How to switch PPC agencies without losing performance: UK checklist

What to take away

The business, not the agency, should hold admin ownership of the Google Ads account.
Check the payment profile, currency and conversion actions before you sign with a new agency.
Ask for read-only access first, then full admin once the contract is agreed.
Keep existing conversion tracking running through the overlap to protect bidding signals.
Plan for two to four weeks of parallel running; billing is the most common cause of a pause.

Check who owns the Google Ads account

Ownership is where most switches go wrong. Agencies often create the account inside their own manager account, so the customer ID, change history and conversion data sit with the agency rather than the business. Google Ads is built so a manager account can be linked to an advertiser-owned account, as this overview of Google Ads sets out.

If the agency refuses to release ownership, you have two options: negotiate a written transfer, or rebuild from exported data. Rebuilding resets bidding learning and typically costs several weeks of weaker performance.

Before you give notice, audit your current account setup so you know which campaigns, audiences and negative keyword lists are actually producing results.

A six-step PPC agency migration checklist

Export campaigns, ad groups, keywords, search terms, audiences and the full change history.
Record the customer ID, who holds admin access and any manager account above it.
Review the payment profilebilling country, currency, VAT details and the card or mandate on file.
List every conversion action, tag, tag manager container and tracked phone number.
Confirm who owns the landing pages, the analytics property, the domain and the creative files.
Set a dated handover in writing, including what the outgoing agency will do and when access ends.

Protect GBP billing and conversion tracking

Google Ads payment profiles are country-specific, and the account currency is normally fixed when the account is created. A UK business billed in pounds sterling should keep that profile. Moving billing to another country or currency usually means a new account and a fresh start on data.

Conversion tracking needs the same care. Do not duplicate conversion actions during the handover. Two actions firing on the same thank-you page double-count conversions and distort bidding. Leave the existing actions live and let the new agency inherit them.

Where call tracking or CRM imports feed conversions, check the integration still runs on the day the agency changes. A silent break can wipe out weeks of optimisation.

Sort data access and contract terms

Agency access to customer data sits inside data protection law. Give the incoming agency individual logins rather than shared passwords, and remove the outgoing agency's users on the agreed date. The Information Commissioner's Office publishes guidance for organisations on handling personal data lawfully.

Check the notice period and any exit fees before you announce anything. The Competition and Markets Authority publishes guidance on contract terms that may be unfair, which matters if your agreement locks you in.

Set the last day of access a fortnight after the final report, so there is a buffer for exporting anything you missed.

What to hand over, and who should hold it

Use the table below as the target state for the handover. Anything in the middle column that the agency controls is a risk you carry.

Who should own each asset

Item

Google Ads account: The business
Payment profile: The business
Conversion actions: The business
Tag manager and analytics: The business
Landing pages and domain: The business
Change history and reports: The business

Who should own it

Google Ads account: Loss of history, costly rebuild
Payment profile: Billing pauses, verification delays
Conversion actions: Broken tracking, distorted bidding
Tag manager and analytics: No visibility of changes
Landing pages and domain: Content held back at exit
Change history and reports: Cannot prove what was done

Risk if agency keeps it

Google Ads account
Payment profile
Conversion actions
Tag manager and analytics
Landing pages and domain
Change history and reports

Brief the incoming agency properly

Give the new team the exported data, the change history and a written summary of what worked. Ask for UK PPC case studies that match your sector and budget before they touch the account.

Agree the first 30 days in writing: which campaigns they will change, which they will leave alone, and what a good result looks like.

Common questions

How long does a PPC agency handover take?

Allow two to four weeks. Billing verification and access changes are usually the slowest parts, so start those first.

Can I keep my Google Ads history when I switch agency?

Yes, if the account stays with the business. If the agency owns the account and refuses to transfer it, you rebuild from exports and lose the change history and bidding signals.

Who should own the Google Ads account?

The business should hold admin access and the payment profile. The agency should sit on a linked manager account so it can work in the account without controlling it.

What happens to conversion tracking during a switch?

Keep existing conversion actions running and let the incoming agency inherit them. Add new tracking alongside, rather than replacing it, so bidding signals continue.