Managing multiple Google accounts: an update, and best practices

[Robert Charlton]

I've just posted in the Google AdWords forum a post on a new feature announced by Google, one that's long overdue...

Stay logged in to multiple Google accounts on the same browser
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google_adwords/4712555.htm [webmasterworld.com]

The feature will enable you to toggle between multiple Google accounts without have to log out and back in again. I posted in the AdWords forum because it was a Google AdWords announcement, but it's struck me that we might have a separate discussion in this forum that touches on considerations for SEO... including questions like whether those managing multiple sites would want to have a common point of management identified.

This thread would be a good place also to bring together other questions about Google accounts, and touch upon best practices for setting up accounts for clients which preserve account ownership for the client... and whether this new feature will affect those procedures.

[aakk9999]

Interesting. I am wondering whether this is wise if you want to keep Google accounts separate.

Logging to multple google accounts in the same browser and operating these accounts at the same time will allow Google to connect them belonging to the same person.

Mind you, since Google is already personalising based on IP, perhaps as much as you try to keep accounts unrelated, it may not be possible unless proxy is employed too.

[Clay_More]

Mind you, since Google is already personalising based on IP, perhaps as much as you try to keep accounts unrelated, it may not be possible unless proxy is employed too.

Exactly.

I run two accounts which Chrome seems to fully understand are related. As in, I switch accounts by selecting the account I want/need to use from the dropdown list. I don't expect privacy.

Scrapebox has a really bad reputation from people that think it's a major spamming tool. O.K., maybe it is. But, it has features that can be really helpful. Including harvesting public proxies.

[Robert Charlton]

Here's a copy of the key aspects of the new feature set, as I'd posted in our AdWords forum...

Login to multiple Google accounts at the same time
Google Ads
Oct 30, 2014
https://plus.google.com/+GoogleAds/posts/ZwCiK6eg95X [plus.google.com]

...we're introducing a new, simplified workflow that allows you to toggle between multiple Google accounts without having to log out and back in again. With this update, you can now:

+Manage multiple AdWords accounts simultaneously in the same browser
+Stay logged into multiple AdWords accounts or other Google accounts at the same time
+Save time switching between accounts with different logins

Whether to use this feature IMO, depends on how clandestine you need to be....

With regard to multiple sites belonging the same client, I tend to err on the side of being maybe too cautious. Oversimplifying here... I keep them as separate as possible.

With regard to managing sites belonging to different clients and not otherwise connected, though, I don't see any downside in using this feature.

If I were, though, an SEO who specialized, say, in a well-defined niche and had some sites and directories feeding links to various clients, or who interlinked his clients (something that IMO is a dumb thing to do), I definitely wouldn't want those clients to appear on the same drop-down list... but I wouldn't want their accounts connected on the same IP or browser either.

[vitaliykolos]

I was under the impression that the feature has been there from the gitgo. I guess it's because it's really useful to have it there in terms of logics.

[Tiggerito]

I use multiple chrome users so each client has it's own browser, own logins, own bookmarks etc.

With AdWords I have one browser with MCC to quickly access all clients. Then each client browser also directly logs in to their own AdWords account.

[Lorel]

Don't they already have this feature? I have several clients sites under my own account (have to be verified). Only have to log in once.

[netmeg]

They do, but it didn't work for all products.

[vancouverseo]

it would seem that proxies are VPN's are the only way to get around this. It's a lot of headache.

[J_RaD]

if you want to really wall these accounts off do the following.

create a new windows user for each account, log off, log on to the new account (not fast user switching either)

as far as the VPN or proxy, if you REALLY feel the need for this you could just use a 4G mobile dongle, they grab a new IP every time you "dial up and connect"


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now a question....... sure they make it easy to login to all of them at the same time but lets say one account starts taking some QS heat and by some sneeze they poo poo your account.

now they know you run those other accounts..do they link you all up and start bringing the pain?

this is the kinda stuff they started doing when goog woke up one Monday and decided affiliates suck and they will all be banned....and kept on tracking and banning any new accounts.