

• Be prepared for potential changes in data returned by GoogleAds.Search and GoogleAds.SearchStream.
• Update any custom reports or tools that rely on data older than 11 years.

Implications for Long-term Advertising Strategy

• Advertisers may need to adjust their long-term data analysis strategies.
• Consider implementing internal data storage solutions for retaining data beyond the 11-year period.