The Google Ads system is designed to log users off after a set period of inactivity. It does this both to maximise the speed and efficiency of the system and to protect the security of individual accounts. So that a session expiry doesn't cause you to lose work in your Google Ads account, we recommend saving new keyword lists and ad texts in a spreadsheet or word processor before implementing them in your account.
If you find that you are frequently logged out of your account or that you are logged out after a short period of inactivity (under an hour), you may want to adjust your proxy settings. To prevent future premature session expiry, you can reconfigure your proxy so that it does not use multiple IP addresses, use a different proxy or stop using a proxy server to access the Internet. Instructions on changing your proxy settings are below.
For the Internet Explorer browser with the Microsoft Windows operating system:
- With Internet Explorer open, click Tools on the top bar.
- In the menu, choose Internet Options.
- Click the Connections tab.
- Click the Settings button.
- Click the Advanced button.
- In the box entitled 'exceptions', under 'Do not use proxy server for addresses beginning with:', type 'https://' (without the single quotation marks). This should allow you to edit your Google Ads account without the session expiring.
- With MS Internet Explorer open, select Preferences from the Edit menu.
- Click Proxies under the Network section on the left hand side of the page.
- In the box entitled 'exceptions', enter 'ads.google.com' (without the single quotation marks).
- Click OK. This change should allow you to edit your Google Ads account without the session expiring.
- With Mozilla Firefox open, click Tools on the top bar.
- Choose Options.
- In the General category, click Connection Settings...
- If 'Direct connection to the Internet' is already selected, then skip to the paragraph about firewalls at the end of this document. If it's not selected and you're able to connect to the Internet without a proxy, then select 'Direct connection to the Internet' and move to step No.7. If you must use a proxy to connect to the Internet, then move on to the next step.
- Select 'Manual proxy configuration', if it's not already selected.
- In the 'No Proxy for:' field, add 'ads.google.com' (without the single quotation marks).
- Click OK. This change should allow you to edit your Google Ads account without the session expiring. For the Mozilla Firefox browser with the Macintosh operating system:
- With Mozilla Firefox open, click 'Preferences' on the top bar.
- Choose Internet Options.
- In the General category, click Connection Settings....
- If 'Direct connection to the Internet' is already selected, then skip to the next paragraph about firewalls. If it's not selected and you're able to connect to the Internet without a proxy, then select 'Direct connection to the Internet' and move to step No.7. If you must use a proxy to connect to the Internet, then move on to the next step.
- Select 'Manual proxy configuration', if it's not already selected.
- In the 'No Proxy for:' field, add 'ads.google.com' (without the single quotation marks).
- Click OK. This change should allow you to edit your Google Ads account without the session expiring.
For the Mozilla Firefox browser with the Microsoft Windows operating system:
Note: The instructions above are for the following browser versions: Internet Explorer 6.0 and Firefox 5.0. If you're unable to perform the suggested operation with these instructions, please refer to your browser's help centre:
If changing your proxy settings doesn't work, the firewall for your network might be the problem. If you are using an HTTP proxy and that proxy uses multiple IP addresses when connecting to external sites (like Google Ads), then your session will expire every time that you access the site. To resolve this, consider adjusting the settings of your firewall.