This guide explains how to decide which connector to use when your Google Ads account is managed through Search Ads 360 (SA360), and how to avoid the most common mistake on this topic: connecting both for the same account and double-counting your numbers.
The context
SA360 is a bid management and reporting layer that manages one or several Google Ads accounts (and, in some cases, other search engines). If you manage your campaigns through SA360, your conversions are typically tracked via SA360 floodlights rather than Google Ads' native conversion actions, so both platforms report on the same campaigns, but not exactly the same numbers.
In Spyne, Google Ads and SA360 are two separate connectors, each with its own authentication and account ID. Nothing stops you from connecting both to the same workspace for the same media account, but if you do, you'll count the same spend, clicks, and impressions twice in your consolidated reports (Ads model, Channel breakdown).
How to choose the right connector
Ask yourself this question before connecting anything: where do you actually manage your campaigns and conversion tracking?
You manage and attribute through SA360 (floodlights, cross-engine bid management) → connect SA360, not native Google Ads. SA360 is what reflects how you actually manage and attribute your campaigns.
You manage campaigns directly in the Google Ads interface, without SA360 → connect native Google Ads, as usual.
You need metrics that SA360 doesn't expose (video metrics, engagement, Quality Score sub-scores, Ad/Keyword-level view-through conversions...) → see the "Special case" section below before connecting both in parallel.
Never keep both connectors active on the same account
This is the most common trap: an account is first connected via native Google Ads, then SA360 gets added later for better attribution tracking, without disconnecting the old connector. Result: that account's spend, clicks, and impressions get counted twice in your blended reports.
Recommended procedure to migrate from one connector to the other:
Connect the new connector (SA360, with the correct SA360
customer_id).Check the data: compare spend / clicks / conversions over a common period against what the old connector was reporting, to confirm SA360 covers the same campaign scope.
Once validated, disconnect the old connector (native Google Ads) for this account.
Check that none of your existing reports still hard-reference the old connector (a filter on an Account ID or Account Name that has since changed).
Only keep both active in parallel for the duration of this validation.
Special case: you need metrics that SA360 doesn't expose
Our metric availability table (Google Ads v23 vs SA360) shows that SA360 doesn't expose everything native Google Ads does: for example video metrics (TrueView, quartiles), engagement, several Quality Score sub-components, or Ad/Keyword-level view-through conversions. Conversely, SA360 exposes fields native Google Ads doesn't have (e.g. client_account_conversions, visits).
If you need both sets of metrics, don't simply connect both sources to the same data model : that would recreate double counting on the metrics they share (spend, clicks, impressions, conversions). In this situation, reach out to your Spyne representative before configuring anything: this needs to be set up carefully so one source stays the reference for shared metrics (spend, clicks) while the complementary metrics are isolated without being duplicated.
Best practices
Keep one single source of truth per media account. Never connect native Google Ads and SA360 for the same underlying
customer_idon an ongoing basis.Document your choice so anyone else on your team doesn't reconnect the other one by mistake later.
Check the connector name in your report filters after a migration: a report filtering on the old account name will come back empty or incomplete once the old connector is disconnected.
Don't treat this as an instant switch. Like any source migration, budget real time for validation (comparing the numbers) before cutting off the old connector.
Related articles
Google Ads v23 vs SA360 (metric availability by model)