How to Share Google Ad Account Access
Sharing access to your Google Ads account shouldn't require a leap of faith. This guide will walk you through exactly how to grant secure access, explain the different permission levels available, and show you how to manage them like a pro.
Why Share Account Access Instead of Your Password?
Handing over your username and password might seem quick, but it's a practice loaded with security risks and operational headaches. Think about the last time a contractor or team member needed access. It probably involved a clunky exchange of credentials, followed by you getting a stream of "two-factor authentication" texts at inconvenient times. There’s a much better way.
Granting official user access directly through Google Ads is a non-negotiable best practice. Here's why:
- Security is the Top Priority: When an employee or agency partner moves on, you don’t have to rush to change your master password and update it across all your linked Google services. You simply revoke their access with a single click. Their login associated with your account becomes inactive, and your account remains secure.
- Full Accountability and Transparency: Google Ads keeps a detailed "Change History" log. This log records every modification made to your account - from keyword bid adjustments to campaign pausing - and attributes it to the specific user who made the change. If a campaign's performance suddenly tanks, you can instantly see who was behind the recent edits, eliminating the guesswork.
- Granular Control Over Permissions: Not everyone on your team needs the same level of access. Sharing your login gives everyone full administrative power, including the ability to change billing details or even lock you out. By assigning specific roles, you can give your data analyst read-only access to pull reports, allow your campaign manager to edit campaigns without touching billing info, and let your finance team manage payments without seeing ad performance.
- A Simpler Workflow for Everyone: Inviting a user allows them to access your Google Ads account using their own Google credentials. This eliminates the back-and-forth of sharing verification codes and streamlines the login process, letting everyone get to work faster.
Understanding Google Ads Access Levels
Google provides five distinct levels of access, each designed for a specific purpose. Choosing the right one is essential for maintaining both security and team efficiency. Let's break down what each role can and can't do.
Admin Access
Think of this as the "owner" level. An Admin has full power over the entire account with no restrictions. This is the highest level of permission you can grant.
What they can do:
- Everything. They can edit campaigns, manage billing and payment methods, invite or remove other users, change user access levels, link and unlink other Google products (like Google Analytics or Merchant Center), and accept manager account link requests.
Who this is for:
- Account Owners and Partners: The person who owns the business or signs the checks should always have Admin access.
- Trusted Senior-Level Marketers: The Head of Marketing or the primary agency lead who is responsible for the overall strategy and management may require this level.
Word of Caution: Grant Admin access sparingly. Only give this level to people who absolutely need control over billing and user management. For day-to-day campaign work, "Standard" access is almost always the better choice.
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Standard Access
This is the workhorse role for most people actively managing your campaigns. It provides full access to manage and edit ads but closes the door on sensitive administrative functions.
What they can do:
- Create, edit, pause, and delete campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and ads.
- Perform all reporting and analysis activities.
- View billing information, but not change it.
- View other users and managers, but not invite, remove, or edit them.
Who this is for:
- Digital Marketing Managers: The in-house employee responsible for executing ads strategy.
- Freelancers & PPC Specialists: The hands-on-keyboard expert you've hired to run your campaigns.
- Agency Team Members: Your day-to-day point of contact at your digital marketing agency.
Read-only Access
As the name suggests, this role is for viewing only. Users can navigate the entire account, pull any report they want, and analyze performance data, but they can't change a single thing.
What they can do:
- View all campaigns, ad settings, and performance data.
- Create, download, and share performance reports.
- They cannot make any changes or edit anything within the account.
Who this is for:
- CEOs and Executives: Stakeholders who want to track high-level performance without the risk of accidentally changing something.
- Data Analysts: Team members whose sole job is to analyze performance and provide insights.
- Content or SEO Teams: Colleagues who need keyword data or landing page performance to inform their own strategies.
Billing Access
This is a specialized role designed specifically for your finance or accounting team. It gives them the ability to handle all the financial aspects of the account without getting bogged down in campaign metrics.
What They Can Do:
- View and edit payment methods and billing information.
- View invoices and make payments.
- They cannot view or edit any campaigns, ads, or performance data.
Who This Is For:
- Finance/Accounting Department: The people responsible for paying the ad spend bill.
- Office Managers or Admins: Anyone tasked with managing company credit cards and vendor payments.
Email-only Access
This permission level doesn't even allow the user to log in to the Google Ads interface. It’s designed for stakeholders who just want to receive scheduled reports directly in their inbox.
What They Can Do:
- Receive automated reports and account notifications via email.
- They cannot log in to or view the Google Ads account interface.
Who This Is For:
- Hands-off Clients: An agency can use this to send weekly performance summaries to a client who doesn't want to learn the Google Ads platform.
- Busy Executives: Perfect for a CMO or CEO who just wants a top-line daily performance snapshot sent to their email every morning.
How to Share Google Ads Account Access: Step-by-Step
Ready to invite someone? The process is simple and only takes a minute. Here’s exactly how to do it.
- Log into your Google Ads account at ads.google.com.
- In the top right corner, click on the "Tools and settings" icon, which looks like a wrench or spanner.
- A menu will appear. Under the "Setup" column, click on "Access and security."
- You'll now see a list of current users. To add a new one, click the round blue "+" button.
- In the "Add user" window, enter the email address of the person you want to invite. This email address must be associated with a Google account.
- Below the email field, select the appropriate access level (Admin, Standard, Read-only, etc.) from the list. Choose carefully based on the descriptions above.
- Once you've selected the access level, click the "Send invitation" button.
That's it! The person will receive an email invitation to access your account. They must click the link in the email and accept the invitation before they can log in. Until they accept, their status will show as "Pending invitation" in your user list.
How to Manage and Revoke Access
Reviewing who has access to your account should be a regular part of your digital security audit - just like changing your passwords. As team members change roles or agencies change hands, it's vital to keep your user list clean and up-to-date.
Removing a user is even easier than adding one:
- Follow the same initial steps: navigate to "Tools and settings" > "Access and security".
- On the "Users" tab, you'll see a list of everyone with access to your account and their permission level.
- Find the person you wish to remove from the account.
- In the far right column labeled "Actions," simply click "Remove access."
Their access will be revoked instantly and permanently. A good rule of thumb is to conduct this review quarterly or any time an employee or contractor with account access leaves the company.
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A Note on Manager Accounts (MCC)
If you work with a marketing agency, they will likely request access to your account through what's called a Manager Account (or MCC, short for My Client Center). An MCC is a special type of Google Ads account that allows agencies to link to and manage multiple client accounts from a single dashboard.
When you grant an agency access via their MCC, you are linking your account to theirs. This allows their team members - all managed under their own MCC - to work on your account. You will see the Manager Account listed in the "Managers" tab within your "Access and security" section, but you won't see individual people from their team listed under the "Users" tab.
This is a standard and secure practice. It centralizes control for the agency, and if your working relationship ends, you can simply unlink their Manager Account to revoke access for their entire team in one go, while you always retain ultimate Admin ownership of your account.
Final Thoughts
Properly managing access to your Google Ads account is a foundational part of running a secure and efficient advertising strategy. By using Google's built-in permission levels, you create a clear audit trail, protect sensitive billing information, and ensure every team member has exactly the access they need - no more, no less.
Once you've onboarded your team, the real work of turning data into insights begins. Instead of spending hours in the Google Ads interface trying to build the perfect report, we designed Graphed to streamline that entire process. Just connect your account, and you can build live marketing dashboards and get answers to your most pressing performance questions by simply describing what you want to see - no need to wrestle with pivot tables or complex report builders.
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