Linking your Google Ads to Adthena: What are the benefits and how do I link?

• Linking Options
• Why Link?
• Data Security
• Navigate to Google Ads Integration
• First Time Google Ads Linking
• Upgrade Legacy Linking or Add New Account
• Steps for Your MCC Admin

Linking Options

Option 1 – Recommended

We recommend linking your Manager Account (MCC) to Adthena’s MCC. Linking your MCC will automatically connect all associated Client Accounts (CID) in one step, reducing setup time and providing a more complete view.

Option 2 – Limited Access

Alternatively, you can choose to link an individual CID to Adthena’s MCC. However, this means only that single account will be linked, and any others under your MCC would need to be connected manually.

Why Link?

Whole Market View customers

To optimize our services, we request access to your Google Ads account. Once linked, we will exclusively synchronize data from your keyword and search term reports across desktop and mobile platforms. All data is anonymized before being ingested into our system, enabling you to fully leverage Adthena’s powerful time-saving and performance-enhancing features.

Leverage Search Term Opportunities

Search Term Opportunities shows where competitors are running ads and you’re not. By linking your Google Ads account, you’ll uncover missed opportunities—like high-potential terms not in your keyword list, or existing keywords not appearing on page one due to low bids, pauses, or negative keywords.

Filter your Adthena data using your existing Google Ads campaign structure

From a functionality point of view, having your account linked automatically gives you the option to filter Adthena data by Google Ads campaign name, which many clients find useful since they are already very familiar with their account structure.

Track results and enhance recommendations

To ensure Adthena delivers value, we ask clients to label any changes in Google Ads, such as adding terms suggested by Adthena. With access, we can track the performance of these labeled changes and proactively offer improved recommendations if they’re not achieving the expected results

Competitor landscape expansion

During the first 30 days of onboarding, Adthena models a bespoke search landscape specific to your brand/domain. This refinement process doesn’t end after onboarding; we continually monitor your market for changes, including new product categories, destinations, and emerging popular search terms.

This process works effectively without linking your Google Ads account to Adthena, but by doing so, the model can learn about your market even faster. This ensures that your key terms are included in Adthena from day one, and any new keywords you add to your campaigns in the future are immediately captured by the tool.

Estimated spend for your brand

Linked accounts also impact the machine-learning model that calculates nightly estimated CPCs and CTRs for each competitor based on their observed positions. This model continually learns and adapts to your market, and linking your Google Ads data accelerates this process, improving the accuracy of estimates more quickly. This is especially beneficial for brand-specific terms, which can be harder to estimate due to their unique nature.

Brand Activator

New Customers

To calculate in-app savings, Brand Activator requires your Google Ads account to be linked to Adthena.

Existing Customers

Brand Activator is not impacted when customers upgrade their legacy Google Ads linking to MCC linking. Existing connections remain in place, allowing savings calculations to continue uninterrupted. However, if new Google Ads accounts are added during or after the migration, Brand Activator click tracking may be affected. There is no need to pause Brand Activator during the migration, it can continue running as normal throughout the process.

Data Security

All data is securely stored in data centers in Ireland using the very latest technology provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is trusted by many Enterprise companies including Netflix, Expedia, Vodafone, Airbnb, plus a number of banks. It is also protected by our confidentiality.

Navigate to Google Ads Integration

To access the Google Ads Integration, click the cog icon in the top-right corner of the Adthena platform. Note that any user can initiate a new linking but only an MCC Admin to complete the linking process.

First Time Google Ads Linking

Click Link Google Ads to Adthena to connect your account.

Follow the in-app steps to complete Google Ads linking. 

Upgrade Legacy Linking or Add New Account

This is the Google Ads Linking status screen, showing all Google Ads accounts linked (or pending linking) for a customer.

Google Ads account name and/or ID lists each Google Ads account that has been added.

Data transfer status shows the health of the data feed from Google Ads to Adthena. All accounts listed here are showing Healthy, meaning data is being successfully imported.

Your current linking method will also be indicated in the Linking status column:

• MCC - linked: This account is fully linked. No further action is required.
• Legacy: Action required - Upgrade to MCC linkage: This account is linked using a legacy method. To unlock Adthena’s full potential, please upgrade to MCC linkage.
• MCC linkage in progress: An MCC linking request has already been initiated. Instructions will appear above once there’s at least one pending request.

Action shows available actions depending on linkage status:

• If already MCC-linked: No action required (”-”).
• If Legacy: you are shown the Link to Adthena MCC button to upgrade the linkage method.

Link another Google Ads account lets you add additional Google Ads accounts that aren’t yet linked.

Steps for Your MCC Admin

Once a linking is initiated, an invitation will be sent to your MCC Admin from ads-account-noreply@google.com, indicating that googleads-mcc-admin@adthena.com is requesting access to link your Google Ads account.

Please note: googleads-mcc-admin@adthena.com is only used to send out the invitation and will not be used to access or manage your Google Ads account.

Reach out to support@adthena.com if you have any questions or require assistance.