What Is a Google Ads Manager Account (MCC)?

Google's own words: "A manager account is a Google Ads account that lets you view and manage multiple Google Ads accounts." Google still titles its help pages "Manager Accounts (MCC)", which is why people search for both names.

Think of it as a folder with a login. You make it as a new, separate account. Then you link ad accounts under it. Your campaigns, budgets and history stay in each ad account. The manager account just lets one person, or one team, jump between them without logging in and out.

It does not move campaigns from one account to another. And it is an account, not a person. When people search "google ads account manager", some mean this account and some mean a human who runs their ads. That person can be an agency, a freelancer, or someone on your own team. Some mean the person from Google who calls with ideas for your account. My advice there: listen, then decide yourself. They do not run your account for you, and you can say no to any change. This page is about the account. Looking for a person to run your ads instead? The pages below on whether you need a Google Ads expert and what PPC management costs cover that. Or look at ZenoX Media, my Google Ads agency.

One case where you need one even with a single store: Google says "A manager account is required for Ads accounts using monthly invoicing." If you pay by card, that line does not apply to you.

Most single-store owners do not. Here is my call, from running 400+ store accounts at ZenoX Media, my Google Ads agency. It is advice, not a Google rule.

Everyone you let into your Google Ads account gets one access level. Google lists five. The last column is my advice.

Never send anyone your Google login. There is no reason to. Here is how, for a person, an agency and a tool.

For a person, like a freelancer or an auditor, add them as a user. In your Google Ads account, open the Admin menu, then Access and security. Click the plus button, type their email, pick Read-only, and click "Send invitation". They sign in with their own Google login. To take it back, find them on the same page and click "Remove access".

For an agency, let them link their manager account. They send a link request from their side using your customer ID. You accept it in your account under Admin, then Access and security, on the Managers tab. Google lists accepting a link request as an Admin job, so you need admin access on your account to say yes. Unlinking a manager later is an Admin job too.

Linking is not the same as handing over ownership. Unless you also give "administrative ownership", the agency cannot add admins or remove other managers.

For a tool, look for Google's sign-in screen. Scaley connects this way: you click connect, sign in with Google, and approve the access on Google's page. No password changes hands, and you can remove the access later from your Google account's security settings.

You will not hit these with a handful of stores, but here they are, straight from Google's help pages.

If you just want someone to look over your shoulder, adding a person as Read-only costs nothing and takes a couple of clicks. Google's help pages walk you through every screen.

If you want a person to run the whole account, that is an agency or a freelancer, and they will usually ask to link their manager account. ZenoX Media is mine, so I am not neutral there. Whoever you pick, keep your own admin login.

Scaley Media Buyer ($99/mo + 1% of total ad spend) is the one we build, so weigh that too. It connects to Google Ads read-only through Google's sign-in, with no manager link and no password. You ask "where is my money leaking?" and it reads your live account and answers right away. The dashboard also keeps a running count of the wasted spend it found this week, so you see it without asking. It never changes a setting and never runs on its own. It works with manager accounts too, if your stores already sit under one. The base fee is charged once, and the percent runs on total ad spend across every account you connect.

Scaley comes in two other levels. Scaley Consultant ($99/mo flat) reads screenshots or CSVs you upload and connects to nothing at all. Scaley Suite ($199/mo + 4% of total ad spend) finds the fixes and queues each change with the reason. Only the Scaley Suite writes to an account, and only after an individual yes from you.

Media Buyer and Suite carry the Leak Guarantee. Every month, if the wasted ad spend Scaley shows you is smaller than that month's bill, we refund the whole bill. The conditions are in the questions below. Every level starts with a 3-day free trial, card required.