Leaving an SEO Agency: What Should You Take With You?

Before leaving an SEO agency, make sure your business is the owner, not just a user, of its Google Search Console, Google Analytics and Google Business Profile, and download any reports you want to keep. Then check anything the agency set up that could stop working when you leave: tracking phone numbers, links on websites the agency controls, and your contract's exit terms. Sort out access first and give notice second, while the relationship is still cooperative.

Who should own my Google Search Console property?

Your business should be a verified owner of its own Google Search Console property. Google's documentation describes owners as having full control, including adding and removing users, while full users and restricted users can view data and take only limited actions.

SEO agencies often verify a Search Console property themselves, so check the users and permissions settings. If your business is not listed as an owner, verify ownership yourself through your domain's settings. When you later remove the agency, Google warns that a verification token can be shared with other services, so remove only the token that belongs to the agency.

What happens to my Google Analytics when I leave an SEO agency?

Google Analytics data sits in a property, and every property sits inside an account, so it matters whose account yours was created in. If an SEO agency created the property in its own account, ask them to give your business administrator access or to move the property into an account your business owns.

If neither happens, you can set up a new Google Analytics property and start collecting data again, but the history stays behind with the old one. Export any reports you want to keep before your access ends.

Check too whether the tracking code on your website is managed through the SEO agency's own tag management account. If it is, ask for that container to be transferred to your business or replaced, because data collection can stop when the agency's access is removed.

Does my Google Business Profile belong to me or the agency?

Your Google Business Profile should have your business as its primary owner, with an SEO agency added as a manager or owner only for as long as it is working for you. The profile's people and access settings show who holds which role.

If the agency is the primary owner, ask them to transfer primary ownership to you before you give notice. If they will not, Google lets you request ownership, although its help pages say the option to claim a profile is not always available when the current owner does not respond.

Will my phone number stop working when I leave an SEO agency?

Some SEO agencies use call tracking numbers so they can report which calls came from search, and those numbers may belong to the agency or its supplier rather than to you. If a tracking number appears on your website, your Google Business Profile or printed material, calls to it can stop when the contract ends.

Find out whether any number you publish is a tracking number. Replace it with your own number before you leave, or agree in writing that it will be forwarded or handed over.

Do I keep the content and links an SEO agency created?

Content published on your own website, such as service pages and articles, stays on your website when an SEO agency leaves, although your contract decides who owns the copyright. Links are different: links from websites the agency owns or controls can be removed when you stop paying.

Ask for a list of the links built on your behalf and which of them sit on sites the agency controls. The agency's monthly reports should record what was done each month, and our guide to monthly SEO reports covers what those reports normally contain.

What should I check in my SEO contract before leaving?

Check the notice period, any minimum term, and whether any fees apply on exit, such as charges for releasing accounts or content. Look for clauses about who owns the work produced during the contract and what happens to it after cancellation.

If you run paid ads, confirm the ads account is in your business's name, because starting a new ads account means losing the old account's history. Knowing all of this before you give notice avoids surprises during the notice period.

What should an SEO arrangement look like next time?

The next SEO arrangement should leave every account in your business's name from the start, with the provider given access rather than ownership. It should also be easy to leave, so that you stay because the work is useful rather than because the contract says so.

Our own position is stated on our about page: "Hosting is month-to-month. SEO is hour-to-hour." More on how we approach search work is on our SEO page, and our article on whether SEO is worth it for small businesses covers what to be wary of in any SEO offer.