Switching healthcare marketing agencies goes smoothly when every account is already in the practice's name before you give notice. That means the domain, website hosting, Google Business Profile, Google Ads, the Meta ad account, Google Analytics, Search Console, and call tracking. With owner or admin access on each one, you can remove the outgoing agency without losing anything, and the new one starts from your history.
In one sentenceGet owner access on every account and export your reports first, then give notice.
The same handover applies whether you are moving one channel or your whole healthcare digital marketing plan. If you are still choosing who comes next, start with how to choose a healthcare marketing agency.
List every account and who controls it today
Open each account while logged in as the practice and write down the role you see. Anything where the practice is only a user, or has no login at all, goes to the top of the list.
| Account | What the practice should hold |
|---|---|
| Domain and registrar | The registrar login, auto-renew on a practice card, and the renewal date |
| Website hosting or CMS | An admin login and a current backup of the pages |
| Google Business Profile | Primary owner on a practice login, for every location |
| Google Ads | Admin access and billing on a practice payment method |
| Meta ad account | The ad account inside the practice's own business portfolio |
| Google Analytics | Administrator on the property |
| Search Console | Verified owner of the domain property |
| Call tracking | A list of every tracking number, where it is published, and who holds the account |
| Referral outreach | An export of the referring-office list, notes, and templates |
Role names come from Google's help pages on Business Profile owners and managers, Google Ads access levels, Analytics users, and Search Console owners.
The handover in six steps
- Move ownership first. Ask the current agency to make the practice login the owner or admin on each account in the table.
- Export your history. Download at least 12 months of monthly reports, Google Ads performance, and Analytics conversions. You will want them to compare the first quarter with the new agency.
- Get a written list of what is running. Active campaigns, monthly media spend, landing pages, tracking numbers, and any scheduled outreach.
- Move billing to the practice. Media should bill to a practice card. That way campaigns keep running while you decide what to change.
- Give notice under your contract. Check the minimum term and the notice period before you send it. The contract questions cover what exit terms should say.
- Remove the old agency's access last. Once the new agency is added and can see everything, remove the outgoing users from each account.
Keep these running during the switch
Patients keep searching while agencies change hands. Leave the Business Profile, the website, and the tracking numbers that appear on directories untouched until the new agency has reviewed them. If call tracking sits in the old agency's account, ask about moving the numbers to yours before the account closes, so the numbers on your profile keep ringing the front desk.
Keep conversion tracking the same for the first month so before and after numbers mean the same thing. Patient information should stay out of ad platforms through the whole change. The setup is in HIPAA-aware Google Ads conversion tracking.
What the new agency should do in month one
Expect an audit of each account before anything is rebuilt: Business Profile and site health for SEO for healthcare practices, account structure and tracking for paid ads for healthcare practices, and the referring-office list for healthcare referral marketing. The week-by-week version is in healthcare marketing agency onboarding.
How Catalyze Care sets up accounts
As a healthcare marketing agency, we work inside accounts the practice owns and ask to be added as a user. If you leave, the pages, profiles, and ad accounts stay with you. Our fees are published:
- Referral marketing: $5,000/month, 3-month minimum
- SEO: $799/month, 6-month minimum
- Paid ads management: $2,500/month plus media, 3-month minimum
Written by Andrew Brazis, operator of Catalyze Care. LinkedIn: Andrew Brazis.
FAQ
What should a practice do before switching healthcare marketing agencies?
Make the practice the owner or admin on every account first: the domain, website hosting, Google Business Profile, Google Ads, the Meta ad account, Google Analytics, Search Console, and call tracking. Export at least 12 months of reports. Give notice only after the access is in your name, and follow the minimum term in your contract.
Who should own the Google Ads account and the Google Business Profile?
The practice. Google Ads has an Admin access level and a Google Business Profile has one primary owner. Both should be a login the practice controls, such as a shared practice account. The agency gets user or manager access that you can remove.
Will switching agencies hurt SEO or paid ads results?
A clean handover keeps the domain, pages, Business Profile, reviews, and conversion history in place, so the new agency starts from the same data. The risk comes from lost access: a domain that lapses, a call tracking number that stops forwarding, or an ad account you cannot open.