Update from the Google Communications team representative:
“We recently experienced a technical issue in which some advertisers were having difficulty creating an AdWords My Client Center account. Please note that the issue was not related to the specific browser being used to set up the MCC account, as users of Google Chrome and other browsers were unfortunately affected as well.
We’ve now resolved the issue, and advertisers can once again quickly and easily create MCC accounts. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.”
One of the most popular posts I have written here on Search Engine Journal is “Start a Google AdWords My Client Center in 2 Easy Steps.” Now, I say popular not based on the number of comments, rather on the number of emails I get from people trying to set up their MCC account, and failing to get it work.
The hardest part of starting an affiliate website is the idea, the hardest part of a paper is the introduction; everything is more difficult in the beginning. The same is true when starting a paid search management business. Many search marketers started managing campaigns when working in house, and at some point choose to take on side work.
Google AdWords is the easiest platform to have multiple clients, using their My Client Center. It allows one login to access multiple accounts at once. The trick is in setting it up. It seems easy, but there are a few stumbling blocks.
Setup
The first stumbling block is in the email address attached to the account. If you are like me, you have one Google account you use for everything, Gmail, Webmaster Tools, and Analytics to name a few. Logging in and out is something you are trying to avoid with an MCC remember?
When setting up your MCC for the first time, your login email cannot be associated with another AdWords account. Most people have been added to at least one client’s account with their login already. You will have to release that before you can start your MCC. Check the other article for more information on this.
Browser Choice in Setup
The newest issue is in the browser you use to setup the account. Google recently changed the format of the UI in AdWords. Apparently this change causes an error in the signup process for the MCC in certain browsers depending on your operating system.
If you are on a Mac, you have to use Google Chrome BETA for the browser during setup. Yep, Google is pulling a Microsoft. Their coding is only allowing Chrome to be used. Firefox and Safari throw the error. Opera just won’t work period, and we all know that Microsoft doesn’t make Internet Explorer for Mac anymore.
On a PC, it seems as if IE8 is having the issue, and Firefox works just fine. This is all according to a thread over at the AdWords Forum.
Final Issues
The last thing is adding your clients to the system. I have covered how to do this in the past, so I won’t rehash it again. Between that and getting things together for the certification (the required spend level over 90 days starts when you start the MCC), that should be the last of your issues.
Remember that no matter the problem you run into on any platform, there are many others having the same problem. Check out the forums and ask questions. If someone there doesn’t know, start searching and ask Twitter. You never know who might have gone through it before and be able to help you out.
The guest post is by Kate Morris. You can find her on her blog or on twitter @katemorris.
