How to switch Google Ads agencies

Switching Google Ads agencies doesn't have to cost you history or leads, as long as the account lives in your own Google Ads login and the new agency audits before it rebuilds. The failure mode is an account the old agency owns, a new agency that starts from zero because it's easier, and a month of dark spend while the algorithm relearns. All three are avoidable.

Before you give notice

Find out who owns the account. Log in to ads.google.com with your own credentials. If you can see the account and its full history, you own it. If your only access is a report or a login the agency created, ask for the account to be moved to your email or your manager account before you give notice. Agencies that refuse are telling you what kind of agency they are.

Export what you can. Change history, search terms, conversion definitions and the last 12 months of performance data. If the account is theirs and they won't transfer it, this data lets a new agency rebuild without starting blind.

Check what else they own. GA4 property, Tag Manager container, call tracking account, landing pages and the domain they're on. Each should be in your name.

How a takeover should run

1. Audit first, in read-only. The new agency reads structure, search terms, conversion setup and wasted spend before touching anything. You get the findings in writing.
2. Keep what's working. Campaigns with history and good conversion data are an asset. Restructuring them to look new resets learning for no reason.
3. Fix tracking before bids. If conversions are wrong, every bid change is wrong. Tracking gets verified in the first week.
4. Restructure where the data says to, in stages, so the algorithm doesn't lose everything at once.
5. Written 90-day plan so you know what's changing and when.

Timeline

Access and audit in week one. Tracking verified and quick wins (negatives, budget rebalancing, broken ads) in week two. Structural changes rolled through weeks three to six. New landing pages alongside. Performance should be steady through the handoff and improving by day 45.

Red flags in the new agency

Wants to build a fresh account instead of taking yours over. Doesn't ask how you count a lead. Proposes a 12-month contract. Won't name the person who'll be in the account daily.