- Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have:
An active Google Ads account with at least one campaign (paused or ended is fine). A completely empty account can technically connect but you won't see any recommendations until your first campaign runs.
Admin or standard access to the Google Ads account. Read-only access is not sufficient for OAuth — you need at minimum the
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/adwordsscope.An active SteerAds account. If you don't have one yet, create it in 30 seconds via Google OAuth on our signup page.
SteerAds works equally well with a direct account or a Manager Customer Account. Step 2 below helps you decide.
- Step 1: Start the OAuth flow
From your dashboard, click Connections in the side menu
(or go directly to
/dashboard/connect).
The page lists every ad account you can connect.
Click the "Connect Google Ads" button.
A Google window opens — pick the Google account that owns your campaigns (or the account with MCC access).
Google shows you the requested permissions. We ask for three scopes:
adwords— read your campaigns, keywords, bids, conversions.emailandprofile— to link the account to your SteerAds user.
Click "Allow". You're redirected back to SteerAds. If everything went through, you see "Connection successful".
If Google shows a warning screen, click "Advanced" then "Go to SteerAds (unsafe)". We're going through Google's verification — the screen will disappear automatically once the process completes, no action needed on your side.
- Step 2: Choose between direct account and MCC
If your Google email has access to a Manager Customer Account (MCC), SteerAds offers to connect either a direct account or the entire MCC. The table below helps you pick:
Situation | Recommended choice |
|---|---|
| You manage 1 account (your own) | Direct account. Simpler, fewer scopes requested. |
You're an agency with 5 or more clients in your MCC | MCC. Connect once, then pick the sub-accounts to monitor. |
You have 2-3 separate accounts without an MCC | Connect each account separately. Repeat step 1 for each. |
You work for a client who granted you access to their MCC | MCC (restricted mode). You'll only see the accounts you have access to. |
- Step 3: Pick the sub-accounts (if MCC)
After authorising an MCC, SteerAds shows a picker listing every accessible sub-account. By default none are selected — you pick which ones to monitor.
The business name and Google Ads ID (10-digit format) are shown for each account.
The "30-day spend" column helps you spot active (non-empty) accounts.
You can filter by status (active, paused, suspended) or by name.
Once your accounts are checked, click "Import these accounts". You can always add or remove accounts later from the same page.
- Step 4: First sync
As soon as an account is imported, SteerAds kicks off the initial sync. Here's what happens behind the scenes:
- Structure import (campaigns, ad groups, ads, keywords) — about 10 seconds.
Performance data import for the last 90 days (impressions, clicks, conversions, daily costs) — 1 to 4 minutes depending on volume.
First performance score calculation — a few seconds after the import finishes.
First batch of AI recommendations generated — about 30 seconds. Critical recommendations are available immediately, the rest land progressively over the next 10 minutes.
You can track progress from the
/dashboard/connect
page, Status column. A green "Synced" badge appears
once it's done.
SteerAds automatically syncs every 4 hours in the background. You can force a manual refresh by clicking "Refresh" on the account (max 1 per hour).
- Revoking access
You can revoke permissions at any time from SteerAds (recommended) or from Google (in an emergency).
Option 1: From SteerAds
- Go to
/dashboard/connect - Click the (...) menu on the account to disconnect
- Pick "Disconnect" and confirm
OAuth tokens are invalidated immediately and your local data is deleted within 24 hours (GDPR compliance).
Option 2: From Google (emergency)
Go to
myaccount.google.com/permissions
- Find "SteerAds" in the list
- Click and pick "Remove access"
- Troubleshooting
The 5 most common errors during connection, with the exact message and the fix.
access_denied — "You denied access"
You clicked "Cancel" instead of "Allow". Restart the connection and click Allow.
insufficient_scope — "Insufficient permissions"
You unticked a required permission during OAuth. Restart the connection and leave every box ticked.
MCC_LOCKED — "Your MCC is locked"
Google locked your MCC for security reasons (payment declined, policy violation). Fix the issue on the Google Ads side (ads.google.com) before retrying.
"I don't see my Google Ads account in the list"
Check that you picked the right Google account during OAuth. If yes, it's likely an access issue: your Google account doesn't have rights on that Google Ads account. Ask the account owner for "Admin" or "Standard" access.
"Sync is stuck at 0% for more than 10 minutes"
First check that your Google Ads account is not suspended (payment suspension, policy suspension). If everything looks normal, force a manual refresh. If the problem persists, disconnect then reconnect the account — the OAuth token may have expired.
- Security and privacy
AES-256 encrypted tokens at rest, TLS 1.3 in transit. Our servers are in Europe (Railway, Frankfurt).
Default read-only scope. SteerAds reads your data but never writes anything until you explicitly turn on autopilot in the settings.
No sensitive data stored. We don't keep your Google Ads payment info nor any personally identifiable data on the people converting on your ads.
GDPR compliant. Export or fully delete your data in one click from
/dashboard/settings/privacy.