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Connect Google Ads

Connect Google Ads is the first onboarding step, right after you sign up. Hero Marketer needs Google Ads API access to read your account and, when you approve a change, to make it. Connecting is free, and no card is needed.

How the connection works​

  1. Click Connect Google Ads. Google's authorization screen opens in the same tab.
  2. Choose the Google account that has access to your Google Ads account. It can be different from the account that you signed up with.
  3. Approve the requested scope (see below).
  4. Google redirects back to Hero Marketer, which loads the Google Ads accounts that your Google identity can see.
  5. If you have exactly one Google Ads account under that Google identity, Hero Marketer picks it automatically.
  6. If you have several (for example, client accounts under a manager account), pick the one to check first. Then click Scan this account. You can connect more accounts later.

Either way, the free scan starts next.

The free scan of your account​

Right after you connect, Hero Marketer runs its alert checks on the account once while you watch. It reads the last 35 days of results and checks budgets and spend, conversion tracking, search terms that waste money, and keywords and ads. The scan usually takes under a minute. Larger accounts take a little longer.

The scan reads your account. It changes nothing, unless you already turned on automations. Automations that you turned on before can act on the account during the scan.

When the scan finishes, you see one of these results:

  • N things need your attention. The most important open alerts, with a count of the rest. Every alert also appears in the bell at the top of the app and on the Alerts page.
  • Your account looks healthy. Nothing needs attention right now.
  • Nothing to check yet. The account had no ad spend in the last 35 days.
  • We couldn't finish the scan. Something went wrong while Hero Marketer read the account. Your dashboard still works.

The scan is free once for each Google Ads account that you connect. Hero Marketer does not email the results of the scan.

Daily checks after the free scan​

Until you buy credits, nothing checks the account again after the free scan. Daily checks cost 0.25 credits a day for each connected account. The charge starts when you buy credits for the first time. All 17 alert types are on by default, so daily checks start for every connected account at that time. To stop the charge, turn off all 17 alert types and all automations, or disconnect the account. See Monitoring and the daily rate.

Finish onboarding​

Click Open my dashboard to finish onboarding. Your first AI summary for the account is free on the dashboard. If the account had no ad spend in the last 35 days, the main button is Create your first campaign. The dashboard button is second.

Scopes we request​

Connect Google Ads asks Google for one permission: access to your Google Ads accounts (the adwords scope). The permission includes offline access, so the daily checks can run while you are away. Hero Marketer uses this scope to read your account list and data, and to create campaigns and assets. It also uses the scope to make the changes that you approve and to run the automations that you turn on.

Your name and email come from the Google sign-in that you used at sign up. The Connect Google Ads step does not ask for them again.

We do not request access to Gmail, Drive, Calendar, or any other Google service.

Google requires 2-Step Verification​

As of April 21, 2026, Google requires 2-Step Verification (2SV) on any Google account that grants Google Ads API access. This requirement applies whether you connect through Hero Marketer, Google Ads Editor, Google Ads Scripts, or any other tool that uses the Google Ads API.

If the Google account that you choose at this step does not have 2SV, Google helps you set it up. Google does this on its authorization screen, before the connection completes. Connections made before April 21, 2026 keep working. No action needed for accounts that you have already linked.

You can check or enable 2SV from the Security tab of your Google Account.

What you will see in the account list​

If the list renders (multiple accounts), expect:

  • Direct accounts. Standard Google Ads accounts. You own them, or you are a user on them.
  • Manager accounts (MCC). If your login is a manager account, the list shows the enabled client accounts directly under it. Accounts under a sub-manager do not appear. To connect those accounts, use a login that has direct access to them. You connect one account at a time.
  • Test accounts. Google marks these as test accounts. You can connect them, but campaigns created in test accounts will not run.

If you do not see an account that you expected, the most common reason is that your Google identity is not a user on it. Ask whoever owns it to add you through Google Ads' user management screen.

What happens once you finish​

Hero Marketer saves the selected Google Ads account as your active account and inherits its time zone and currency. Dashboard reporting uses both so numbers line up with what you see in Google Ads. You can switch the active account from the sidebar at any time.

Connecting the account does not change your campaigns. After that, Hero Marketer changes an existing campaign in three ways only:

  • Hero AI makes a change after you click Approve and apply.
  • An automation that you turn on makes a change without asking each time, within daily caps.
  • Pause campaign or Enable campaign on the Campaigns page applies at once.

Also, sitelinks that you make with Generate with AI in the campaign wizard go into the account at once, at account level. They can show with your existing campaigns too.

You land on your dashboard, ready to read your numbers, ask Hero AI a question, or build your first campaign.

I do not have a Google Ads account yet​

If the Google account that you chose has no Google Ads account, Hero Marketer shows We couldn't find any Google Ads accounts. Two paths:

  • Create one first. Go to ads.google.com and follow Google's signup. The minimum is a billing profile and a time zone. Then come back to Hero Marketer and click Try again.
  • Use a different Google account. Click Reconnect Google Ads and choose a Google account that has access to Google Ads. If a coworker already has a Google Ads account, ask them to add your Google identity through Google Ads' user management first.

What Hero Marketer can and cannot do with this access​

With the access that you grant, Hero Marketer can:

  • List the Google Ads accounts that your Google identity has access to.
  • Read campaigns, keywords, ad copy, extensions, and performance metrics.
  • Create new Search campaigns and sitelinks from the campaign wizard.
  • Change existing campaigns through Hero AI, after you click Approve and apply. Hero AI can change status, budgets, bidding, keywords, negative keywords, and responsive search ads.
  • Change budgets, targets, negative keywords, and keyword status through automations that you turn on.
  • Pause or enable a campaign when you click Pause campaign or Enable campaign on the Campaigns page. This applies at once.

Hero Marketer cannot:

  • Change your Google Ads billing or payment methods.
  • Set up conversion tracking.
  • Remove a campaign.
  • Change location, device, ad schedule, or network settings.
  • Edit Performance Max asset groups or assets.
  • Access any Google product outside Google Ads.

You can revoke access at any time from your Google account permissions page. See Disconnect Google Ads.

How many Google Ads accounts you can connect​

You can connect up to 10 Google Ads accounts. There are no plans or tiers. Your first account connects free during onboarding. To connect more accounts, you must have a balance above 0. Connecting is free, but each account adds daily checks at 0.25 credits a day. Your alert and automation settings apply to every Google Ads account that you connect, not only the active one. See Add another Google Ads account and How credits work.

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