How to Add a Manager in Google Ads in a Few Simple Steps

Adding a manager in Google Ads is as easy as choosing a permission level and sending an invitation. Use these step-by-step instructions to share access with your team and partners in a snap.

Need to give a colleague, an agency, or a digital marketing partner access to your Google Ads account? There’s a much better (and more secure) way than sharing your Google password.

Our guide will teach you how to add a manager in Google Ads and what different permissions levels mean.

Plus, we’ll show you how to add a user to your Google Ads account (and when to remove them) with expert insights from Jackie Hazlett, Senior SEM Manager at HawkSEM.

The two types of Google Ads accounts

There are two types of Google Ads accounts: An individual advertising account and a Google Ads manager account. (Image: Adobe)

Before we jump into how to add a manager in Google Ads, let’s explain the difference between the two types of accounts Google Ads offers.

The first type is a standard Google Ads account. This is the account you use to create your campaigns and manage your ads.

The second is a Google Ads manager account called a My Client Center, or MCC for short. This type of account links to individual Google Ads client accounts.

It lets users manage multiple Google Ads accounts and view all client data from one login. Manager accounts are ideal for agencies and marketing partners with multiple clients.

How to add a manager in Google Ads

There are two ways to add a manager in Google Ads. Follow the first to invite individual users or colleagues, and use the second to invite an agency.

How to invite users to access your Google Ads account

1. 1. Navigate to www.ads.google.com and sign in to your Google Ads account.
   2. Hover over the Admin icon (it looks like a gear) in the left menu.
   3. When the menu appears, select “Access and security.”

1. 1. On the “Users” tab, click the blue plus button.

1. 1. Enter the user’s email address and decide when their access expires.
   2. Choose a role for the new manager in your Google Ads account. (See full breakdown below.)

1. Click “Send invitation.”

Nice and simple, right? Now all that’s left is for the user to accept your invitation, which will arrive via email.

In the email, there will be a link for them to click to accept the invitation. They will need to click “accept request.” This link will take them to a page with a few simple steps to complete, and then they will have access to your account.

Once your new user has been given access, you’ll receive a notification in your account. You’ll also see them listed on the “Users” tab in your Google Ads account.

How to link your Google Ads account to an agency manager account

How to link your Google Ads account to an agency manager (MCC) account

Giving access to an external partner is easy with a link request. (Image: Adobe)

If you’re working with an external partner, the process for granting access will be a little different from the method above. Instead, they’ll ask to link your account with their manager account.

With this method, the agency you are partnered with will do most of the work. However, you do need to provide them with your Google Ads customer ID.

To find this number, open your Google Ads account. Then, locate the 10-digit ID in the upper right corner. Copy and paste to share it.

Your marketing partner will then need to:

1. 1. Sign in to their Google Ads manager account.
   2. From the left-hand menu, hover over “Accounts” and select “Sub-account settings.”

1. 1. On the “Sub-account settings” tab, click the blue plus button.
   2. Select “Link existing account.”

1. 1. They will then need to enter your Google Ads account’s Customer ID number.

1. Click “Send Request.”

You will then receive a link request via email with the invite to link to your account. You simply accept the invite, and then they will receive an email confirmation. Then, voila!  Your account will be linked to their manager account.

Another option is accepting their request from the pending link requests in your Google Ads account.

In fact, any users with Admin access to  your Google Ads account can accept the link request. You can view, accept, and decline link requests by doing the following:

1. 1. Sign in to your Google Ads manager account.
   2. Hover over the “Admin” icon and select “Access and security” from the menu.
   3. Go to the “Managers” tab and look for any link requests. They’ll appear at the top of the page.

1. Click “Accept.”

What are the permissions options in Google Ads?

By choosing a role for your new user, you control what that user can see and do in your ads network. (Image: Adobe)

Nervous about handing over the keys to the car? You don’t have to be. Google Ads offers a variety of built-in roles that give users different accesses and permissions.

Google Ads user access levels

By choosing a role for your new user, you control what that user can see and do in your ads network. For example, you control whether or not they can change the bidding and budgets on your campaigns.

Here are the built-in roles that Google Ads offers for users:

• Admin: This is the highest level of access you can grant. It allows the user to view and edit campaigns, view and edit billing information, view and edit reports, and view and edit users and product links.
• Standard: This access level allows the user to do everything an Admin can except edit users and product links. In other words, this level can manage campaigns, billing information, and reports.
• Read only: This mid-tier level allows the user to view campaigns and billing information. It also grants access for viewing and editing reports and viewing users. In addition, this level can add email-only users (see below).
• Billing: Designed for finance and accounting users, this level allows access to view and edit billing information only. With this access level, users can’t view any campaign or report data.
• Email only: The most basic level, this option only allows users to view reports and monitor metrics and conversions. They can’t view campaigns, billing information, or other users.

Google Ads manager account access levels

Access levels work a little differently for manager accounts. When you link your Google Ads account to a manager account, you don’t get to set an access level. Instead, the manager account gets administrative access.

Suppose you give an agency access to your campaigns by linking your individual Google Ads account to their manager account.

The agency’s employees will then be able to use their access to the agency’s manager account to handle your ads.

Manager account owners are responsible for setting access levels for their employees. The permission options for manager accounts are the same as those listed above for individual user accounts.

“It’s important that agencies include both the people who will be directly working with the account and adding the people who need permissions for tracking and reporting purposes if those accounts are separate,” Hazlett explains.

“You need to make sure accounts have adequate access if you want them to complete admin tasks in addition to general management.”

How to remove a manager in Google Ads

Not every user or manager needs permanent access to your Google Ads account. For example, you may need to remove access for former employees or agencies after your contract ends.

Hazlett recommends making sure old users are removed promptly to keep your account secure. To do this, add removing Google Ads account access to your deboarding workflow.

It’s also a good idea to audit account users and managers periodically, such as every six months. This quick process may save you unnecessary stress.

Any account manager with admin access can remove a user from Google Ads by taking the steps below:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
2. Hover over the “Admin” icon in the left menu.
3. When the dropdown menu appears, select “Access and security.” By default, you’ll end up on the users tab.
4. Find the user you want to remove, and in the “Actions” column, click “Remove access.”
5. Go to the “Managers” tab to repeat the process. Click “Remove access” to unlink any manager account instantly.

Why would you share access to your Google Ads account?

As an advertiser, there are many reasons you may want to grant access to your account.

Added security

Google Ads recommends that every account have at least two admins. By taking this precaution, you can avoid access issues and keep your account secure.

Growing team

Perhaps you work with multiple members of the marketing team who need to access your account to create and edit campaigns, evaluate performance, and use keyword data for SEO campaigns.

Maybe you’ve brought in a freelancer to handle reporting and optimization. Your finance and legal teams may even require access to and include monthly invoices in P&L reports.

Agency management

If you don’t have enough internal resources or if you aren’t seeing the results you want from your ads, you may outsource your PPC marketing and reach out to an agency to help you manage your PPC ads like a pro.

In order for that agency to help you with your campaigns, they need access to your account. To get eyes on your Google Ads account, you will want to add them as a manager on your Google Ads, either temporarily or permanently.

If you’re concerned about allowing an agency to manage your account, Hazlett suggests “viewing the change log to see what actions or changes they’re performing.”

You can access your account’s change log from the “Campaigns” icon. Select “Change history” for a complete list of actions and the users who took them.

The takeaway

That’s a wrap! Adding a new manager to your Google Ads account requires only a few simple steps.

While the process isn’t complicated, you do need to pay attention to details such as:

• Entering the correct email
• Giving the correct customer ID number
• Setting the correct permissions

Whether you’re working with another department in your business, an outsourced agency, or a consultant, adding a manager to your Google Ads account can make the process of sharing information and implementing top-tier Google Ads campaigns much smoother.

Need help managing your Google Ads account? HawkSEM is a Google Ads Premier Partner. Contact us for a free Google Ads consultation today.

This article has been updated and was originally published in March 2023.