Connect or Migrate your Google Ads Account

• Understanding your Google Ads connection
• Link your account for the first time
• Viewing your linked Google Ads accounts
• If you're on Legacy Standalone

Understanding your Google Ads connection

Adthena's supported way to connect is Manager Account (MCC) linking, Google's model for technology partners. There are two ways an account might have gotten there:

• Via OAuth (current): your Google Ads admin signs in with their own Google account, in-app, self-serve. That sign-in both proves it's really them and completes the MCC link in one step. No password is ever shared with Adthena. OAuth 2.0 is the industry-standard authorization protocol most sign-in-with-Google style connections use, including this one.
• Via legacy invitation (older): your admin accepted an email invitation to link the manager accounts, from before the current self-serve flow existed.

Both result in the same thing, your account is MCC-linked, your Google Ads data syncs into Adthena, and Decision Intelligence, Brand Activator, and other MCC-dependent features all work normally. No action is needed either way.

There's a third, older connection some accounts may still be on: Legacy Standalone, a dedicated Adthena email address added directly as a user on your account, not through a manager account at all. This is the one being phased out, MCC linking, whether via OAuth or the older invitation method, is the only method Adthena is building for going forward. As new features are released, they'll increasingly require MCC linking, so accounts already on it are well placed for what's coming.

Link your account for the first time

A summary screen explaining what you're about to connect. It shows what Adthena will request:

• Your identity – your Google email and profile name
• Read-only Google Ads access – Adthena reads performance data from your campaigns, keywords, and search terms; it cannot edit, pause, or delete anything in your account
• Revoke anytime – disconnect from this page or from your Google Account permissions screen

1. Click Connect Google Ads to proceed. You'll be returned to this page after signing in to Google.
2. Sign in to Google – Sign in via a Google popup window to authenticate.
3. Select accounts – Choose which Google Ads account(s) or MCC to link.
4. Delegation & Approve – This step has two parts:
   • Sign in and select your accounts (steps 3–4 above) is enough on its own to unlock Decision Intelligence. Anyone can complete this, standard access is sufficient. You can stop here if that's all you need.
   • Admin approval of the manager account link completes the full connection. This creates the account link and starts your Google Ads data syncing into Adthena on an ongoing basis. If you're not the admin yourself, Adthena emails them separately from no-reply@adthena.com. Approving it just means opening that email and signing in.
5. Finish – Confirmation that linking is complete.

To add a new Google Ads account that isn't yet linked at all, use the Connect more button in the top-right of the page. This runs through the same sign-in and account selection steps as first-time linking, without affecting any accounts already linked.

Viewing your linked Google Ads accounts

The Linked Google Ads accounts page becomes visible once you've linked your MCC account, showing the full picture of every Google Ads account connected to Adthena.

At the top, a summary bar counts your accounts across five categories:

• All accounts – every Google Ads account currently connected to Adthena, across your whole organization.
• Assigned – accounts that are both linked and mapped to the correct Adthena account. No action needed.
• Needs assignment – accounts that are linked, but haven't yet been mapped to an Adthena account, so their data isn't being used anywhere yet. Assigning them is a separate step from linking.
• Awaiting admin – accounts where linking has started but is waiting on a Google Ads admin to approve the manager account invitation before it can complete.
• Errors – accounts with a connection issue, for example access that's been revoked or a link that failed, and needs attention.

Below that, accounts are grouped into sections by status:

• Migrate to Adthena MCC: accounts still on the legacy connection. Each row shows a Migration needed pill and a Migrate button.
• Connection errors: accounts with a broken link. Common reasons are access being revoked, or an admin approval invitation expiring before being actioned (these links are valid for 30 days). Reach out to our support team if you need help.
• Synced: accounts already connected via MCC, showing an Active status and the date they were linked.

Each row also shows which Adthena account it's currently assigned to, and this assignment is independent of migration status, an account can already be correctly assigned to the right Adthena account even while it's still flagged as needing migration. Migrating an account to MCC and assigning it to the correct Adthena account are two separate things.

If you're on Legacy Standalone

If your account shows Adthena MCC Migration Needed, that means you're on the older standalone connection, complete these steps before linking:

1. Remove Adthena's access in Google Ads. Go to Access and security in your Google Ads account, find the Adthena email address associated with your account, and remove it for each account that needs migrating.
2. Notify Adthena support. Confirm the access has been removed, a screenshot is the easiest way to do this.
3. Wait for confirmation. Adthena will uncouple the old connection on our end so your account is released for reconnection.
4. Once confirmed, continue with linking as normal.

Important: Your Google Ads data will stop syncing briefly during this process, from when the old connection is removed until you complete the steps below.