Switch agencies.
Keep what you built.

This guide is written by Tendou, an SEO and AI visibility agency. It applies equally when a business is leaving Tendou and when a business is arriving. The steps are the same regardless of direction. Cancellation terms, ownership rights and handover obligations depend on the actual contract between the business and its current provider.

Before anything else, establish who controls the domain registration, the hosting account and the DNS. These should be in the business owner's name or an account the business controls. If the outgoing agency registered the domain or hosts the site on their account, the transfer process depends on the registrar and host.

The business should have an administrator account on the CMS. If the outgoing agency's account is the only admin, create a new admin account for the business before revoking the old one.

• Create a business-owned admin account on the CMS (WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, etc.).
• Record the CMS version, active theme and active plugins or apps.
• Test that the business admin can log in, edit a page and publish a change.
• After confirming the new admin works, remove or downgrade the outgoing agency's account.

Do not share CMS passwords between agencies. Create separate accounts and remove old ones.

Google Search Console supports owner, full and restricted user roles. The business should hold verified owner status. If the outgoing agency is the only verified owner, arrange independent business ownership verification with a supported method before planning removal of the old access. An invitation as a delegated owner does not itself establish independent verification.

Removing a verified user also involves ownership tokens where applicable. Check who verified the property and which verification method was used (DNS record, HTML file, HTML tag, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager). If the verification depends on a tag the outgoing agency controls, add an independent verification method before removing theirs.

Export the available search-performance history and record the current indexing findings before changing access. Exports have privacy and row limits, so they do not contain every search or a complete historical indexing log. Search Console data belongs to the property, not the user, but losing owner access can interrupt reporting.

Check whether the analytics property (Google Analytics 4, or another platform) is in a Google account the business controls. If it was created under the agency's account, request a property transfer or export the historical data before the transition.

• Verify that the business has the appropriate administrator access to the GA4 account or property.
• Check that the measurement ID on the live site matches the business-owned property.
• Review any goals, conversions or events that track enquiries. Record their configuration so the next provider does not break them.
• If a Google Tag Manager container is in use, confirm the business has admin access to the container.

Export or crawl the full list of live URLs. Record the current sitemap and any active redirect rules. These are the foundation of the next provider's work. Losing them means losing the map of what Google has indexed.

If the outgoing agency implemented redirects, confirm they will survive the transition. Redirects stored in an agency-controlled CDN or server config may be lost if that service is cancelled.

Request a dated change log from the outgoing agency: which pages were created, rewritten, redirected or technically changed, and on what dates. If the agency created content under the engagement, confirm who owns it under the contract.

• List pages the agency created or substantially rewrote.
• Record any structured data (schema markup) the agency added. Export it or inspect the current source.
• Identify images, videos or other assets the agency provided. Confirm licence and ownership.
• Note any content that the agency imported from third-party sources and confirm its provenance.

The next provider will need this inventory to understand what exists and avoid duplicating or deleting work that is already producing results.

If the outgoing agency ran AI visibility checks (ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini, Perplexity), request the records: exact questions, platforms, dates, answers and whether the business was named or its website cited. These observations form the baseline for the next provider.

• Fixed question panel: the exact wording of each buyer question checked.
• Platform and date for each completed check.
• Result classification: named, cited, absent, unknown.
• Screenshots or saved answer text with source links.

AI answers change between checks. A historical record tells the next provider what was observed at a specific date, not what the answers are now. Without it, the next provider starts without a comparable baseline.

Check every enquiry destination on the website: contact forms, WhatsApp links, phone numbers, email addresses, booking widgets. Confirm they reach the business, not the agency. If the agency set up call tracking or a separate phone number, decide whether it transfers or reverts to the business number.

• Test every contact form on the live site. Confirm the submission reaches the business.
• Check WhatsApp and phone links for the correct numbers.
• Verify email form recipients. Agree which recipients should remain after handover, including when any outgoing-agency copy should stop.
• If Google Ads or paid media run through an agency account, clarify ownership of the ad account, conversion tracking and any linked phone numbers.

Google Business Profile, directory listings, review platform profiles and social media links should be controlled by the business. If the agency manages any of these, transfer access before closing the engagement.

• Google Business Profile: confirm the business email is the primary owner.
• Directory listings (Yellow Pages, industry directories): confirm business-controlled access and use supported user invitations or transfers where available.
• Review platform profiles: confirm ownership is independent of the agency.

Before the new provider begins making changes, verify that all access is confirmed, the URL and redirect map is complete, existing search data has been exported, and enquiry routes reach the right destinations. The new provider should review what exists before proposing changes.

A handover does not reset Google rankings or AI answers. Rankings and AI answers can change even when ownership and website content stay the same. A clean transition that preserves the existing setup minimises disruption. If the transition accidentally deletes pages or breaks redirects, the recovery guide covers diagnosis.

This checklist covers the practical transfer of assets and access. It does not constitute legal advice. Cancellation terms, notice periods, ownership of created content, non-compete clauses and data retention obligations depend on the actual contract between the business and the outgoing provider. Where a contractual obligation is unclear, consult the contract or seek advice.

This guide does not promise a seamless transition or guarantee that rankings, AI citations or enquiries will be preserved. It identifies the items that reduce the risk of losing work during the change.

Related guides

Do you need a new website for SEO and AI visibility? ↗
How to check SEO and GEO agency results before hiring ↗
Protecting Google traffic during a website rebuild ↗
AI visibility audit checklist (21 checks) ↗
Combined SEO, AEO and GEO in Singapore ↗
SEO, AEO and GEO in Malaysia ↗
All Insights ↗

Published 24 October 2026. Written by Brayden Tan, Tendou. Tendou is a provider, not an independent legal advisor. This guide does not override any contractual obligation.