Changing SEO agencies is usually safe, as long as you own your accounts and nothing on the site gets removed in the handover. Most ranking drops after a switch come from lost access, deleted pages or broken redirects.
Before you give notice
- Check who owns what. Your domain, hosting, website login, Google Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console and Ads should all be in your name. See who owns my website.
- Get admin access to each one, not just user access.
- Download your reports and a list of pages, keywords and links the agency built.
Watch out for
- Content hosted elsewhere. Some agencies host blogs or landing pages on their own systems. Get copies or migrate them first.
- Links that disappear. Links from the agency's own network may be removed when you leave. That's often a sign they weren't worth much.
- Call tracking numbers. If tracking numbers are on your site or directories, get them transferred or replaced with your real number everywhere.
After the switch
- Don't delete or rename pages without redirects.
- Watch Search Console for errors for a few weeks.
- Give the new provider a few months before judging results.
See questions to ask an SEO agency.
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