Key facts
- In Google Ads, agencies work through a manager account linked to your account. Unlinking that manager under Access and security removes their access but keeps every campaign, conversion, and piece of history in your account.
- Google Analytics 4 access is set per account and per property. Only someone with the Administrator role at the account level can add or remove other administrators.
- Google Search Console has verified owners and delegated users. If the agency is the only verified owner, verify the domain yourself through a DNS record so your ownership does not depend on theirs.
- A Google Business Profile has one Primary owner. Ownership can be transferred from the profile's access settings, and an agency should hold a Manager role, not Primary owner.
- Meta ad accounts belong to whichever Business Portfolio created them and cannot be moved to another. If the agency's business created your ad account, you can only ask them to share it or start a fresh account you own.
List everything the agency touches
Before any conversation about leaving, write down every account and asset your marketing runs on. The usual list: Google Ads, Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, Google Search Console, Google Business Profile, Meta Business Portfolio and its ad account, your Facebook and Instagram pages, your LinkedIn page, the domain registrar, the web host, the website's admin login, your email marketing platform, your CRM, any call-tracking number, and the landing-page tool if one is used.
For each one, note three things: whose email is the top-level owner, whether you can log in today, and whether the agency pays the subscription. Anything where the answer is 'theirs', 'no', or 'they do' is a risk on the day you leave.
Take ownership before you say anything
Fix the ownership gaps while the relationship is still polite. Ask for access as routine housekeeping, not as a threat.
Google Ads: ask for Admin access for an email on your company domain. Once you have it, open Access and security and you will see the agency's manager account listed. Do not unlink it yet; just confirm you can. Google Analytics 4: ask for the Administrator role at the account level, not only on the property, because account-level admins can add and remove everyone else. Search Console: verify the domain yourself using the DNS record method, so your ownership stands on its own. Google Business Profile: ask to be made Primary owner, which drops the agency to Manager.
Meta: confirm the ad account, the pixel, and the pages are owned by your Business Portfolio, with the agency added as a partner. If the agency's business owns the ad account, ask for a new one to be created under yours now, because an existing account cannot be moved.
Domain, hosting, site, email, CRM, and call tracking: confirm the registrant is your company, get admin logins for the host and the CMS, export contact lists, and ask for call-tracking numbers to be ported or their forwarding set to your own line. If the site sits on the agency's hosting, plan a move.
Give notice and run the handover
Read the contract for the notice period, the renewal date, and any clause about who owns work product. Send the notice in writing, by email, and keep the reply. State the end date plainly.
Ask for a handover pack: keyword lists and negative keyword lists, ad copy, audiences, notes on how conversion actions are set up, landing pages and their source files, email templates and automations, brand files, and the last twelve months of reports. Most of this can be exported from the accounts you now own, but asking makes sure nothing is deleted first.
Keep campaigns running through the notice period unless you have a reason not to. Pausing everything and restarting with a new team costs more than a month of overlap. If a new agency is coming in, give them read access two weeks before the old one leaves so they can learn the account without touching it.
The last day and the week after
On the final day, remove the agency's users from every account and unlink their manager accounts. Change every shared password. Check Google Ads billing to confirm the payment method is yours. Cancel any agency-billed subscriptions you no longer need, after confirming that whatever ran on them has been moved.
In the following week, watch three things: that conversion tracking still fires, that forms still arrive, and that the phone number on your site and profile still rings your line. Those are the pieces most likely to break when a subscription ends.
If you are looking for the next agency, SearchPod works month to month with no setup fee and puts every account in your name from day one. A free proposal takes one business day.
Related questions
First, check whether the account is yours on paper: if your payment method is on it and the contract names you as the client, you have a strong position. Put the request in writing and cite the contract. If they still refuse, Google Ads support can review ownership claims, but the process is slow and not guaranteed. In parallel, be ready to open a new account you own so ads never stop.
Not if the account is yours and you keep it. Campaigns, conversion data, and audience lists live in the account, not in the agency's manager account. Unlinking the manager removes their access and nothing else. You only lose history if the account itself belongs to the agency and they close it or refuse access, which is why getting Admin first matters.
Check the contract for a clause about ownership of work product. Many agreements assign it to the client once invoices are paid; some keep it with the agency. Landing pages built on the agency's own tool usually disappear when the subscription ends even if you own the content, so export the copy and images and rebuild them on your own site or tool.
Yes, in that order. Choose the replacement, agree on a start date, and give them read-only access to the accounts you own. Then give notice to the old agency. This way the new team learns the account during the notice period and campaigns keep running through the switch. The old agency should still complete the handover professionally; keep the tone factual.
Whatever your contract says, and it usually says something specific. Look for the notice period, the renewal date, and whether notice has to be written. Missing a renewal window can lock you in for another term. If the contract is month to month, one clear written notice before the billing date is usually enough. When in doubt, send notice early; you can always extend the end date.
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