Managing your Google Business Profile: Why and how to use an agency account?

Google Business Profile Management: Why and How to Use an Agency Account?

Imagine your Google Business Profile as the digital keys to your apartment or business.
If you simply „lend“ these keys to someone’s private email, you lose control over who else can make a copy.
Professional management via an agency account is transparent, secure, and fully under your control.

1. Role Comparison: Who Has What Permissions?

Proper setup begins with understanding the user hierarchy.
Google distinguishes these basic levels:

  • Primary Owner: Has absolute control, can delete the profile, and is the only one who can transfer primary ownership to another user.

  • Owner: Can edit information, add and remove users, but cannot remove themselves until primary ownership is transferred.

  • Manager: Can edit information and respond to reviews, but cannot add users or delete the profile.

Key rule: As a business owner, you should always remain the primary owner.
It is recommended to grant the agency the Manager role, which is sufficient for 99% of marketing tasks.

Google Business Profile Manager – Gmail account

2. Benefits of Management via an Agency Account

Transferring the profile under an agency organization brings significant benefits:

  • Maximum security: You do not share any passwords.
    You grant access to the agency via their unique numeric organization ID.

  • Audit trail and credibility: Agency accounts have a higher level of credibility in the eyes of Google due to their history of management and auditing.

  • Efficiency for multiple branches: If you have multiple locations (over 10 branches), the agency can manage them in bulk and automatically.

  • Protection upon employee departure: If a specialist leaves the agency, the agency revokes their access internally, and your profile remains safe without you having to deal with it.

  • Block prevention: If a manager’s private Gmail is blocked due to another risky client, the entire account goes into suspension.
    The agency solution minimizes this risk.

    Google Business Profile Manager – Agency account

3. Process of Transferring the Profile to an Agency

The process is simple and takes only a few minutes:

  1. Get the ID: Ask the agency for their location group/organization ID.

  2. Enter settings: In your Business Profile, click the three dots (Business Profile Settings) -> People and access.

  3. Invite the agency: Click „Add“ and paste the received numeric code (ID) instead of an email.

  4. Choose a role: Select a role (usually Manager) and confirm the invitation.

Beware of the waiting period: For security reasons, Google imposes a 7-day waiting period for new owners and managers.
During this time, the system will not allow the new manager to perform sensitive operations, such as deleting a profile or removing users.

4. What to Watch Out For (Security Warnings)

When choosing a management partner, be cautious of unfair practices:

  • Fake certifications: If someone claims to be a „certified Google Business Profile manager“, it is not true.
    Similarly, the Google Trusted Program – Good Photographer for Google Maps and Street View ended at the end of 2024.

  • Too rapid changes: A quality agency proceeds with optimization carefully and slowly.
    If too many changes are made at once, the profile can fall into a spam filter and go into suspension.

  • Profile ownership: Never let an agency create a profile purely under their account.
    The profile must belong to you, and a good agency only takes the manager role.

Want to listen to what’s in the article?
You can on Digisolu podcast on Youtube
We are happy that this podcast
🌍 Securing your Google Business Profile ownership
is translated into … 10 world languages
I’d love to hear your opinion – leave a comment Youtube… what do you think? Thanks!💙

 

Digisolu’s Offer

Do you want to make sure your business profile on Google Maps is safe and looks great even in 2026?
Do you have an agency and don’t yet have an agency account to manage your clients‘ Google business profiles?
We will gladly help you set everything up to the highest standard.

Write to Zdenek 📧
zdenek@digitalsolution.marketing


Sources:
https://support.google.com/business/answer/3403100
https://support.google.com/business/answer/7353941
https://digitalsolution.marketing/konec-programu-pro-fotografy-google-street-view/
https://digitalsolution.marketing/vlastnik-nebo-spravce-ve-firemnim-profilu-google/

This article was written with the help of – https://gemini.google.com/