Who owns my Google Business Profile if an agency set it up?
Who should own my Google Business Profile?
The business should own it. A Business Profile represents your business, and Google’s guidelines ask that you reflect your business accurately. Verification tells Google that the person who verified is authorized to represent the business. That person should be you, or someone on your team, not the agency.
An agency can do the work as a manager. It does not need the owner role to edit your hours, reply to reviews, or add photos.
How do I check who owns my profile?
Use the Google Account that you think holds access. Then follow these steps.
- Sign in to Google with the account that you expect to have access.
- Search for your business name on Google, or open the Business tab in the Google Maps app.
- Open the profile’s settings and find the section for people and access.
- Read the list of users. Note who is an owner and who is a manager.
- Check that at least one owner uses an email address that your business controls.
If you cannot see your profile at all, the agency may have set it up under its own Google Account. That is a warning sign. Go to the next section.
What if the agency is the only owner?
Ask the agency, in writing, to add you as an owner. Give them an email address that your business controls. A personal address that only one person can reach is risky if that person leaves.
Once you are an owner, you can decide what role the agency keeps. A reputable agency will do this without argument.
What if the agency will not hand it over?
Keep the request short and polite. Put it in writing and keep a copy. Then take these steps.
- Check your contract for wording on accounts, logins, and ownership.
- Ask again and set a clear date for the reply.
- If the agency still refuses, use the help pages on Google Business Profile to find the process for requesting ownership. Those pages explain the current steps.
- Do not create a second profile for the same business. Google’s guidelines say there should be only one profile per business, and duplicates can cause problems on Maps and Search.
If an agency made claims about its services that turned out to be false, you can also contact the Competition Bureau of Canada. That is a separate matter from the ownership request.
Why does the owner role matter?
The owner controls who else gets access. If an agency is the sole owner and the relationship ends, you may need its help to get your own listing back.
Performance data also depends on access. Google says owners and managers can check views, calls, website clicks, and other interactions. That data is only available for verified profiles. You want to see it yourself, not wait for a report.
What should I ask before I hire an agency?
Ask these questions before you sign.
- Will the profile be verified under my business, with me as an owner?
- Will you work as a manager on my profile?
- Can I remove your access at any time?
- Who owns the reviews, photos, and the Google Account that holds the profile?
- What happens to the profile if we stop working together?
An agency that gives clear answers is easier to trust. An agency that avoids these questions is giving you information too.
Does the agency have to follow Google’s rules too?
Yes. Google’s guidelines say your business name should match the name you use in the real world, on your signage and stationery. Marketing taglines, extra keywords, and service details do not belong in the name. Google warns that unnecessary information in the name can lead to suspension.
Ask the agency not to add keywords to your business name. A suspended profile hurts you, not the agency.
Does CASL affect any of this?
CASL, Canada’s anti-spam law, covers commercial electronic messages. It matters if the agency also sends review requests to your customers by email or text for you. Ask the agency how it gets consent and who is responsible for records. This is separate from profile ownership, but it is worth asking at the same time.
Where Georgian Bay SEO fits
Georgian Bay SEO, a local SEO agency in Collingwood, Ontario, runs this site. Judge any agency, including us, by the checks on this page. Ask who owns the profile, who has the owner role, and whether you can remove access at any time.
Questions people also ask
Can I have more than one owner on my Business Profile?
Yes, in general you can have several people with access. It is good practice to keep at least two business-controlled owners, so that one lost login does not lock you out.
Should the profile use my personal Google Account or a business one?
Use an email address that your business controls, and that more than one trusted person can reach. Avoid an address that belongs to an employee who may leave.
Will removing the agency's access hurt my ranking?
Removing a manager does not change what the profile says. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and prominence, and that you cannot request or pay for a better local ranking.
Does verification make me the owner?
Verification tells Google that you are authorized to represent the business. It is the step that makes a profile eligible to show in search results, and the person who verifies is usually the first owner.
What should I do if I find two profiles for my business?
Google's guidelines say there should be only one profile per business. Find out who created each one, and ask Google's help pages how to handle the duplicate before you delete anything.
Want this checked for your own business?
Georgian Bay SEO, the agency that runs this site, does a free Growth Roadmap for Ontario businesses: where you rank, what the AI answers say about you, and what to fix first.
Get the free Growth Roadmap