Make Calls And Send Text Messages To Your Phone From AdWords Scripts

Many of the scripts that I write are about alerting SEM managers when there are issues with an account they manage. It is pretty easy to notify yourself and others through email using the MailApp, but what if you can't access your email for some reason?

To solve this, I have put together a very simple Javascript object that allows you to send SMS messages and make phone calls using Twilio. If you are unfamiliar with Twilio, they are a company that provides developers with an easy way to work telephony into their applications. Their API is extremely easy to use and their documentation is excellent.

In order to use this script, there are a few things you need to do. First, Sign Up for a Twilio Account. Once you do so, you should have a phone number that you can use to play around with as well as an Account SID and an Auth Token. Twilio might not be available in your country yet but hopefully they will be there soon. Make sure you are using the full phone numbers (including counry codes) when making your requests. If you are just using the free version, there may be usage limits but I'm not sure.

The code is set up so that it can be copied into any script where you need to send notifications. Once you've copied the Twilio object into your script, whenever you want the notification to be sent, you should add the following code:

  ...
  var sid = 'YOUR ACCOUNT SID GOES HERE';
  var auth = 'YOUR AUTH TOKEN GOES HERE';
  //First, create a new Twilio client
  var client = new Twilio(sid,auth);
  //Here is how you send a text message
  // First number is the receiver (most likely, your cell phone)
  // Second number is where is it coming from, which is the free number you got when
  //   you registered in Twilio
  // The third parameter is what you want the text or voice message to say
  client.sendMessage('+17245551234','+14155554321','WARNING: Your AdWords Account Is Not Serving Ads.');
  client.makeCall('+17245551234','+14155554321',
      'This is an automated call to warn you that your AdWords account is no longer serving ads.');
  ...

Of course, the sid, auth, and client can be global variables which would allow you to have a single line in your code to make phone calls or send messages. You could also set up some sort of escalation chain in case people miss the call or text.

This is just a simple example of starting to use UrlFetchApp to integrate AdWords scripts with 3rd party apps. If you have 3rd party apps you'd like me to try out, leave a note in the comments.

Thanks,
Russ

/*********************************
* Twilio Client Library
* Based on the Twilio REST API: https://www.twilio.com/docs/api/rest
* Version 1.0
* Created By: Russ Savage
* FreeAdWordsScripts.com
*********************************/
function Twilio(accountSid, authToken) {
  this.ACCOUNT_SID = accountSid;
  this.AUTH_TOKEN = authToken;
  
  this.MESSAGES_ENDPOINT = 'https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/'+this.ACCOUNT_SID+'/Messages.json';
  this.CALLS_ENDPOINT = 'https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/'+this.ACCOUNT_SID+'/Calls.json';

  this.sendMessage = function(to,from,body) {
    var httpOptions = {
      method : 'POST',
      payload : {
        To: to,
        From: from,
        Body: body
      },
      headers : getBasicAuth(this)
    };
    var resp = UrlFetchApp.fetch(this.MESSAGES_ENDPOINT, httpOptions).getContentText();
    return JSON.parse(resp)['sid'];
  }
  
  this.makeCall = function(to,from,whatToSay) {
    var url = 'http://proj.rjsavage.com/savageautomation/twilio_script/dynamicSay.php?alert='+encodeURIComponent(whatToSay);
    var httpOptions = {
      method : 'POST',
      payload : {
        To: to,
        From: from,
        Url: url
      },
      headers : getBasicAuth(this)
    };
    var resp = UrlFetchApp.fetch(this.CALLS_ENDPOINT, httpOptions).getContentText();
    return JSON.parse(resp)['sid'];
  }
  
  function getBasicAuth(context) {
    return {
      'Authorization': 'Basic ' + Utilities.base64Encode(context.ACCOUNT_SID+':'+context.AUTH_TOKEN)
    };
  }
}