Five minutes.
Today Madder registers your Google account by Customer ID and sends no link request. When one-click connect for Google arrives you will approve access on Google's own consent screen, as Meta works now; Madder never asks for your password and never spends without your approval. This doc is for link requests from agencies, freelancers and other tools.
Before you start#
- Admin access to the Google Ads account (the ten-digit one, not a manager).
- The Customer ID of whoever is asking to link, so you can check it is really them.
1. Know the two kinds of account#
A normal Google Ads account holds campaigns and a payment method. A manager account (MCC) holds no campaigns; it is a folder that lets one login manage many accounts. Agencies, tools and larger businesses use them. Your ad account can be linked to several managers at once; the account and its billing stay yours. A link never transfers ownership.
2. What a link request is#
From their manager account, an agency or tool enters your Customer ID under Accounts → Sub-account settings → + → Link existing account and clicks Send Request. Nothing changes until you accept. Anyone who knows your Customer ID can send one, so keep the ID private.
3. Where the request appears and how to accept it#
In your account go to Admin → Access and security (as of September 2026) and open the Managers tab. Under Link request you see the manager's name and ID; in the Actions column choose Accept or Decline. Google emails a confirmation and links the account at once. Check the sender's Customer ID before accepting — a link lets them edit campaigns and see spend.
4. Review who has access#
The same page lists Users (direct logins: Admin, Standard, Read only, Email only) and Managers. Quarterly, remove anyone who no longer works with you. Managers → Unlink takes effect immediately and does not touch campaigns.
5. Basic vs Standard API access — nothing for you to do#
Tools such as Madder talk to Google through the Google Ads API with a developer token that Google grants an access level: Explorer (2,880 operations a day), Basic (15,000 a day) or Standard (unlimited). That level belongs to the tool's token — "each Google Ads API developer token is assigned an access level" — not to your account. It caps the tool's total traffic to Google; it never changes what your account can do, what you pay or what you see. A tool "waiting for Standard access" is growing its own capacity, not asking you for a permission.
If it doesn't work#
- No "Link request" section — you are signed into a manager, not the ad account; switch accounts in the top left.
- Request from a name you don't know — decline. Legitimate agencies send you the Customer ID first.
- "This account is already managed" — a manager link limit is not the cause; check for an old agency still linked and unlink it.
- Accepted, agency still can't see the account — they need to pick the account inside their MCC and refresh; or their user lacks rights in their own manager.
- Two-step verification demanded on accept — Google's manager security mandate; enable it on your Google account and retry.