Grant an agency user access to a Google Ads account

Give one agency Google Account Standard access to an existing Google Ads account, then confirm the saved role and the recipient's access to the correct customer ID.

• Outcome: Client access & onboarding
• Tools: Google Ads, Google Account
• Responsible: A Google Ads Administrator who needs an agency operator to manage campaigns and measurement in one account.
• Estimated time: 15 minutes

Scope

This SOP covers:

• Grant one existing agency Google Account direct Standard access to one Google Ads account
• Choose an access expiration set by the account owner and confirm the invitation's saved role
• Have the recipient open the intended customer ID and confirm the available operational controls

This does not cover:

• Create a Google Ads account or create a Google Ads manager account
• Link a client account to an agency manager account or change manager ownership
• Grant Admin, Billing, Read-only, or Email-only access
• Change payment methods, billing profiles, budgets, advertiser verification, or legal settings
• Create, edit, enable, or publish campaigns

Requirements

• Administrator access to the target Google Ads account, plus its account name and customer ID.
• The agency person's exact existing Google Account email address; the person has no direct or pending access to this account and is available to accept the invitation.
• The account owner's Standard-access decision for campaign and report work. Standard allows editing campaigns and reports and eligible Analytics conversions, but not user, manager-link, product-link, or advertiser-verification control.
• The owner's intended access end date, or explicit approval for ongoing access with no end date.

Related SOPs

• SOP 096: Create a Google Ads account without launching a campaign
• SOP 002: Track lead form submissions using a thank-you page in Google Ads with Google Tag Manager

01. Confirm the account and recipient

Check the account identity and current user list before opening a new invitation.

1. Open Google Ads with your Administrator Google Account. Use the account selector to choose the account from your prerequisites, then confirm the account name and customer ID shown in the top bar.

2. Open Admin > Access and security > Users. Search for the agency person's exact Google Account email address. Continue only when the email is not already listed and Google is not showing a pending invitation for it. If an entry or pending invitation appears, stop and have the account owner review that existing access instead of sending a duplicate invitation.

02. Send the Standard invitation

Standard is the least-privilege account role for an agency that must manage campaigns and measurement without managing users or account ownership.

1. In Users, click + to add a user. Enter the agency person's exact Google Account email address. Set Access Expires to the owner-set end date, or leave it at Never only when ongoing access is authorized. Select Standard under Select account access level. Do not choose Admin, Billing, Read only, or Email only.

2. Click Send invitation only after the recipient, expiration, and Standard role match the owner's plan. Google sends the invitation email to the address you entered; the agency person must accept it before access appears as active.

   • Warning: Sending the invitation contacts the recipient and may give account access after acceptance. Check the address before you send.
   • Resource: Manage access to your Google Ads account (Review Google's current invitation and acceptance behavior.)

03. Confirm the saved role and account

A sent email is not proof of access. Check the saved row after the recipient accepts the invitation.

1. After the agency person accepts the invitation, return to Admin > Access and security > Users and search for the exact email address. Confirm that the saved Access level is Standard and that Access expires matches the owner's plan. If the row is missing, still pending, or has another role, stop and have the account owner review it.

2. Ask the agency person to sign in with the invited Google Account, open Google Ads, and confirm that the top bar shows the same customer ID from your prerequisites. Have them confirm that campaign and report views are available. They should not create or change a campaign during this check.