Connect Google Ads

Connecting Google Ads brings in campaigns, ad groups, ads, search terms, keywords with Quality Score, Performance Max and Shopping, with daily and hourly data. They power paid media Performance, dashboards and reports.

This article covers your own account. Agencies connect the MCC once and distribute the accounts among clients; see Connect the agency BM and MCC.

Before you start

• Have a Google account with access to the Google Ads account, directly or through an MCC (manager account).
• Check that your plan has a free source in the N of M sources counter. Each Google Ads account takes one source.
• If you use more than one Google login, know which one can see the account before you start.

Step by step

1. 1
   Step 1

   Open Connect new source

   In the sidebar, click Sources and then Connect new source. In the Paid media group, click Google Ads.

2. 2
   Step 2

   Sign in with Google and accept the permissions

   Google opens the sign-in screen. Choose the account and allow access on the consent screen. If Google shows checkboxes, leave them all checked.

3. 3
   Step 3

   Choose the account

   The Choose the Google Ads account screen lists the accounts your login can see. If you choose a regular account, the button is Finalize. If it is an MCC, the button becomes Continue, because you still need to say which account inside it you want.

   Illustrative screen

   Korra/Connect source

   Ask RelatorAIPT

   Choose the Google Ads accountSelect the MCC or Google Ads account that will be connected.

   AccountVértice Brazil — SearchVértice Brazil — ShoppingFarol Agency (MCC)

   1

   Finalize2

   1. 1Accounts show by name. The account number only appears when two accounts share the same name.
   2. 2Finalize connects the account directly. For an MCC, the button is Continue.

4. 4
   Step 4

   If you chose an MCC, pick the account inside it

   The Choose sub-accounts screen shows the MCC accounts. For your own account, select one and click Finalize. Use Back to switch MCCs.

5. 5
   Step 5

   Check the new source

   Relator takes you back to Data sources. The account shows the Syncing status and, within minutes, the last month is already available.

What Relator asks Google for

Google offers a single permission for the Google Ads API, which grants read and management access to accounts. It is required for any integration, including read-only ones. Relator uses this access to read accounts, campaigns and results and, when you edit a Search campaign in the campaign manager, to publish the change you approved.

What happens next

• Relator imports the last 90 days. After that, the full refresh follows your plan, and today's numbers update every hour.
• Each pass rereads the last 30 days: Google credits a conversion to the click date while the conversion window is open, and that number changes over the following days.
• Accounts with no name in Google Ads show as Unnamed account. Give the account a name in Google Ads to recognize it more easily.

Common problems

• The account isn't in the list. The login you chose doesn't have access to it. Sign out and in again with the right Google account, or ask the account admin for access.
• "Google didn't return a refresh token." A permission was left unchecked. Connect again and accept everything.
• "The OAuth session expired." You took too long on the selection screen. Start again.
• Conversions differ from Google Ads. See Why numbers differ from the platform.