Google Ads

Connect Google Ads for paid search, display, YouTube, Demand Gen, and shopping campaign performance.

Google Ads is the connection that powers most of SMAQ's paid-search and creative-intelligence features — search term analysis, quality score monitoring, impression share alerts, ad fatigue detection, and competitor ad tracking on the Google Transparency Center.

What SMAQ pulls

• Campaign, ad group, ad, keyword, and search term performance

• Impressions, clicks, conversions, spend, CPC, CTR, CPA, ROAS

• Quality Score and components (CTR, ad relevance, landing page experience)

• Impression share metrics (lost to budget, lost to rank)

• Auction insights where available

• Ad assets and creative copy (for search and display)

What you'll need

• A Google account with access to the Google Ads account you want to connect.

• For MCC (manager) accounts: the customer ID of the sub-account(s) you want to pull. SMAQ can connect one sub-account per Connection — connect multiple if needed.

Steps to connect

1. Click Data Source → Add data source.

2. Pick Google Ads.

3. Authorize SMAQ via OAuth.

4. Pick the customer account from the dropdown (top-level or sub-account under an MCC).

5. Optionally, select the conversion actions you care about — SMAQ uses these for ROAS and CPA calculations.

6. Name the connection and click Connect.

[Screen video needed] Full Google Ads OAuth + customer selection + conversion-action picker. ~75 seconds.

[Screenshot needed] Customer account dropdown showing an MCC with sub-accounts indented underneath.

Automations powered by Google Ads

Connecting Google Ads unlocks these automations:

• Campaign Performance Check

• Quality Score Monitor

• Impression Share Monitor

• Search Term Analysis

• Ad Fatigue Detector

• Google Competitor Ads Monitor

• Budget Pacing Alert

• Keyword Exploration

• Google Ads Landing Page Analysis (component of Daily Brief)

Tips

• Connect at the MCC level if you manage multiple clients — SMAQ will let you pick the sub-account per connection, so you can swap easily.

• Conversion actions matter. If you pick "All conversions," SMAQ uses Google's default. If you pick a specific set, SMAQ uses only those — better for ecommerce stores with multiple goals.

• Wait 1–2 hours for fresh data. Google Ads has a reporting delay — same-day data is partial.

Troubleshooting

• "Account suspended" error — your Google Ads account is suspended. SMAQ can't pull from suspended accounts. Resolve in the Google Ads UI first.

• Numbers off by ~10% — usually a timezone mismatch. Set the connection's timezone to match your account's timezone in Google Ads settings.

• Search terms missing — search terms with low query volume aren't returned by Google's API (privacy threshold). Expected behavior.

Related

• Search Term Analysis

• Pre-signup audit (Google Ads branch) — same audit that runs at signup