Let us imagine a common moment. A business owner decides to change agency, writes a polite email, and then discovers that the Google Business Profile, with years of reviews on it, has the agency's account as its primary owner. The website sits on the agency's hosting. The domain was registered by someone who has since left the agency. Perhaps nobody meant any harm. Things were simply set up in the fastest way at the time.
Google reminds owners of something important in its page on hiring an SEO: "Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire". It is wise to apply the same care to the accounts those companies create for you. So let us look at the six things an agency may hold, who should have the top level of control for each, and how you can check each one today.
What are the six things an agency might hold for you?
A website is several separate things, each with its own owner and its own login. Here they are, with the role your business should hold and the place where you can check it.
| What it is | The role your business should hold | Where to check it | |---|---|---| | Domain name (your address, such as yourbusiness.com) | Registrant, in a contract with a registrar | Your registrar account, or ICANN's Lookup Tool to find the registrar | | Hosting (the computer that serves your site) | Account holder, with your own login | The hosting company's account and billing page | | Google Business Profile | Primary owner | Business Profile, More, Business Profile settings, People and access | | Google Search Console | Verified owner | Settings, Users and permissions | | Google Analytics | Administrator, at the account level | Admin, Account access management | | Text, photos and design | Owner, by written agreement | Your contract with the agency |
The agency can do its work well with a lower role in almost every row. That is the principle behind everything below: the business holds the top role, and each helper receives the access their work needs.
Who owns the domain name?
The domain is the address people type to reach you, and it is the first thing to check. ICANN, the organization that accredits the registrars who sell domain names, explains the arrangement simply: "A domain name registrant is an individual or entity who registers a domain name. Upon registration of a domain name, a registrant enters into a contract with a registrar." The registrar is the company that sells and manages the name.
The registrant holds the responsibility. ICANN's page on registrants' rights and responsibilities says the registrant "will assume sole responsibility for the registration and use of your domain name", must provide accurate information for directories such as WHOIS, and must "respond to inquiries from your Registrar within fifteen (15) days". It also says that if the domain renews automatically, the registrant must keep the payment information current. And you have the right to review your registration agreement at any time and download a copy.
So the question is direct: whose name is on the registration? If an agency registered the domain under its own name, the agency is the registrant, with the responsibility and the control that come with it. If you do not know your registrar, ICANN's registrant page links to its Lookup Tool "to find your registrar". Once you know the registrar, log in to your own account there, or ask for one.
Who owns the hosting?
Hosting is the rented computer space where the website's files are stored, under a private contract between a hosting company and whoever pays the bill. Ask three plain questions. Whose name and card are on the hosting bill? Do you have your own login to the hosting account? If the agency keeps many client sites on one account of its own, can it give you a full copy of your website's files and stored data when you ask?
A site kept on the agency's account can still be yours in practice, as long as your agreement says so and you can receive that full copy. What matters is that you know the arrangement before you need it.
Who owns the Google Business Profile?
For a local business this account matters, because the reviews are attached to it. Google's page on transferring a profile says that the correct transfer keeps "all of your business info, like reviews". Google's help page on owners and managers sets out the roles clearly. As the owner, "you have full control over the profile. You can add or remove users, manage profile info, and even delete the profile." A profile "can have multiple owners but only one primary owner." Managers "have mostly the same access to the profile as owners. The only exception is they can't add or remove users or remove the profile."
The safe arrangement follows from those words. Your business account is the primary owner. The agency is a manager, which is enough to edit information, reply to reviews and publish posts. Google also notes that each user needs their own Google Account, so nobody has to share a password.
To check, go to your Business Profile, select More, then Business Profile settings, then People and access. There you see every owner, manager and pending invitation. If you need to change who is primary owner, remember one detail: a new owner or manager "must wait 7 days before they can manage all the features", and during that time they cannot transfer primary ownership or remove other owners. Only the primary owner can transfer primary ownership. Plan it before any change of agency, and do it on a calm day.
Who owns Search Console?
Search Console is Google's free tool that shows how your site appears in Google Search. It has owners and users, and Google's help page on permissions explains the difference. An owner "has full control over properties in Search Console" and can add and remove other users. A full user "has view rights to all data and can take some actions", and a restricted user "has simple view rights on most data".
There are two kinds of owner. A verified owner proved ownership "using a token", such as an HTML file uploaded to the website. A delegated owner received owner status from a verified owner without a token. And the key rule: "A property must have at least one verified owner, or no users will have access to the property."
Two situations matter for a business that works with an agency. If the only verified owner leaves, Google says you "should verify ownership to maintain (or regain) access to the property." And when you remove a verified owner, you must delete their verification tokens too: "If you do not delete these tokens, the removed owner will be able to re-verify ownership if they choose to". The list is under Unused ownership tokens, on the Users and permissions page, which only owners can see.
Google gives advice on the start of a relationship, too. When an SEO first reviews your site, Google suggests you "only grant read access to Search Console (at this stage, don't grant them write access)."
Who owns Google Analytics?
Google Analytics counts what visitors do once they reach your site. Its help page on access management lists "Five roles and 2 data restrictions". The roles are Administrator, Editor, Marketer, Analyst and Viewer. The Administrator has "Full control of Analytics" and "Can manage users". The Editor has "Full control of settings at the property level" but "Can't manage users". The Viewer "Can see settings and data".
One more rule helps: roles given at the account level pass down to every property inside the account. So the business should hold Administrator at the account level, and the agency should receive the role its work needs, such as Editor or Marketer. To check, open Admin, then Account access management.
Who owns the words, photos and design?
Here there is no Google page to consult, because this is a question of contract. The text, the photographs and the design an agency makes for you belong to whoever the agreement says they belong to, and the law on work made for a client differs from one country to another. Ask for a clause that says the content made for you is yours, and that you receive all the files if you leave. If the clause is unclear, a lawyer can read it in a short meeting.
Google's list of questions for any SEO helps here as well. It suggests asking: "Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?" A monthly record of every change is also a record of what was made for you. We explain what that record should contain in what a monthly SEO report should show.
How do you check all of this today?
In the end, the check is a short list. Do it with a cup of coffee and a notebook.
- Find your registrar with ICANN's Lookup Tool, log in, and confirm that your business is the registrant and that the payment card is yours.
- Log in to your hosting account, or ask the agency in writing where the site is hosted and whether you can receive a full copy of it.
- Open People and access in your Business Profile and confirm that your business account is the primary owner.
- Open Users and permissions in Search Console and confirm that your business is a verified owner.
- Open Account access management in Google Analytics and confirm that your business holds the Administrator role.
- Read your contract for a clause on content ownership and on what you receive when the relationship ends.
If any answer is uncertain, ask for the change now, while the relationship is good. Our page on what to check in any contract covers notice periods and ownership clauses, and switching agencies covers the handover itself, step by step. For the wider choice of who should do the work, see who does your marketing.
How does Licheo handle this?
Licheo offers the website, search and AI work that big companies pay whole teams for, done for your small business. It works without long contracts, and nothing goes live until you approve it. Ask us the six questions above, as you would ask anyone who works on your site.
And if you would like a first look at your own domain today, the free Get Found Check reads your homepage, your domain's DNS records (the public settings that point your address to your website and your email) and your security certificate, and returns a grade in under 60 seconds. For the ongoing care of a site once ownership is clear, read website maintenance to a big-company standard.
Sources
- Do you need an SEO?, Google Search Central, Last updated 5 June 2026, accessed 27 September 2026.
- Information for Domain Name Registrants, ICANN, accessed 27 September 2026.
- Registrants' Benefits and Responsibilities, ICANN, accessed 27 September 2026.
- Manage your Business Profile owners & managers, Google Business Profile Help, Google, accessed 27 September 2026.
- Transfer primary ownership of a Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help, Google, accessed 27 September 2026.
- Managing owners, users, and permissions, Search Console Help, Google, accessed 27 September 2026.
- Access and data-restriction management, Analytics Help, Google, accessed 27 September 2026.