Product Linking: Link YouTube channels or videos and Google Ads accounts

Linking a YouTube channel to a Google Ads account allows the linked Google Ads account to run ads based on interactions with your channel’s videos. The linked Google Ads account can be granted permissions to access video ads' organic view metrics, show ads to people who visit and interact with your channel, and get insights about how people interact with your channel after viewing your ads.

If you’re an advertiser collaborating with a YouTube creator, you can link their video to your Google Ads account. Linking a video made by a YouTube creator to your Google Ads account allows the linked Google Ads account to view video performance insights, such as organic view count, and show ads to people who have watched the video. Also, by accepting the video link request, the creator enables you to promote their video as part of your ad campaigns. Remember that you’re responsible for securing sufficient rights to use the video as an ad. This may require you to have a separate agreement with the creator or other rights holders. Use this feature when you’re collaborating with a YouTube creator and linking a video from their channel.

This article shows you how to link and unlink your Google Ads account to a YouTube channel or a YouTube video. Learn more about Creator-initiated video linking.

Note: YouTube recently released a feature that allows a YouTube channel to control if a Google Ads account can use the videos hosted on that channel as ads. Linked Google Ads accounts can run ads using videos from a channel if the channel has this control enabled.

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Before you begin

To link a YouTube channel or video to your Google Ads account, your Google Ads account needs to have administrative access, otherwise you won't be able to link it. In Google Ads, you can check your access level or check who has administrative access to your account from the "Account access" page. Learn more About access levels in your Google Ads account.

Additionally, if you are linking to a YouTube channel or a YouTube video that is managed by someone else, it is recommended to engage with the channel owner before sending the link request to ensure it’s accepted.

Benefits

When you link your Google Ads account to a YouTube channel or a YouTube video, you can take advantage of the following features.

Link a YouTube channel to a Google Ads account

When you link a YouTube channel to a Google Ads account, the YouTube channel owner can choose to make the following features available to your linked Google Ads account:

  • View counts: View organic (non-paid) metrics for your videos.

  • Data segments: Create data segments (previously known as "remarketing lists") based on viewers’ past interactions on linked channels.
  • Engagement: From linked channels, view earned actions metrics from video ads and use engagements (for example, subscriptions) on the channel as conversion actions in Google Ads.

You can link up to 10,000 YouTube channels to a single Google Ads account, and link up to 300 Google Ads accounts to a single YouTube channel.

Keep in mind that:

  • Linking accounts doesn't give the YouTube channel owner control over the Google Ads account. In addition, linking accounts doesn't let the advertiser add, delete, or modify videos from the linked YouTube channel. You can now limit the content on your YouTube channel to only be used in linked Google Ads accounts. To find out more about this feature, check the section below.
  • If your Google Ads account is overseen by a manager account, linking your YouTube channel can allow the Google Ads manager account to access your YouTube channel metrics. If you've enabled data segment sharing in your Google Ads account, a manager account can share data segments with other managed accounts.
  • If personalized ads are turned off on a YouTube channel, earned action reports and data segments won't be available for videos hosted on the YouTube channel.

Link a video made by a YouTube creator to a Google Ads account

Linking a video made by a YouTube creator is useful if you are working with a YouTube creator and want to see more insights about the video and run ads using their video.It gives you insights into how the video is performing and lets you reach a wider audience with your ads. When you link a YouTube video to a Google Ads account, the YouTube channel owner may make the following features available to your linked Google Ads account:

Keep in mind

  • Remember that you’re responsible for securing sufficient rights to use the video as an ad. This may require you to have a separate agreement with the creator or other rights holders.
  • Linking accounts doesn't give the YouTube channel owner control over the Google Ads account. In addition, linking accounts doesn't let the advertiser delete, or modify the linked videos on the YouTube channel. You can now limit the content on your YouTube channel to only be used in linked Google Ads accounts. To find out more about this feature, check the section below.
  • Linking YouTube videos doesn’t mean that these videos are exclusive to the linked Google Ads accounts. A YouTube video may be linked to multiple Google Ads accounts, including accounts owned by another advertiser.

Only allow linked Google Ads accounts to use videos as ads

This setting is available for channels within the YouTube Partner Program. With this feature, you can prevent unlinked Google Ads accounts from using channel videos as ads.

You can access this feature in Studio under Settings > Channel > Advanced settings.

To run ads using your channel content, ensure your channel or a specific video is linked to the Google Ads account.

  • Warning: When video ad control is enabled, ads running from the unlinked Google Ads account will stop running.

Instructions

Link or unlink Google Ads accounts in YouTube (Recommended approach)

Link a Google Ads account to a YouTube channel

  1. Go to Settings within your YouTube Studio account.
  2. Select Channel.
  3. Select the Advanced settings tab.
  4. Select Link Account.
  5. Enter a name for the link, a Google Ads customer ID, and choose which permissions you will grant.
  6. Select Done.
  7. Select Save.
  8. After the owner of the Google Ads account approves your request, your YouTube channel is linked to that Google Ads account.

Unlink a Google Ads account from a YouTube channel

  1. Go to Settings within your YouTube Studio account.
  2. Select Channel.
  3. Select the Advanced settings tab.
  4. Select Unlink next to the account that you’d like to unlink.
  5. Select Unlink in the window.
  6. Select Save.

Link or unlink YouTube channels in Google Ads

Note: To link a YouTube channel to your Google Ads account, your Google Ads account needs to have administrative access. If your Google Ads account doesn't have administrative access, you won't be able to link the YouTube channel. In Google Ads, you can check your access level or see who has administrative access to your account from the "Account access" page. Learn more About access levels in your Google Ads account.

Link a YouTube channel to a Google Ads account

  1. Go to Data manager within Tools menu.
  2. Select Connect Product.
  3. Find "YouTube".
  4. To add a channel
    • First Channel: Select Add channel.
    • Additional Channels: Select the plus button
    • Select Link channel.
  5. In the "Link a YouTube channel" dialog, search for a channel or enter its URL and select Next.
    If the YouTube channel belongs to you and uses the same email credentials as the Google Ads account, log-in to the YouTube channel in a separate tab to be identified as an owner.
  6. Do one of the following:
    1. If you’re identified as the channel owner based on the email used, you will be asked to add a link name and decide which data of the YouTube channel can be shared to the Google Ads account.
      An image showing product linking between a YouTube channel and a Google Ads account.
      1. Select Next to proceed to the summary screen.
      2. Select Link to link the YouTube channel with the Google Ads account. The link will be established automatically.
      3. You’ll view a confirmation screen. Select Done to close the dialog and return to the overview page.
    2. If the YouTube channel doesn't belong to you, you’ll be asked to provide the email address of the channel owner:
      1. Enter the email address of the channel owner.
      2. Select Next to review the summary of the link request.
      3. Select Link to send the link request. After the owner of the YouTube channel approves your request, that channel will be linked to your Google Ads account.

Unlink a YouTube channel from a Google Ads account

  1. Go to Data manager within Tools menu.
  2. Find "YouTube", then select Manage and link.
  3. Under “Linked”, find the channel and select Unlink in the “Actions” column.

Cancel a link request that you've sent

  1. Go to Data manager within Tools menu.
  2. Find "YouTube", then select Manage and link.
  3. Under “Sent”, find the channel under the "Actions" column, then select Cancel request.

Accept a link request that you've received

  1. Go to Data manager within Tools menu.
  2. Find "YouTube", then select Manage and link.
  3. Under “Received”, find the channel under the "Actions" column, then select View request.
  4. To approve the link, select Approve.
    1. To reject the link, select Reject.

Link or unlink YouTube videos in Google Ads

To link a YouTube video to a Google Ads account it is recommended to reach out to the YouTube channel owner before sending out the link request. Use this feature if you are collaborating with a YouTube creator and want to link their video to your Google Ads account. Read more about the differences between linking to a YouTube channel and to a YouTube video under the Benefits section.

Link a YouTube video to a Google Ads account

  1. Go to Data manager within Tools menu.
  2. Find "YouTube".
  3. To add a video
    1. Select the plus button .
    2. Select Link video.
  4. In the "Link a YouTube video" dialog, search for a video or enter its URL.
  5. Select Submit to send the link request. When submitted, a summary screen is displayed. Select Done to come back to the “Linked accounts” page.
  6. Until accepted, the link request is displayed under “Sent”.
Note: YouTube channel owner will receive an email notification with the request to link with a request to link the video to a Google Ads account. The email is sent from ‘Google Ads’ as the sender. To accept the link request, the YouTube channel owner will:
  1. Select Review request in the email notification
  2. Be redirected to the YouTube studio
  3. Select Link to accept the request to link

Unlink a YouTube video from a Google Ads account

  1. Go to Data manager within Tools menu.
  2. Find YouTube, then select Manage and link.
  3. Find the video and select Unlink in the “Action” column.

Cancel a link request that you've sent

  1. Go to Data manager within Tools menu.
  2. Find YouTube, then select Manage and link.
  3. Under "Sent", find the video, then select Withdraw request.

Manage creator video links

Creator videos are automatically accepted after the creator initiates the link. These videos will appear directly in the "Received" tab of your account, rather than the "Linked" tab. You don’t need to manually accept these requests as they are approved by design to streamline the process.

Add creator video to your Video campaign

As creator videos are stored in the "Received" tab, they may not immediately appear in your standard asset library view. To add these videos to your campaign:

  1. Navigate to the ad creation step of your Video campaign.
  2. Select Videos to add a video asset.
  3. Use the search bar to search for the exact title of the creator's video, or paste the specific YouTube URL of the video.
  4. Select the correct video from the search results to attach it to your ad.
  5. Continue with campaign creation as usual.

Learn How to create a Video campaign.

Troubleshoot common linking issues

If you encounter issues when trying to link your YouTube channel to your Google Ads account, consider the following:

  • Check permissions: Ensure you have administrative access to the Google Ads account. You won't be able to link accounts without it.
  • Pending requests: If a link request was sent from Google Ads and is pending, the YouTube channel owner must accept it. They can do this through the email notification they received or by looking for a notification icon in YouTube Studio.
  • Conflicting links or errors: If you notice errors like "channel already linked" when the channel isn’t visible in your linked accounts or a generic "something went wrong" message, try basic browser troubleshooting.
    • Clear your browser's cache and cookies.
    • Use an incognito or private browsing window.
    • Use a different web browser or network connection.
  • Email alignment: Verify that the email address associated with the Google Ads account and the YouTube channel are the same. If different email addresses are used, make sure the necessary cross-permissions are configured.
  • Post-linking campaign issues: If you've successfully linked your accounts but are having trouble creating campaigns, allow up to 24 hours for the systems to fully synchronize before attempting to create the campaign again.

FAQs

Does linking a creator's channel enable Partnership Ads for all videos on that channel?

No. Linking a channel allows you to view organic metrics and create data segments based on channel interactions. But, channel linking doesn’t enable Partnership Ads or Creator Partnerships Hub functionality. To enable these features for a specific creative asset, you must use Video Linking.

Can I link a specific video if the creator's channel is already linked to my account?

No. You can’t link a specific video from a channel that is already linked to your Google Ads account. If you need to enable Partnership Ads for a specific video, you must first unlink the YouTube channel from your account and then proceed to link the specific video.

Related links

YouTube and Video Ads Related links

About Sponsored Content Linking

About Product Linking

Google Products

Google Partners

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