What access does a GEO agency actually need?
Manager access to your Google Business Profile, editor access to your website, and read access to Search Console and analytics. That is it. Nobody needs ownership of your profile, your domain, your hosting, or your personal Google password.
What they need, and why
Google Business Profile, manager role. Lets them edit, post and reply. Not transfer or delete. You stay owner and can remove them in two clicks.
Website editor access. To publish pages and deploy schema. A CMS user account, not your hosting login.
Search Console and analytics, read access. To see what queries reach you and what happens after.
What they should never have
Ownership of the Business Profile. Your domain registrar login. Your hosting root account. Your personal Google account password. Access to your customer list beyond what review automation needs.
An agency asking for any of these is either careless or building a hostage situation. Both are reasons to walk.
Granting it safely
Use each platform's own invitation system, which creates a separate account you can revoke. Never share a password. Turn on two-factor on your own accounts first, since you are about to add a user to them.
Write down what you granted and on what date. It makes offboarding a five-minute job.
Offboarding
When an engagement ends, remove their access the same day, check the profile owner is still you, and confirm published pages remain on your domain. Any asset that lives inside an agency's platform is an asset you were renting.
The short version
- Manager on the profile, editor on the site, read on the data
- Never hand over ownership, domain or hosting root
- Use invitation systems, never shared passwords
- Remove access the day an engagement ends
Related questions
What about my review platform?
They need an account on it, not your login. Same principle.
Can they work without profile access?
They can advise and you implement. It costs less and takes more of your time.
How do I check who has access?
Google Business Profile has a Users list. Review it every few months.
Keep reading
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Ask nine questions: do you work with my competitors, who owns my profile, what exactly ships each month, how...
How much does GEO cost?
For a single-location small business, expect $400 to $1,500 a month. Below about $400 you are buying...
How do you fix a suspended Google Business Profile?
Work out what changed in the 30 days before the suspension, undo it if it broke a rule, then file a...
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