Syncing Your Ad Account

Syncing keeps ClickFortify's records aligned with your live Google Ads account — pulling in new campaigns, refreshing tracking settings, and re-validating the OAuth connection. This guide explains what sync actually does, where to trigger it, and how to diagnose problems when it fails.

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What Sync Does

There are two distinct sync operations in ClickFortify. They look similar but do different things.

Connection Sync

A connection is the OAuth link between ClickFortify and your Google account. Syncing a connection:

• Re-validates the OAuth token is still active
• Refreshes the list of Google Ads accounts accessible through that Google login
• Updates the connection status from UNLINKED back to OK if access was restored

Trigger this when: you've added new accounts to your Google Ads manager, you see UNLINKED status, or the account list looks stale.

Account Sync

An ad account is a specific Google Ads customer ID connected to your Space. Syncing an account:

• Pulls the latest campaign and ad group list from Google Ads
• Re-reads tracking template and final URL suffix settings
• Refreshes campaign statuses (Enabled, Paused, Removed)
• Checks whether tracking is correctly applied

Trigger this when: new campaigns aren't appearing, tracking shows an error, or campaign data looks out of date.

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When to Sync

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How to Sync

Sync from Ads Manager (Account Sync)

This is the fastest way to refresh campaign data.

1. Go to Ads Manager in the sidebar
2. Click the Refresh button in the top right
3. Wait for the campaign list to reload

The Refresh button triggers an account-level sync for the active ad account. New campaigns, status changes, and tracking updates will appear once the sync completes.

Sync from Space Settings (Connection Sync)

Use this when the connection itself needs refreshing — for example, to update the available accounts list or restore an UNLINKED connection.

1. Go to Space Settings in the sidebar
2. Under Connections, find the Google Ads connection
3. Click the Sync button next to the connection
4. Wait for status to return to OK

Sync from Ad Account Settings (Account Sync)

Use this when you need to sync a specific account's tracking configuration.

1. Go to Space Settings → PPC Accounts
2. Find the ad account and open its settings
3. Click Synchronize
4. ClickFortify will re-read the account's tracking template, final URL suffix, and campaign list from Google Ads

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Connection Status: OK vs UNLINKED

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Reauthorizing a Connection

Reauthorization is needed when:

• The connection status shows UNLINKED
• Sync completes but campaigns still don't appear
• You changed the Google account's password or revoked app access
• The account was idle for an extended period

Steps:

1. Go to Space Settings → Connections
2. Find the affected Google Ads connection
3. Click Reauthorize
4. Sign in with the same Google account that originally authorized the connection
5. Approve the permissions
6. Once reauthorized, click Sync to pull fresh data

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Troubleshooting Sync Issues

Campaigns don't appear after syncing

Check these first:

1. Is the correct ad account selected? In Space Settings → PPC Accounts, confirm the Customer ID matches your intended account.
2. Are there active campaigns in Google Ads? Campaigns set to Removed won't appear.
3. Did you sync the right thing? The Ads Manager Refresh button syncs the account — not the connection. If the connection is stale, sync the connection first from Space Settings.

Recovery order:

1. Sync the connection (Space Settings → Connections)
2. Then sync the account (Ads Manager → Refresh or PPC Accounts → Synchronize)

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Tracking shows Error or Pending after sync

Tracking errors after sync usually mean one of three things:

To apply tracking manually:

1. Go to Space Settings → PPC Accounts → open the account
2. In the Google Ads account settings, find the Tracking Template value
3. Copy it
4. In Google Ads, navigate to the account or campaign settings and paste it manually

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Account list is missing after sync

If you triggered a connection sync but still can't see an account in the dropdown:

1. Confirm the Google user who authorized ClickFortify actually has access to that account in Google Ads
2. If the account is under an MCC, the MCC connection shows parent accounts — select the MCC first, then choose the child account
3. Check if the account was recently created in Google Ads — new accounts can take up to 30 minutes to appear in API responses

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Sync runs but status stays UNLINKED

Sync cannot restore a broken OAuth token. If status returns to UNLINKED after syncing:

1. Delete the existing connection
2. Re-run the Authorize Google Ads flow with the correct Google account
3. Sync after reauthorization

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Wrong campaigns showing after sync

This usually means the wrong account is connected — not a sync problem.

1. Go to Space Settings → PPC Accounts
2. Check the Customer ID shown for the connected account
3. Open Google Ads and verify the Customer ID at the top of the account view
4. If they don't match, delete the account in ClickFortify and reconnect with the correct one

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Sync takes too long or appears to hang

• Wait up to 60 seconds before assuming it failed — Google Ads API responses can be slow during peak hours
• If still stuck after 60 seconds, refresh the page and check whether the data updated
• If campaigns appear correctly after refresh, the sync completed successfully even if the UI didn't confirm it cleanly

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When Sync Is Not Enough

Sync cannot help with:

• A revoked OAuth token → requires reauthorization
• A deleted or suspended Google Ads account → cannot be recovered
• Campaigns excluded from the API due to account-level restrictions → contact Google Ads support
• Connecting a different Google Ads account → add a new account via Space Settings

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Recovery Checklist

Work through this order before escalating:

• Confirm the correct Google account was used for authorization
• Confirm the Customer ID in ClickFortify matches the intended Google Ads account
• Check the connection status (OK vs UNLINKED) in Space Settings → Connections
• If UNLINKED: reauthorize, then sync
• If OK: sync the connection, then sync the account
• Check Ads Manager for updated campaigns
• If tracking is still broken: switch to manual tracking and paste the values

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Related Guides

• Connect Google Ads — Step by Step
• Connect Google Ads — Verification
• Connect Google Ads — Troubleshooting
• Fixing a Tracking Template Override
• Ads Manager
• Space Settings