🔍 Overview
If your Google Ads account is connected and synced in OTTO but you cannot see your existing campaigns, this is expected behaviour — not a bug or connection error. OTTO only displays campaigns that were created directly within OTTO. Campaigns that existed in your Google Ads account before the connection was made will not appear inside OTTO, and they cannot be imported or synced retroactively.
⚠️ Understanding the Limitation
OTTO is designed to build and manage Google Ads campaigns from within the platform. When you connect a Google Ads account, OTTO establishes the link needed to publish and manage new campaigns — it does not pull in your historical or pre-existing campaign data. This means:
- Campaigns created in Google Ads before connecting to OTTO will not be visible in OTTO.
- Campaigns created in Google Ads after connecting to OTTO (but outside of OTTO) will also not appear in OTTO.
- Only campaigns you build and launch through the OTTO interface will be tracked and managed inside OTTO.
- There is currently no import or sync feature for pre-existing campaigns.
✅ What You Can Do
To use OTTO for Google Ads management, you will need to create new campaigns directly within OTTO. Your pre-existing campaigns will continue to run normally inside Google Ads — connecting your account to OTTO does not affect, pause, or modify them in any way.
- Open the OTTO dashboard for your connected site.
- Use the Google Ads campaign creation workflow inside OTTO to build new campaigns.
- All campaigns created through this workflow will be visible and manageable within OTTO going forward.
🔗 Checking Your Google Ads Connection
If you want to confirm your Google Ads account is properly connected before creating new campaigns, check the Google Ads connection status within your OTTO dashboard. If the account appears disconnected, follow the on-screen prompts to reconnect your Google account.
A successful connection means OTTO has the permissions it needs to publish new campaigns — it does not grant access to view campaigns that already exist in Google Ads.
📋 Quick Reference: What OTTO Shows vs. What It Does Not
- Visible in OTTO: Campaigns created inside OTTO after your Google Ads account was connected.
- Not visible in OTTO: Campaigns created in Google Ads before or after connecting, regardless of their status or budget.
- Not affected by OTTO: Pre-existing Google Ads campaigns — they continue running as normal in Google Ads.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.