🔍 What Is This Error?
When you attempt to create a new Google Ads campaign inside OTTO PPC, you may see a permission error that blocks the action from completing. This error persists even after refreshing the page, clearing your browser cache, logging out and back in, or waiting several hours. This article explains the most common causes and the steps to resolve them.
⚙️ Common Causes
- Insufficient Google Ads account access level: Your Google account may not have the Admin or Standard role required to create campaigns via a third-party platform.
- Expired or revoked OAuth connection: The authorisation link between Search Atlas and your Google Ads account may have expired or been manually revoked inside Google.
- Mismatched Google account: The Google account connected to Search Atlas may differ from the one that owns or manages the target Google Ads account.
- Manager Account (MCC) permission gap: If your Google Ads account sits under a Manager Account, the connected user may lack permissions at the individual account level.
- Google Ads account policy hold: A billing issue or policy flag on the Google Ads side can restrict API-level actions such as campaign creation.
✅ Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
- Verify your Google Ads access level. Log in to ads.google.com directly. Navigate to Admin → Access and security and confirm your account role is Admin or Standard. Read-only and Email-only roles cannot create campaigns.
- Reconnect your Google Ads account in Search Atlas. Go to your Search Atlas account settings and locate the Connected Accounts or Integrations section. Disconnect the existing Google Ads connection, then reconnect it by completing the OAuth flow again. Make sure you authorise with the same Google account that holds the correct role.
- Check for MCC permission issues. If your ads account is managed through a Google Ads Manager Account, ask the MCC admin to confirm that the user account you connected with has been granted access at the individual account level, not just the manager level.
- Review your Google Ads account status. Inside ads.google.com, check for any billing alerts, suspended status, or policy notifications under Account → Account status. Resolve any flagged issues before retrying in OTTO PPC.
- Test with a single campaign in Google Ads directly. Try creating a minimal campaign directly in the Google Ads interface to confirm the account itself is functional and not restricted by a policy hold.
- Retry in OTTO PPC. Once the above steps are complete, return to OTTO PPC and attempt to create the campaign again. Use an incognito or private browser window to rule out any residual session issues.
💡 Tips to Prevent This Error
- Always connect Google Ads using an account with Standard or Admin role to ensure full API permissions.
- Re-authenticate your Google Ads connection in Search Atlas after changing your Google account password or revoking third-party app access in your Google security settings.
- Keep your Google Ads billing information up to date to avoid account-level restrictions that block API actions.
- If managing multiple clients through an MCC, verify per-account permissions before connecting each account to Search Atlas.
🆘 Still Seeing the Error?
If you have completed all the steps above and the permission error still appears in OTTO PPC, there may be an account-specific configuration issue that requires investigation by our team. 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.