There are key differences in functionality but an automatic ‘search and replace’ edit feature is a time-saver with the new Scripts API.

First off, can I get a shout from the rooftop that Scripts are now officially available to everyone on Bing Ads? Scripts are a powerful tool that use JavaScript coding that can make changes to or report on pretty much anything with your paid search account. They can do everything that you do manually – but automated and 24/7/365. Scripts have saved me time. They have saved my sanity (from menial mind-numbing tasks that had to get done.) But most of all when I was at an agency they saved my bacon and my wallet– when an account went offline during the holidays the Broken URL Detector script paused all impacted URLs and sent me a notification. Phew!

Now I need to make a confession. Father, forgive for I have sinned, it’s been 2 1/2 years since I’ve actively been editing scripts. Okay, maybe not that type of confession. But I will confess that I am a dabbler when it comes to JavaScript. One of the key things that I quickly discovered from conversations with other search marketers was that so many people I admired and looked up were intimidating by Scripts because they like me where marketers not coders. I’m definitely not an expert coder, but that’s what I find great about Scripts. You don’t have to be an expert, you just have to get comfortable making minor tweaks, edits and customizations to scripts that the experts write.

If you can use “Copy & Paste” you can start using Scripts

No seriously. If you can “Copy & Paste” you can use the pre-written scripts. Several wicked smart folks (like Frederick Vallaeys, Steve Hammer, Russel Savage, Daniel Gilbert, and Martin Roettgerding) have done the hard work for you – they’ve written and tested scripts. For the most part all you have to do is copy and paste the written code into the search UX. I will admit it’s not always that simple, sometimes you do need to do minor edits and tweaks because the names associated with Entities and Objects may have changed over the years; however, it’s a much easier place to start from than trying to figure out how to write the code from the ground up.

If you are nervous and want to learn, Ginny Marvin wrote an absolutely wonderful Introduction to Scripts for PPC series.