Make the move...to Google Accounts

As you may remember, we started asking publishers to update your AdSense accounts to Google Accounts last May. When you do that, you can manage all of your Google products using one login and password, and also take advantage of new features like Site Authentication and the recently improved AdSense for search.

In the next few weeks, we'll soon be requiring all publishers to update to a Google Account. If you haven't yet updated your account, we recommend doing so as soon as possible to avoid any issues with account access later. Just sign in and follow the instructions in the wizard that will automatically appear. If you don't see the wizard, it means that your info has already moved to Google Accounts.

In messages to us and in the Help Forum, we've heard a number of concerns about moving to Google Accounts. We'd like to take a moment to address them.

I don't want to update my AdSense account to the Google Account I use for all of my other products. I'd prefer to keep them separate.

That's okay -- you can maintain multiple Google Accounts, so you're welcome to migrate your AdSense account to a different Google Account than the one you use for other products. For example, you could maintain your 'publisher@gmail.com' account for services like Gmail and Webmaster Tools, but create a new Google Account associated with 'publisher@yoursite.com' just to use for your AdSense account. When prompted to pick the radio button that best describes you, select 'I have an email address and password (Google Account) I already use with Google services like Gmail, Orkut, or the personalized home page.', and then 'I'd like to choose a new login name and password just for AdSense'.


Is this secure? I already gave AdWords with my credit card information and AdSense with my bank account info. I don't trust this.

Please be assured that we take the security of AdSense accounts very seriously, and your AdSense information will never be shared across products. We don't have access to your AdWords credit card from our end, and AdWords doesn't have access to your bank account information (if you've set up EFT). Again, if you'd prefer to keep your two accounts separate, just follow the instructions above.

I tried to update my account in the past, but I saw this error message: 'The Google Account you've selected is associated with another user.' What do I do?

It means that the email address you chose had previously been used to apply for an AdSense account (which may or may not have been approved). However, we've just clarified the messaging in our wizard to help you understand which situation applies to you. In most cases, we've found that publishers are attempting to update their login to an email address associated with an unapproved application. We've just made it possible to continue with the update process from within the wizard in this situation. If you're attempting to update to an email address being used for a different approved AdSense account, you'll receive further options and instructions.

What happens if I don't update?

If you choose not to update your account after the requirement change, you'll no longer be able to sign in to your account. As a result, we encourage you to begin updating your accounts as soon as possible.

Finally, we recommend looking through our Help Center for more information about updating your account to Google Accounts.

Posted by Arlene Lee - AdSense Publisher Support