SOP 063: How to Manage User Access for Google Ads Accounts
Properly and securely assign and revoke employees, freelancers, and partners access to your Google Ads account and have full control over who has access to what.
Last Updated / Reviewed: 01/23/2025
Execution Time: 5 minutes
🚀 Goal: To properly and securely assign and revoke employees, freelancers, and partners access to your Google Ads accounts.
🤞 Ideal Outcome: You have full control over who has access to your Google Ads accounts and have successfully assigned or revoked access to your employees or partners.
🤔 Why this is important: If your Google Ads accounts aren’t properly accounted for and managed, you can easily lose track who has access to what.
🧐 Where this is done In the Google Ads platform.
🗓️ When this is done: Every time you want to grant, request, or revoke access to your Google Ads or Google Ads Manager accounts.
👨 Who does this: The person responsible for managing access to Google Ads Accounts.
__⚠️Prerequisites or requirements: __You will need a Google Account.
Click here to get the most up-to-date version of this SOP
Understand user-access levels
Google Ads account access levels:
Email-only - This user will not be able to sign in to your Google Ads account.
E.g.: If you want to share your Google Ads reports and alerts with your other teammates without allowing them to access the Ad Account.
Billing - Individuals holding Admin or Billing access levels possess the authority to modify an organization's payment profile details including:
i) Name and address
ii) tax identification
iii) language preferences
iv) the addition or editing of payment methods.
These alterations can be executed by Admin or Billing access users, irrespective of their status as Payments profile users. Moreover, Google Ads admins are now empowered to undertake the entire sequence of steps involved in the advertiser verification process, a privilege previously confined solely to Payment profile users.
Read-only - This user can sign in to your account, browse your dashboard and campaigns, and assign read-only access to other users.
E.g.: If you want to share your Google Ads data with your Content or SEO team but do not want to allow them to make changes.
Standard - This user can perform almost all the actions that an Admin can except for managing access levels.
E.g.: If you want to have an employee work on your Ad account, managing your campaigns.
Admin - This is the highest user-access level Google Ads has to offer. Only assign this level to people you trust.
E.g.: If you want to give access to your company’s Google Ads account to a business partner.
Please refer to the full details here.
Google Ads Manager user access levels:
Email-only - This user will not be able to sign in to your Google Ads Manager account.
E.g.: If you want to share your Google Ads reports and alerts with your other teammates without allowing them to access the Ad Account.
Billing - This user (or an Admin user) can view and edit billing information for your client and manage monthly invoices including:
i) Name and address
ii) tax identification
iii) language preferences
iv) the addition or editing of payment methods.
Read-only - This user can sign in to your account, browse your dashboard and campaigns, and assign read-only access to other users.
E.g.: If you want to share your Google Ads data with your Content or SEO team but do not want to allow them to make changes.
Standard - This user can perform almost all the actions that an Administrator can except for managing access levels both on your Ads Manager account and within the managed accounts.
E.g.: If you want to have an employee work on your Ad account and manage your campaigns.
Admin - This is the highest user-access level Google Ads has to offer. Only assign this level to people you trust.
Depending on whether the Ads Manager account is an Admin owner of the managed accounts this user might also be able to downgrade other Administrators in the managed accounts or assign new Administrators.
E.g.: If you want to give access to your company’s Google Ads account to a business partner.
Please refer to the full details here.
Designing the best account structure for your organization
Before we start, you need to understand what’s the difference between a Google Ads Manager Account (formerly known as MCC Account), a Google Ads Account, and a Google Account (it’s a confusing naming convention—we know).
- Google Account - A Google account allows you to use the full suite of Google services using a single login. If you have a Gmail account you already have a Google Account.
- Google Ads (non-manager) Account - A Google Ads account lets you manage and create advertising campaigns on Google’s Advertising network.
- Google Ads Manager Account - A manager account is a Google Ads account that lets you easily view and manage multiple Google Ads accounts - including other manager accounts - from a single location. (Source: Google).
Does your business manage multiple Google Ads Accounts?
NO - Create a simple Google Ads account following SOP 014: Create a Google Ads Account (web version).
Do you have employees, freelancers, or agencies that you will need to grant access?
NO (it’s just you) - You don’t need user management—you don’t need the rest of this SOP. This is how your account structure will look like:
YES (your team needs access to your ad account) - this is how your account structure will look like:
YES (you’re managing multiple ad accounts) - You’ll need to use at least one Google Ads Manager account to manage all your Ad Accounts.
Do you need to restrict your employee's or teammate's access to specific Ad Accounts?
NO (it’s ok if every employee can access all Ad accounts in my Ads Manager account) - Use a single Google Ads Manager account with all the Google Ads Accounts your business is managing.
This is how your structure will look like:
YES (I want to control which Ad accounts my employees or teammates can have access to) - you will need to create a “Master” Google Ads Manager account and group Ad Accounts using “Siloed” Ads Manager Accounts.
This is how your account structure will look like:
Master Google Ads Manager Account - This Google Ads Manager Account will tie all your other siloed Google Ads Manager Accounts.
Account Group #1, #2, #3, #X - These Google Ads Manager Accounts will group the accounts that will be shared among the different team members/employees working on them.
E.g.: Internal Employees, External Freelancers, External Agencies—you will have to define what makes sense for your specific case.
Use this template to design your own siloed structure.
Template 022: Google Ads Manager Account Structure (web version) and share it with your organization so everyone clearly understands how Google Ads Accounts are structured. (Remember: Click “File” → “Make a copy” to be able to edit)
Then, follow the next steps on this SOP to create your Ad Manager accounts according to the structure you created.
Creating a Google Ads Manager account
01▸ Open the Google Ads Manager account homepage here.
02▸ Click “Go to Manager Accounts” and sign in with your business Gmail account.
03▸ Enter your account name, billing country, time zone and currency and click “Submit”.
Note: You won’t be able to change the country, time zone, and currency later.
Name your account: Any name will do but bear in mind your clients or teammates will see this name when you request access to their Ad Accounts.
And that's it! You’re done. Click “Explore your account” to head to your ad account.
Request access to another Google Ads Account from your Google Ads Manager Account
Typical scenario: An agency (or third-party manager) wants access to a client’s existing Google Ads account so they can manage campaigns on their behalf. Who performs this action: The agency or manager requesting access. What you need: The 10-digit Customer ID of the Google Ads account you want to access (usually provided by the client).
To locate the Google Ads Account Customer ID:
When logged in to the Google Ad Manager account that you want to give access to, you will find your Customer ID on the top right corner of your dashboard.
01▸ Log into your Google Ads Manager account here.
02▸ In the left-hand menu, click on “Accounts” and then select “Sub-account settings”.
03▸ Click the blue plus (+) button and choose “Link existing account”.
04▸ Enter the Customer ID of the account you want to link to your manager account and assign a direct manager. Click “Send Request”.
05▸ The client (account owner) will receive a notification in their Google Ads account and must approve the request by going to > "Admin" > "Access and security" > "Managers" tab. Locate the request and click “Accept”.
____
06▸ Once approved, the client’s account will appear in your “Accounts” tab and you’ll be able to manage it according to the permissions granted.
Granting an employee or freelancer access to your Google Ads account
Access given: Multiple access levels.
Important: All Google Ads accounts linked to that Google Ads Manager account will be available to the added user at the selected access level.
Typical scenario: An agency wants to assign an employee access to the accounts that are managed by that Google Ads Manager account.
Who performs this action: The person who wants to grant access.
E.g.: The PPC Team leader grants access to the team’s MCC to a new member of the team.
Inputs needed: You will need your employee’s / teammate’s email address.
01▸ Log in to your Google Ads Manager account here.
02▸ On the left navigation menu, click “Admin” → “Access and security”.
03▸ You’ll land on the "Users" tab. Click the blue plus (+) button → Insert the details of the person you want to invite (typically your employee’s email address) → “Send Invitation”.
Note: If you are unsure about the kind of access you should provide. Refer to the chapter of this SOP titled "Google Ads Account access levels".
04▸ Your request will be pending until your invitee accepts it.
Note: Once the person you invited accepts your invite you will see them on your user list along with the assigned access level:
(Next Steps) Instructions for the invitee
The invitee will receive an email prompting him to grant access to your Google Ads Manager account:
05▸ Open the email, and click “Accept Request”.
06▸ Click “Continue” to confirm your email address.
That’s it! Your Google Account now has access to that Manager Account.
Revoking access to your Google Ads or Google Ads Manager account
01▸ Log in to your Google Ads account.
Note: Make sure you have a user-management access level. You can check the respective user levels in the first chapter of this SOP.
02▸ On the left navigation menu, click “Admin” → “Access and security”.
03▸ On the top, select “Users” if you are removing an employee or partner who is not using a Google Ads Manager account or “Managers” if you are removing one who is using a Google Ads Manager account.
Note: If you are unsure, just check both tabs.
04▸ Locate the employee or partner that you want to remove and click “Remove access”.
05▸ Confirm by clicking “Remove access” once again.
That’s it!
Unlinking a Google Ads or Google Ads Manager account from your Google Ads Manager account
01▸ Log into your Google Ads Manager account.
Note: Make sure you have an administrative access level. You can check the respective user-levels in the "Google Ads Account access levels" chapter of this SOP.